I would suggest first buying a rattle can of gloss cote, Testors makes one. Decals don't silver and stick better to a glossy surface. In my experience, Academy decals so suck, a lot. Also, you can buy micro sol and micro set which are decals solutions which makes the decal softer and stick better to your surface. You just paint the area with the product and slide the decal onto it and dab off the excess. Also with the gloss surface, buy a dull cote to spray on after to get the model back to its original matte surface. Hope this helps!