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Wiggy needs some help...


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Greetings. Hope someone can lend a hand.

I need two very small single color (Black) decals made for my 1932 Springfield "Bulldog" project.

I've never made decals and have no idea where to begin.

I'm hoping someone will work with me and be nice enough to make these tiny decals.

This is roughly what they'll look like.

LogoTwo.png

bulldoggif2.gif

Many thanks, Wiggy

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To be honest, this sounds like a good opportunity to try it yourself.

I just started "editing" decals, and I've picked up a lot very quickly.

All you need is a decent inkjet printer, inkjet decal paper, some clear acrylic spray for sealing, and a graphics editing program (Photoshop, Corel, GIMP, etc.). A scanner is nice, but not really essential.

Since you already have your artwork, that's most of the battle right there.

Since you stated that you want a single-color decal, I take it that you want the red removed. No problem at all :wub:

Different software use slightly different procedures for this, so I'd need to know which one you'll be using.

If you have a scanner, cut a piece of colored paper to the exact size & shape of your intended marking (or at least the same height & width).

Scan this into your software.

Import your artwork into this document as well. Once again, different software, yadda, yadda...

Now for the magic - scale your artwork to the size of the paper you scanned. Simple as clicking and dragging.

When done, delete the image of the piece of paper.

When printed, your artwork should be the same size as that bit of paper. You can test on plain paper so that the good stuff isn't wasted.

If you don't have a scanner, it'll be a bit of trial & error. You'll just have to print it on plain paper and check the size, adjusting a bit each time until you have what you need.

If all looks good, then print on the decal paper. Settings at "highest quality" and "transparency"(paper selection) usually work well. Let dry overnight, then seal with the spray. When that's dry, you're good to go. Just don't nick the color when you cut it out - some inks will bleed when wet.

If you need anything else, just post back here.

Floyd.

Edit:

Is this what you wanted, Wiggy?

LogoTwoMod.png

Here's one without the border:

LogoTwoModB.png

(Took about 10 mins. :wub: )

Edited by FTWalker
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Wow! That's stupid-cool! :woot.gif:

Thank you so much for the tips.

I made that artwork on my paint program so I can do a better "hard copy"- Black & White.

OK, I have a HP Deskjet printer/scanner/copier.

Will that work?

Do I get decal paper like at Staples or a crafts store like A. C. Moore?

Any suggestions/brand. Why the clear gloss top coat on the decal paper?

I tried to scan something but the computer says it "can't find that device".

Yet, I can print. Sounds like a software tickle.

Thanks again Floyd. I think I can do this. :thumbsup:

More to follow, Wiggy

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It's easier to find the size you want to print using simple ratios. The aircraft in your drawing has a wingspan of 378 pixels and is actually 26 feet wide, so the drawing is 0.0688 feet per pixel. The marking in your drawing is 28 pixels wide, so in real life the marking would be 1.93 feet (23.1 inches) wide. Now it just depends on what scale your model is. Just multiple your scale with the figure of 23.1 inches and you will know how big the final marking should be - for example, multiply 1/48 with 23.1 to get .48 inches, which means for a 1/48 model you want the marking to print out on the decal paper at just under a half inch. Most decent painting or image viewing programs will let you specify how big you are printing your image. If you don't have one, try Infraview, which is a free image viewer. Just be sure to crop your image of its whitespace before you print - you want the black image to be touching all the borders of the image.

Do I get decal paper like at Staples or a crafts store like A. C. Moore?

You will most likely need to order it. Testors decal paper is available in some hobby stores.

Any suggestions/brand. Why the clear gloss top coat on the decal paper?

The ink from inkjet printers is soluble in water, and as you need to get the decals wet to make them work, that is the problem. The top layer prevents water from getting at the ink.

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If you ever want to do decals in the future, I recommend following FTWalker's advise and leaning how to do this yourself. It opens up some great opportunities if you do unusual or what-if aircraft, or if you model in scales where aftermarket decals are rare. If this marking is all you will conceivably want, I can print it out for you. I was going to make a decal sheet this week anyway, and I can just add this to the art. Just PM me with the scale and a mailing address.

