LBMS Transfers - Cutting & Punching holes
As many of you know, Victrix has recently acquired Little Big Men Studios , a move that will have a hugely positive impact on the hobby. If you’d like to learn more about this exciting transition, you can read all about it here.
Thanks to this acquisition and bringing LBMS production in-house, we’re thrilled to announce that, for the first time ever, every single LBMS transfer sheet for Victrix is now in stock!
In this update, we’ll explain an important change to how circular shield holes are handled—and why this was necessary to improve production and availability.
LBMS Transfer Production is Scaling Up:
LBMS shield transfers come in all shapes and sizes, just like the shields they’re designed for. The LBMS catalogue has thousands of different transfer sheets and over 10,000 unique shield and flag designs. From the rectangular bosses of Imperial Roman scutums to the classic round Viking shield, each design is tailored to fit each shield shape specifically.
For over 20 years, Steve, the original creator of LBMS, went the extra mile by manually hole-punching every shield transfer with a round hole—at no extra cost. He has never charged more for punching transfers vs those that are not punched, and we haven't either. Punching the holes saved customers time but was an incredibly time-consuming process, contributing to frequent stock shortages. In fact, on the Victrix store alone, we’ve never had every transfer in stock at once—until now!
Last year, we surveyed customers about no longer pre-punching shield transfers to improve production speed and expand our range. Over 82% of you said you either didn’t mind or supported the idea, especially if it meant more stock, new designs, and an easy method for cutting holes yourselves. Please note, this only applies to shields with circular holes. All other shield shapes (which make up the majority of the catalogue) have always required customers to cut out the center.
So, we’ve made the change! This step will ensure Victrix—and other manufacturers stocking LBMS transfers—can keep up with demand. It also means retailers will finally be able to stock LBMS transfers, something customers have wanted for years.
But this is just the beginning. With a more efficient production process, we can now focus on expanding and improving our transfer range . We’re already exploring new transfer types, designs, and ways to enhance the options available to you in the future. This shift allows us to innovate, ensuring that LBMS continues to evolve while maintaining the quality and attention to detail it’s known for.
This marks a huge step forward for LBMS, ensuring a steady supply, exciting new releases, and even more possibilities down the line. Thanks for your continued support!
How to Cut & Punch Your Holes:
Cutting or punching the circular holes is quick, easy. You can use either a hobby knife or a rotating hole punch. To help guide you, Steve has put together four short how-to videos to guide you through the process:
1. Cutting your holes with a knife
Step-by-step guide on cutting circular holes with a hobby knife.
2. Punching your holes with a hole punch
The quickest and neatest option!
3. Which hole punch do you need?
Finding the right hole punch is simple. Just search for "rotating hole punch" on Google or Amazon. These tools are standardized in size, so nearly all rotating punches will work perfectly.
The exact hole size required for your transfers is listed on each product page.
4. How to punch tiny holes!
How to handle small transfers, like those for 15mm miniatures.
And that's it!
Stock for all non-Victrix products will start becoming available in the next 1–2 weeks.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Greg King
February 22, 2025
I have got one these punches for repairing my reenactment kit .
Look forward to getting my gripping beast plastic late Roman army shielded up 👍