Rob de Bie

Here's my list with ~50 Alps custom printers: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm#custom Not all are active most likely, so you have to shop around a bit. Personally I'm very curious about the new printer of http://www.indycals.net/ that can do white too. 40$ for a Letter sheet, or 4$ per vertical inch. The owner prints his own decal line on this printer too. Rob

Thanks for the compliment! I spent a lot of hours on it, but I liked learning to understand that strange printer :-) Rob

Like Ben said, you need vector graphics software: Inkscape (free), CorelDraw (80 euros here) or Illustrator (expensive AFAIK). The learning curve is probably steep, but you will never regret learning vector graphics. It is so versatile that I use it one way or the other for every modeling project: for decals, for making jigs, for measuring photos, for checking line drawings. Very, very recommended. The printer is the difficult bit. You need white for nearly every decal, to go under the color inks, because they are transparent. Therefore laser and inkjets have severe limitations. The famous Alps printer has white ink, but it's a dying breed. You can print absolutely great decals with it, until it breaks. I wrote an extensive webpage on that subject, including 50 custom Alps printer companies: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm Alternatives are popping up slowly. Indycals found or developed a printer that can do white, and they have a printing service. Decals.nl also print white on a big printer, and do custom printing. I think that is the way to go if you don't have a printer yet. Rob

Here's a more agreeable price: https://www.aviationmegastore.com/lockheed-c-5b-galaxy-330-roden-rod144330-aircraft-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=147101 Rob

Here's a list of all custom Alps printers that I know, more than 50 all over the world: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm#custom I guess not all are active, so you will have to ask a few. If you find custom printers that are no longer active, please let me know, so I can update the list. Rob

One easy way out is to remove *all* decal glue, by rubbing the released decal over a surface. Then use Future as decal glue: just put a drop on the surface, place the decal in it, brush away the excess. Done! Give it a try on some of the decals you won't use. Rob

I'm all for it! If you want to include more modern stuff too, I can help with a full set of decals that I drew for the AGM-86, shown here: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/atomic.htm And maybe you should know that MAI once did a sheet for AGM-28 Hound Dog and ADM-20 Quail. Two more worthy subjects! Rob

The bottom one is magnesium on the F-104G, and it's therefore always painted, FS x6473 on a bare metal aircraft. Maybe it's the same on the XF-104, but it might be unpainted, given the darker color. It's not a dielectric panel, the elevator actuator is housed there. The top one is aluminum on the F-104G. Rob

It would help a lot if you explain what 'US Army ACU and multicam patches' are.. Maybe with a picture or two? Rob

Interesting to watch: Rob

BiilS, thanks for the additional comments. Seems I'm safe with my dark blue and silver rank insignia.Maybe I can ultramarine blue for the tapes with a different ink cartridge. Rob

Yes, that's it! Late fifties TV station, trumpet in the intro, weird characters.. Many thanks! Rob

Wikipedia says that show aired from 1970 to 1977, so it's way older than what I am looking for. I can also add that I think the show only ran for one or two seasons, it wasn't very successful I think.. Rob

Leon's thread "Can't remember name of this 80's TV series (UK)" resurfacing from 2013 made me think of a quest of mine. I'm looking for an American TV show about a pioneering TV station from the fifties. I remember a highly varied staff, a trumpet in the intro, lots of things going wrong, and dry humor. The problem is that I cannot think of a decent way to Google for it, because the search words are so generic. Does anyone know the name? Rob

Maybe I'm saying the obvious, but thin styrene is much easier to roll into a cilinder compared to thick styrene. I've made nice thin-walled cilinders by rolling Evergreen thinnest plastic card (0.1 mm) over a suitable cilindrical shape, gluing it while rolling. You do need to roll it to a couple of layers, otherwise the stiffness kink will give you a balloon shape. Rob