Difference between water transfer and stickers?

[rewooh]

What are the pros and cons?

and what it water transfer exactly?

[VF-19]

A sticker is what's included with Yamato's VF series of toys. Namely, you peel and stick it to the toy. A water transfer decal needs lukewarm water to activate the adhesive. So in this case, you soak the decal a bit, then you slide it onto the model/toy. The advantage of the water based decal is that it's thinner, and with a bit of work, you can blend in the decal so that it looks printed onto the toy/model. A sticker can really stand out...

[rewooh]

A sticker is what's included with Yamato's VF series of toys. Namely, you peel and stick it to the toy. A water transfer decal needs lukewarm water to activate the adhesive. So in this case, you soak the decal a bit, then you slide it onto the model/toy. The advantage of the water based decal is that it's thinner, and with a bit of work, you can blend in the decal so that it looks printed onto the toy/model. A sticker can really stand out...

wouldn't that damage the valk? or wouldn't it be a pain to get off?

I heard someone refer to MicroSol. Is that the best way to put a water transfer sticker on?

[wm cheng]

I have never taken decals off (personally) but if they are properly applied - I would imagine that they would be difficult to take off. So I would suggest only applying decals if you want the markings on to keep as your own toy or sell it with the decals applied. If they are applied properly - I don't believe they would deminish the value of the toy. Check out my 1/48 decalled bird (I have no intentions of removing the decals later on - and I have recieved numerous offers to purchase - not that I'm selling)

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...t=ST&f=4&t=2463

I feel decals are more durable (if properly applied and sealed) there are no raised edges to the graphics that sometimes gets caught on things or dust gets trapped under and eventually peels off. If not properly applied, they can "flake" off or if not sealed (since they are so much thinner than stickers) they can be scratched or damaged. With that said, I find them much more realistic than stickers - however, they require so much more effort to put on (especially when you apply them to bare plastic). Essentially, like most things in life, I find that the end result is directly proportional to how much effort you put into it. You get what you put into it

MicroSOL is a liquid that is used when applying decals - it is a decal solvent. So it softens or "melts" the decals slightly so that they will "stick" adhere better to unsual surfaces. I use a lot of this stuff on the Yamato toy since unlike most models which will have a smooth painted surface, the bare plastic of the toys actually have a slight texture to them - they are minutely pebbly and this is what the MicroSOL overcomes, and makes the decals conform to the slightly pebbly texture.