"Help with LBM transfers" Topic

I have finallly got around to painting my Byzantine army.

I have some of the old style shield decals from Little Big Man- the ones with the plastic front sheet and I am having great difficulty using them.

Getting them on to the shield is no problem but getting the plastic layer off the fromt is proving impossible- all that seems to happen is the whole transfer lifts off. Maybe the glue has degraded over time but I am stumped for ideas. So far I have tried leaving them for a few hours and using a rounded end of a paintbrush to push them down but so far to no avail.
Anyone any ideas? I don't really want to have to buy them all again….

Edited…but it should read LBMS in the title of course.

Once the sticky side is on the shield, soak the backing paper . Simply apply water with a brush. After a second or two it should just slide off

I'll give it a try but mine have a plastic front sheet so I have assumed that water won't have any effect on it. Anywas I'm off to try. Thanks for the advice.

Are you burnishing them with the paint brush handle? I apologize if you are but just wanted to make sure.

The plastic should pretty much come off on its own as you burnish the decal.

I've been using these and they work very well:

DM

Be careful as it only takes a little water. Too much and they just slide off. Are your figures metal or plastic? Not sure if it makes a difference whether the surface would need to be painted or not.

You are using the wrong technique for those decals. They are not normal water slide transfers. The clear plastic layer must be pealed off, the decal is then a "sticker" with adhesive on what seems to be the artwork. You place this face down on your shield. (The artwork you have been looking at is the BACK of the final image). After you have the "sticker" in place and burnished, only then to you use a drop or two of water to the paper backing, causing it to release. If you have trouble getting wrinkles out, try slicing radial (from the center out) cuts into the decal before you place it. Once you master this, admittedly unique, system it all works fine. Good Luck!

MBA:

He may have the old version which don't use any water.

DM

Yep old versions is what I have- they are at least 7 or 8 years old. Was worried the glue may have degraded or that the plastic layer is now fixed on for good!

For the moment they are back in the box whilst I mentally regroup….

Oh rereading what you said its clear you are using the wrong technique. The decals have two backing sheets . One is plastic and the other is paper. Its the plasticoated side that sticks to the shields AFTER removing the plastiuc sheeting. You then apply the design face down and paper out to the shield rub the paper to stick the decal in place and then soak the papere which then slides off

you also need to paint the shields the base colour of the shield prior to applying the design. I almost always use matt white.

Right, I'll try that then. Althoug I havebeen following the instructions on the packet. I'll have another go!!

Cheers everyone.

bb,

Do your sheets have plastic on both sides or plastic on the front and paper on the back?

DM

bb,

If you have the old sheets with plastic on both sides (which I prefer as they seem to be thinner than the waterslides and have a matte finish), the plastic on the front is translucent and glossy / clear on the back. The glossy side is the one with the adhesive. The translucent side is the one you rub once you have the decal where you want it on the shield. The trickiest part is separating the decal from the glossy side. Keep at it, it will eventually separate.

I just tried the process with some very old first generation sheets and the adhesive was still good. As for prepping the shields I use semi-gloss or gloss white as it provides a much better surface for adhesion than a matte finish.

DM

The older ones are a pain. I did 200+ of them on Greek Hoplites years ago.
The basic problem being the decal sticks to the front glossy plastic better than on the shield, even with gloss paint.

After much experimentation and a few destroyed decals here is what I did.
Cut the decal to size but leave a pointed cut out. On my round shields, this means leaving a pointed V on the top that is extra clear decal and plastic.
Take a very sharp x-acto knife and peel away the V section so you can grab it with a pair of tweezers. Curl the extra material around the back of the shield and hold it with the tweezers.
Stick the decal onto the shield then with your fingers grab the now sticking out top V plastic and peel it off the decal.
Sometimes the decal will peel off the shield as the adhesion to the plastic is better than on the shield. However you have a point on which you can now adjust the decal to it's proper position and smooth it down.

This is a bit fiddly, but it worked after a few tries.

Right.
I have tried again, with more sucess this time.

Followed the instructions to the letter but this time with some assistance.
1. Illuminated magnifier
2. Tweezers
3. Small scalple

With these tools to help I was able to see and grab hold of loose flaps of paper/plastic much better.

It's still a pain though. Oh and the other major help was to wait until after dinner when I could settle down and concentrate.

Many thanks to you all.

Glad to hear it.

While it may sound counter intuitive, scissors that are a little more dull help to separate the layers a little better when cutting them out.

DM

Got it sorted out now! Baby nail scissors (curved) are great, so is the scalple point and magnifier for finding the edges- much better than my own nails.

Thanks again eveyone- can't stay- I've got shields to do!

I must also add my thanks to Steve from LBMS who put my on the right track and offered to help out as well. A true gent. Needless I've just ordered some more.

Steve is a class act all the way. Great products too!