"Anyone making your own scale decals?" Topic

I have seen various decal paper and 'kits' to make your own scale decals using inkjet and laser printers. Anyone out there doing this that can pass along some dos and dont's? Thanks alot!

I've done a some (ink jet most recently). I make decals only when I have to (either can't find the right decal or don't want to paint yellow or white stripes etc).

Whites are hard (either need white paper or put decal over white paint).

Don't apply too much sealant or you'll get a definite ridge on the edge of the decal.

Don't apply to little sealant or the pigment will run all over.

Don't cut too close to the image or the image will bleed.

I used Microsoft Powerpoint and MS Excel to creat the images.

I used Krylon Gloss Krystal Clear to seal the image.

Test print the images on regular paper first to make sure you're getting exactly what you want before you fire up the decal paper.

Make sure the printer options are set as recommended for the paper (I believe the instructions I had said to select the "transparency" option for paper type).

Some samples.
AIM 15mm US P-39 – shark mouth, eight ball, and "U.S. Army" not visible – on the underside of the wing.
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AIM 15mm P-39 (French) Roundels and unit emblem
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1/144 P-40 – roundels – a blue outer circle decal over a round white decal – you can see on the side of the closest P-40 that the blue decal bled a bit (inner right side).
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True North 1/144 Pe-2 – all of the windows are decals except for the canopy (ie the chin, side, and center top)
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These 1/144 scale fighters from the 325th FG have decals over a yellow-painted tail (True North P-47 and Battlefront P-40). I made the checker pattern with MS Excel
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AIM 15mm CR.42s – the white band on the fuselage is a homemade decal (I hate painting white)
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AIM 15mm Me-109Fs – white bands again
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AIM 15mm Stuka – yellow stripes/band
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AM 15mm Hurricane Roundels and stripes and Macchi C.202 …the white stuff
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I did try to make some invasion stripes for 15mm Horsas but didn't have much luck (black stripe over white paint). The black decals bled, left tell-tale ridges, and the stress of applying them left little cracks in the pigment.

Hope this helps, Kevin

Contact dom skelton of Dom's Decals. He might have some hints.

Gracias,

Glenn

Make sure you buy the right decal paper…. Laser and Inkjet decal papers are completely different; running laser paper through an inkjet won't work (the ink will rub straight off) while running inkjet paper through a laser printer will melt the paper onto your fuser module, so make sure you've got the right one….

Dom.

Eric -

I found a paper titled "Make Your Own Decals 101" a couple of months ago you might be interested in reading. It's pretty good.

tangopapadecals.com – how to do.

link – decal paper info.

Kevin – Your planes look great!!! How did you make the window decals?

Sorry 'bout that first link. It leads to the header page. click the link about the decal paper, in the middle of it is the article about making the decals.

Kimball

Kimball, I made the image for the window decals using Mircrosft Power Point. One of the options in Power Point is to make different shapes. I created the general shape(s) that I wanted and the sized them to fit the model. Once the shapes were the way I wanted them I used the "fill, textures, colors, and fill-effects" options to get the coloring I wanted (usually a dark blue fading to a light blue). After the decals were applied & dried I painted the little white stripes (reflection) so that they would match the canopy & turret of the PE-2. Kevin

I like the way they look!!!! Mind if I send you a PM?

Kimball

Where can you get decal paper from in the UK??

I used these chaps in the past and was pleased with what I got:

link

In serious quantities it's cheaper from the States, but if you're dabbling I'd recommend them as a much more convenient option.

Dom.

Red Fox, I've picked up the paper from Bare-Metal Foil link They have a note that if you wish to order from outside the U.S., please e-mail them for instructions.

v/r Kevin

Kimball, PMs are no problem, send when ready. Kevin