WIP: Armiger Warglaives from House Taranis - Part 5

For part five of the Armiger Warglaive, it was time to get the initial decals on.  I'm holding off on unit and honor markings until I see the codex and its accompanying art for House Taranis. I don't want to have to redo anything.

The decals were applied using Micro Set from Microscale Industries, Inc.  I'm still using the same bottle I bought back in the late 90's.  Lasts forever (unless you are laying down decals like mad, I guess ) and still does the job well.  I do not generally lay down a gloss coat before applying decals as others do.  I have never had any adhesion issues with Micros set and a normal coat of paint.

Once the decal is in place, I carefully press down with a paper towel to draw up any extra Micro Set and make sure the decal is well seated on the model.  One wants to be careful not to move the decal doing this, or inadvertently pick it up on the towel.  Next I apply a coat of Micro Sol from the same company over the top of the decal.  This helps dissolve the remaining film of the decal and really makes it look painted on.  The Micro Sol also softens the decal so it will lay down tighter over rough surfaces where necessary, not an issue here due to the smooth armor plates, and relatively smooth paint layers.

Here are a few close ups of the work.

House Taranis crest

House livery, including cog symbolizing Mechanicum allegiance

Warning glyph on chainblade

Honor marking

I'm quite pleased with how the decals came out.  Once the Micro Sol had dried, I painted on some Army Painter Anti-shine Matte Varnish to seal the decals and prevent them from rubbing off while I finish the painting.  I use the Model Masters Lusterless Flat spray for all my sealing generally, but I like the Anti-shine for small jobs like this.  I didn't see a need to spray the whole model just to seal the decals.

Next up, I will finish the highlighting and any weathering for the model.  Then I have to paint the base so I can finally attach the model and seal the whole thing. I hope to accomplish that in one more session, but that may be too optimistic.

There is some pretty exciting stuff spilling across the Internet regarding the Imperial Knight codex. I'm really looking forward to it.  The second Armiger is standing by and I have four unbuilt knights, including one from Forgeworld to build out House Taranis once I see the new rules. I'm not going to be able to pass on at least one new Dominus class knight as well! 

If you too are looking forward to the new Knight codex, let me know in the comments.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!