How to Build Gunpla Part 3 – Stickers and Marking Seals

Stickers and marking seals are added onto a model kit to add colour and detail. There are main types of stickers: peel-off sticker and marking stickers, which have a clear backing and are have a stickier adhesive. In this part, I will show you how to apply sticker and marking seals.

First of all, the tools you will need are a toothpick, a hobby knife, and a pair of tweezers. I find the hobby knife to be most useful in applying both large and small stickers, and the tweezers to be best used to apply medium or large seals, as well as peeling off stickers you’ve messed up. The toothpick is used to apply small stickers and to smoothen them out.

For peel-off stickers, first use the hobby knife and scratch the sticker to get it underneath the sticker.

Then, peel off the sticker.

While it is on the hobby knife, apply it to the surface of the part.

Use a cotton bud or a toothpick to press down on the sticker.

Of course, you can press it down using your hands as well. Avoid peeling the sticker using your hands because the oil from your fingers may make the adhesive less sticky.

For the clear stickers, you use the same steps as well. Start by slowly scratching on the sticker.

Once it’s on the knife, you can start applying it to the part.

Like so, and then press it down.

There’s the sticker applied.

Here are all of the marking stickers applied on the gun using the knife. You can also use the tweezers or the toothpick as well, but I found using the knife to be most helpful. It looks much more detailed after you apply them. There really isn’t a correct way to apply stickers, as each person has their own way. The important part is to just get the stickers on. Sometimes, a model may have too many stickers, or stickers that wrap around a curved and uneven surface, so they may peel off more easily. However, how good the stickers are really depends how well the colour separation on the model is, and how well the stickers work and look on the model. There are also waterslide decals and dry-transfer decals, but I have yet to build a kit that has those. You could probably search how to apply those on YouTube. Still, this is all you need to know for applying either the regular or the clear stickers.