It can be difficult to find decals for 1/16 and 1/18 tanks. There is a cheaper option. I use 1/48, 1/72 and 1/32 airplane decals. The wing and fusalage crosses on German planes in these scales will work nicely on the big tanks and halftracks. Modern German Luftwaffe decals will work on the 1/16 Leopard. Numbers and lettering can also be found that work in these scales. I used the American roundel stars from a 1/32 P40 Warhawk on my 1/16 Pershing. I simply used a straight edge and new blade to cut them out of the blue roundel. Workes great! Much better than the peel and stick Heng Long decals. I coat the area with Future floor polish first. Then apply the decal. After it dries I apply a decal solvent. Then another coat of Future. Lastly a flat coat. They look painted when done. You can try rub on transfers but they can be difficult to get right. You get one shot and if they are crooked you are screwed. They also tend to peel up when you remove the backing. Also the rubdown process can affect the paint if it isnt rock hard. Dont ask me how I know this! LOL!!

I just use 1/48 scale decals and enlarge them 3x in Photoshop to 1/16, then print them out on decal paper using a color printer. I'm a scale guy and thus pretty anal about correct decal sizes. If the markings I'm doing are simple, then I print them out on masking paper, carefully cut them out using a sharp x-acto knife, apply the masks to the tank, and airbrush them.

I prefer to paint them on. I have a barss 1//35 stencil set . I enlarged it on a copier and it turned out pretty good. Of course the bigger ones are made of paper and have to be replaced often but the painted markings look really good.

Hey Shadopilot,
I've also used aircraft decals. I agree it works great. Everything you said is right on.
I might have to try that Future wax trick.

I WONDER IF ANYONE EVER PUT INVASION STRIPES ON A TANK? LOL

Invasion stripes for a tank....and other ground vehicles was the circle around the star. Should be used ONLY on vehicles that made the normandy landing. The ring around the star was chemically treated and was supposed to change color in event of chemical or gas attack. Was discontinued after it was found the Germans were not employing gas. Also the blue lettering on early WW II vehicles was for counter intelligence. Photography was only B&W then and light blue was very difficult to capture on film. Unit and Vehicle IDs were initially light blue from the factory to prevent enemy photos from revealing the unit confronting them. I guess the stripes on many 88's gun tubes was due to the shell invading the shermans.

Bill

pattoncommander you know your stuff!!![sm=thumbup.gif] And I think you just won me a bet I had with an old teacher of mine!!! this concerning the circle around the star.

I agree, I look forward to Pattoncommander's writings and reviews of what others have completed on there tanks ( the missing details) I've learned alot about the Pershing. Thanks

The stripes on German gun tubes are kill rings. 1 per confirmed kill. They were also used used on some Israeli tanks for ID purposes.

So can we therefore conclude that there shouldn't be any star-within-circle national insignia markings on any Pershing since their intro was well beyond June 6, 1944?

I'll always admit that the "circle stars" look neat but if they're not on a Normandy participant, then they're not appropriate.

Although I do like the normal white star national insignia on tanks, I realize many of them were painted over because they blatantly shouted "Here I am!" to the enemy and made a convenient targeting point for enemy tankers. Is it safe to presume most national insignia that survived the painting-over process were on horizontal surfaces (for aerial recognition by friendly aircraft)?? Would these be better suited for modeling a Pershing battle veteran?

Another method is to hand paint markings as mentioned, you need a steady hand, you can also make stencils by using a craft knife and masking tape, this is fine for basic crosses and stars etc. Not a big fan of decals as they can stick out like sore thumb as too neat on a nicely detailed tank. I have some pics somewhere of germans actually painting numbers on, they used stencils and brushes, will see if I can find it.