junkmunki 846 Posted January 27, 2019 Hey all, While going through some of my vintage Tamiya decal sheets looking for particular stickers for restorations, i noticed that some of the sheets had better stick than others. I then started noticing that there seems to be a difference between the colour of the backing sheets, and that the decals on the green backed sheets tend to stick better than the ones on the yellow backed sheets which i find have a tendency to peel or crease. I wondered whether there was a difference depending on the year of production, as i have multiple decal sets for the same vehicles that are different. Attached is an example of sand scorcher sets. Has anybody else noticed this? Regards J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TWINSET 1793 Posted January 27, 2019 If you look at the 'Champion' sticker on the left of each sheet, you'll also see the red and black align in three ways - red at top, both level, black at top. This could be down to different print machines, different print plants etc. which could also go some way to explaining the backing paper colour and glues used. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperChamp82 743 Posted January 27, 2019 Yes. I’ve got plenty of both 🙄 I assumed vintage green decals had been stored away from light / heat ? And that vintage yellow versions had been bleached by light (or desicated by heat) - which weakens their adhesive, or causes them to overly curl / peel when dampened ... then do the same when drying ? For me, the answer is being brave laying down vintage decals overly wet, delicately controlling their drying with a low heat hair dryer, spending 30 mins delicately pushing out bubbles with the driver’s end of a detailling paint brush then priming and sealing the output with varied viscosities / layers of lacquer. Done properly (and with patience) and end finishes will patina not crack with age - making an original decal absolutely fine. Whether a modern MCI replica is better or worse - or can ever be noticed as different ? - is a separate thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
junkmunki 846 Posted January 27, 2019 I had never noticed the difference in the print of the decals, that goes a along way to answering the question. I had wondered about sun bleaching the backing paper too. Good tip from Superchamp about laying them on wet, i hadn't thought of that. The only thing i will say about repro decals, is that from experience, they sometimes seem a bit thicker. Maybe i just have too much time on my hands...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TWINSET 1793 Posted January 27, 2019 IIRC; There was always 2 colours of backing - the decals in the kit were on a different colour backing to the spares sheets Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
