Viking Shield Transfer and Decal Tutorial

Since their launch last week the all new Viking shield transfers/decals from Battle Flag are proving to be extremely popular with wargamers and modelers alike. While all Battle flags transfer sets come with step instructions it is always good to see photos of how the designer himself uses them.

Battle Flags wargame transfers are true waterslide, no fiddly plastic film to remove and very forgiving and will take quite a bit of abuse and still look great on the model or miniature.

So enough of the chitter chatter onto the Viking Shield Waterslide Transfer and Decal Tutorial.

1. The tools you will require are very basic; a good pair of scissors, a modeling knife ( be careful) a pair of tweezers, cutting mat, a bowl of luke warm water (These are waterslide decals after all) and some kitchen roll. You might want to add some decal solution like Micro Set so you will need a paint brush as well.

2. Firstly having undercoated your shields with white primer (Mega important and the reason for the white fingernails in the photographs. Cut your chosen shield transfer from the sheet. You must cut out each shield separately. I always leave a little of the carrier paper around the actual image. Because of the special qualities of Battle Flags transfer paper you do not have to cut around the transfer exactly. Approximately .5 to 1mm seems to work just fine.

3. The Viking Shield transfer has a centre boss that you can either remove or as I do simply score an asterisk (*) shape into the white circle in the middle of the shield. You do not have to cut all the way through the decal paper. This allows the transfer to slide perfectly over the centre shield boss on the model. The carrier literally melts away as the transfer dries until it is very nearly invisible and I simply paint over it when I paint the centre boss on the shield.

4. Once the decal has been cut from the sheet simply pop it into the water for 20-30 seconds and remove

5. Set the transfer/decal on its backing paper on a piece of kitchen roll to soak up any excess water. And put a drop of water or decal solution onto the shield, this will help the transfer slide around until you are happy with the position.

6. Now the fun bit, simply slide the transfer onto the model shield. Battle Flag transfers are pretty tough so you can move them about without too much risk of damage. I like to use tweezers for delicate positioning.

7. Once you are happy with the position of the waterslide transfer on your Viking shield press it down using some kitchen roll you can be reasonably firm with this to ensure that you have expelled as much water as possible.

8. Now set the shield to one side to dry. I like to leave my models overnight to ensure that the transfer has completely dried and cured.

9. Once dry I always give the transfer a quick coat of matt varnish. This will protect the transfer from damage while you paint the rest of the model

And there you have it museum quality finished Viking Shields. Like Alexander, the Meerkat, off the 'telly says “Simples!”

You can purchase your own Viking Shield transfer sets by clicking  Battle Flag