"How to apply the LBM Roman shield decals " Topic

I recently picked up a couple of boxes of the Wargames Factory late Republican Romans that included LBM shield decals.

Are these the type of decals that you soak in water or are they the type that have the clear plastic sheeting on them?

Anyone have experience with these?

Only good experience.

they are kind of both. You place them in (warm) water, stick them on your shields and then remove the protective clear film. Note it is essential, that you paint the shield white though. The decals contain no white pigments whatsoever, so it is important that the area they are placed upon is white, otherwise the colour of your shields will be off.

Xenophon, 14th Brooklyn:

I've been using LBMS shield transfers for years and have never ever placed them in warm water before.

There are 2 types of LBMS transfers. Both types have a cover on both sides. They must be cut out from the sheet individually with either scissors or exacto type knife.

Then the back plastic is removed revealing a sticky transfer that is then stuck onto the shield. Once stuck, the remaining (front) covering is removed. Either by wetting the paper or by removing the mostly loose plastic.

They come with instructions for heavens sake!

Hi Xenephon,

Steve from LBMS here.

I did the designs for the first Wargames Factory Caesarian Romans many years ago, However they produced the transfer sheets themselves as waterslide transfers.

The transfers I manufacture myself are different to this. They have a clear plastic protective layer on them. You cut out your transfer. Peel off the plastic layer (reveals a sticky surface. Turn the transfer over and stick tot he shield. You will now be looking at some backing paper. Wet the backing paper and then this slides off after about 20 seconds.

I never made any transfer sheets myself that fitted the Wargames Factory Romans.

Regards,

Steve.

I have used the transfers right out of the WF box. Here is what worked for me. Leave the shields on the sprue, prime white, then spray a sealer or whatever matt spray you use. Cut the transfer off, peal off the one side, then rub with something…once on, paint an acrylic varnish over the shield. BTW, I black prime the back side of the shields, then prime white on the face of the shields. I have built over 200 Romans using this method and only destroyed 1 transfer.

Thanks for the input on these decals. I will experiment to see how these ideas work.

As 14th Brooklyn said paint the shields white. I spray paint the sheild was testor white gloss from the small battles. As Steve said after the decal is now place a drop of water on the paper. Warm water same to work a little fast. An Presto you have these.

I apologize for the large picture

More here on my blog if you wish to take a look.
link
just click the roman tab

It's all Steve's fault that I now own a massive amount of 28mm EIR Legionaries and had to buy more storage.

If Victrix get around to doing later Republican legionaries perhaps they could make a two part shield with the possibility of the outer reinforcement and central spine part being clipped to the smooth oval piece after a single shield transfer has been applied.

The use of white plastic would be an extra touch.

Yes Steve has a lot to answer for! :-)

Steve:

I looked at the decal sheet and they are indeed manufactured by Wargames Foundry but the also indicate that they were designed by you and your company. Thanks for making these available!

These are Steve's Macedonian Successor transfers on 1st Corps Hypaspists. I normally paint the shields matte white before doing the transfers, but wanted to experiment a bit, so applied them over bronze shields. I thought the result was pretty nice.

Likewise, I'm sorry for the large format pics. It's what I had to work with.

I also wanted to add that, although they are rather labor-intensive, I really LOVE LBMS transfers. It takes a few attempts to figure it all out, and get them working, but once you get the hang of it, they go pretty well.

I always do an entire unit as a time, and I copied the painting/assembly line method for the transfers. After selecting the sheet to use, I cut out and trim as many as I need all at once. The trimming, especially with round shields, can be tedious, and tended to cramp my hands since you need to get very close to the edge of the transfer.

A sharp pair of small surgical-type scissors works well here, or a solid cutting mat (I use a tempered glass cutting board) is essential if you are using a blade. You should always have a sharp blade for this, to prevent any tearing of the backing paper.

After they are all cut out, it's on to the minis. One at a time. I keep a #0 brush and a small container of fresh, clear water to hand. I place the transfer into position, press down for a moment, then brush on the water. Takes only a few seconds for the backing paper to wetten and release.

I set all the minis aside to dry for maybe 30 minutes, then brush on a coat of clear gloss for to protect them against scratching. The next day I paint on any trim that needs to be done, and add a coat of clear matte finish. I prefer Army Painter anti-shine for this. best I have personally found so far.

Then you are good to go. As I said, I use these products exclusively now and wouldn't consider going back to hand-painting shields unless it's for trim and solid colors/weathering.