US National Insignia

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

Summary

FirstLook

Dry transfers are an ideal way to avoid “silvering”, which comes about due to air being trapped under the carrier film. Archer lead the way in this area with decals that “rub down” onto the surface without the surrounding layer that is used in the traditional water slide variety.

These two sheets cover US insignia and are available in both white and yellow.
Ten different sizes are catered for, these being 48, 36, 32, 25, 20, 16, 15, 12, 6 and 4 inch varieties. The printing is nice and sharp and in all there are fifty four items.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Although they are of the rub-on type, they can be used as water slide decals. This requires burnishing them onto some clear decal film and floating them onto the model’s surface.

There is no compatibility problem with sprayed on clear coats although a heavy single application of a lacquer based product could result in the bleeding of the ink. Thus several light coats would be called for here.

Note that these transfers are for vehicles other than the Sherman. Archer supplies a separate sheet for these vehicles.

Conclusion

These sheets provide a simple solution to those that struggle with the traditional water-slide decals. No carrier film means that the marking will display a “painted on” look which can only enhance your model.

Recommended.