Decal sizes

Started by Wulf, 09 November 2018, 04:01:31 PM

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Wulf

I'm playing What a Tanker!, and need to make each tank individually identifiable by sight on the table, so numbers & slogans are really useful. Trouble is, the Pendraken listings say that various decal sheets were intended for 1:285, but usable in 10mm...

How usable? How readable (assuming you read Cyrillic, where applicable) are they? How small do they look on a 10mm tank? Any pics of them in use?

Leon

The 6mm designs are pretty small so I'm not sure if you could read the Cyrillic writing (if able!).  Some of the sheets are an odd mix of different scales so we've tried to pick out the best ones to suit our vehicles but it's not always exact unfortunately.  The Russian stars (RU-100) look fine on T-26s and T-34s but they might look a bit small on a KV or T-35. 

Some of the number sets (NW-100 or RU-108) are readable for identification but I've not tried them at 6ft away!  How many tanks are on the table at any one time and could a different method be used, like a dice frame with a coloured block in it rather than a dice?
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Wulf

Quote from: Leon on 09 November 2018, 04:20:04 PM
The 6mm designs are pretty small so I'm not sure if you could read the Cyrillic writing (if able!).  Some of the sheets are an odd mix of different scales so we've tried to pick out the best ones to suit our vehicles but it's not always exact unfortunately.  The Russian stars (RU-100) look fine on T-26s and T-34s but they might look a bit small on a KV or T-35. 
Stars & other symbols are optional, I have plenty of them (designed for aircraft & printed in sheets of... hundreds...).
QuoteSome of the number sets (NW-100 or RU-108) are readable for identification but I've not tried them at 6ft away!  How many tanks are on the table at any one time and could a different method be used, like a dice frame with a coloured block in it rather than a dice?
With just 4 tanks each it's not actually a matter of identification so much as one of immediate recognition. I don't want artificial aids like dice on the table. It's just for the cool look  8)

I just want some slogans & names to individualise the tanks and make them feel more personal. I already have some small & repetitious sheets from resin minis, and a sheet of slogans from... erm... another source... but I wasn't intending on making another purchase from them anytime soon, whereas I want at least some paint from PD.

Does the Soviet slogan sheet include Mariya Oktyabrskaya's 'Fighting Girlfriend'? The one on that other sheet is actually a bit big for the correct T-34 M1940 (but fits well on a T-34/85).

Leon

Quote from: Wulf on 09 November 2018, 11:52:09 PM
Does the Soviet slogan sheet include Mariya Oktyabrskaya's 'Fighting Girlfriend'? The one on that other sheet is actually a bit big for the correct T-34 M1940 (but fits well on a T-34/85).

I don't think it does unfortunately, I've never looked that closely at them but I can't see that name (in russian text!) on the web image.
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Orcs

The obvious one is different types of camouflage.  While we generally paint all soviet tanks green, they did use camouflage in some units. A quick web search will give you examples that cover virtually all the tanks during the war.

German use of different camouflage is well documented. The problem you get is with allied stuff in NW Europe as they  generally did not use camo.  BUT they did come in various shades from almost brown to green.

Perhaps for them you could put white stars on one Sherman say and none on the other, that would make them instantly recognisable on the table. You could also add stowage onto them to differentiate them   



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A sideways solution would be to buy Zevda aircraft, they include a decal sheet with sets of numbers 1-10 in 1/144th scale on the fighters.

IanS
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Wulf

Quote from: Orcs on 10 November 2018, 07:56:18 AM
The obvious one is different types of camouflage.  While we generally paint all soviet tanks green, they did use camouflage in some units. A quick web search will give you examples that cover virtually all the tanks during the war.
Oh, I do that, yes. I have a camo painted T-26, a Marder II with foliage and a battle damaged Pz IVH with bent & missing sideskirts for instance (not all for use in the same game...). But despite Soviet units being issued directives and even paint pigment very early in the war, over 90% of all Soviet armour remained... green...

I just LIKE slogans & names. They give the tanks a bit more personality. It's the small details you notice.