Welcome aboard!
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The custom decals have acted as intended, although came out slightly darker on the model than I’d hoped as well as presenting a fair bit thicker than most OOB decal sheets I’ve ever worked with - Hopefully nothing a light sand at the edges can’t fix
I can’t deny the decal thickness is probably out of an abundance of caution where I’ve put two layers of clear coat over the print instead of just the one
Taking a leaf from The Inner Nerd Scale Modelling’s video at 30:18 (https://youtu.be/W3zDmJwpPcY?t=1818), it looks like the best remedy is to clear-coat the model to seal the decals in and then use a 2000 and 3000 grit sanding sponge to do the work to remove these “witness marks” where the decal appears raised against the model surface
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That is one method. You can also sand them before you apply them.
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Not a bad idea considering:
a) The problem was pretty identifiable after the first decal went down
b) The decal sheet is reprintable, but the paintwork on the vehicle much harder to correct if oversanded
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On large rectangular(ish) decals like the ones you used it’s even easier because you can curve the sheet and just feather the edges of each decal.
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Hello!
The inscription turned out well, looks authentic.
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Glad I asked the question.
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@sluff … Very glad you did too mate, hope your own project turned out well in the end!
@Holger … Hey, hey! Thanks for checking in and thanks again for your contributions to getting where we are today!
The thick decal issue is pretty much resolved now following a wet-sanding with a small piece of #3000 sanding sponge, a process made much easier thanks to a pair of self-closing tweezers… Ready to seal up and proceed!
Although unintentionally, the sanding even managed to restore some of the surface texture lost when the decal went down - That was a factor contributing to how the decal stood out from from the rest of the turret
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Nicely done! You should do a tutotrial on it. I’m sure there’s a person or two on the site who could benefit from that technique.
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Thanks mate! It’s been a bit of a learn-as-I-go process but I’ll be more than happy to consolidate these learnings for the benefit of others 
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Well it’s been a hot minute, but I’m calling time on the Trumpeter 1:72 scale T-34/76 mod. 1942
Thanks again for your interest, particularly those who helped to solve the mystery of the Trumpeter decals
The source photo that @Holger found was reportedly taken in July 1943 in the Belgorod-Orel sector, likely following the Red Army breaking out of the Kursk salient after inflicting irreplaceable losses of men and material upon the Wehrmacht - We’d therefore decided to finish the vehicle and base with a well-travelled summer look, accumulating road grime and dust rather than mud in the 60km+ push that the original vehicle had likely endured.
The photographer reported that the tank had hit a German land mine, which I suspect was just a mobility kill. The turret roof and fuel tank have been taken off, which looks pretty dramatic but was probably a result of other Soviet tankers scavenging the immobilised vehicle for fuel, ammunition and parts (note the missing bow machine gun and open toolbox) as they pressed their advance
It’s entirely possible that the vehicle, or at least the hull, was pressed back into service but for now we are left to wonder…
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You’re welcome. Feel free to highjack any post you like.
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