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Now that's just crazy talk!

THANK YOU SO MUCH! ;) :thumbsup::cheers:

I'd like two without the border- like the second one Floyd did.

My "Bulldog" is the 1/32nd scale Williams Brothers kit.

You've got mail, Wiggy

Edited by Wiggy
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OK, I have a HP Deskjet printer/scanner/copier.

Will that work?

It's what I'm using - HP PSC1210, to be exact. Works a treat.

Your scanning problem definitely looks like a driver issue. I remember that I had to fight with mine for some time before I got it sorted out ;)

Good hardware, meh software.... <sigh>

When you do get it working, try scanning at as high of a resolution as you have room for (file sizes get big real quick at higher dpi). You might not be able to print to that level, but it'll give you a better image to edit that's easier to work with. I saw a major jump in quality between a 200dpi scan and a 2400dpi scan - much clearer on high zoom.

As for editing software-

To start out, I'd suggest using GIMP. It's a good, full-featured, free editor that's light-years ahead of MS Paint. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of, say, Photoshop, but it has the essentials - layers being one. You may eventually need something like Corel Draw or Inkscape (free) to create images from scratch (vector-based programs), but if you want to start out by modifying existing sets, GIMP will be fine. I discovered this recently when I had to thin down some warning stripes - I found that it was much easier to do it the bitmap route.

The main hurdle of printing your own decals is that you can't print white (yet). You have to use white decal sheets for that. What you can do (this just came to me) is take your original image, outline everything (there's a tool for that), make that a layer, then delete the background. This should leave you a set of outlines that, when printed on white decal paper, should give you perfectly-sized white backings.

Don't worry about the terminology - it'll come to you pretty quick when you tinker with the editor :)

Here's what I started with:

OriginalSet.jpg

Here's the finished product:

EndResult.jpg

About 2 hours' work - had to flip a flag and thin down the warning stripes (Minicraft's 1/144 E-3).

Brightened up the red a bit, so I pasted a re-flipped flag to go along with the one I fixed. I kept a copy from before the red-fix, in case it's TOO bright :thumbsup:

(Minicraft's red has alwayd looked too dark to my eyes)

See what you'll be able to do with only having the program a couple of days? :cheers:

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Thanks for the tips.

It looks like you know what you're doing- your decals look great! ;)

I get what you're saying regarding the White layer...

I'm gonna' try your suggestions however, looks like Spejic is willing to print my decals this time.

"Yes, I get by with a little help from my friends..."

Can't thank you fellas enough. :thumbsup::cheers: :)

Many blue skies, Wiggy

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I can print it out for you. I was going to make a decal sheet this week anyway, and I can just add this to the art.

Hey Man, just have to know how you're making-out? :crying2:

I feel like a kid getting a new bicycle for Christmas. Did Santa get here yet? :)

Thanks again for your help.

Send up a flare, Wiggy

Edited by Wiggy
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Wiggy:

If you have a Hobby Lobby near you they carry Testor's Decal Maker kit and decal paper. I it would help you to get the kit and use the instructions to print your decals. The simple software program that comes with it isn't worth installing on your computer. If you use the information posted previously it should get you a very nice decal.

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/decals/t...tes_decal.shtml

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Hey Man, just have to know how you're making-out? :D

I'm working on some custom decals for Quentin Roosevelt's and Indiana Jones' WWI biplanes, and they should be done today. When they are done, I will print your decal with those. I try to print as much as possible on each sheet so I don't waste paper.

All I had to do for your decal was take FTWalker's drawing and resize it to fit the DPI of my images and clean it a bit. That part's done.

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I know I'm late to this party, but one note on the Springfield logo - that's a very modern font that's used there. I'm sure the original in the 1930s didn't look like that. You probably can't tell the difference in 1/32 or 1/48, but I thought I'd pass that observation along. It gets my goat when I see decals for WWII aircraft with type done in Helvetica. Helvetica was invented in the mid-1950s.

:)

J

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I know I'm late to this party, but one note on the Springfield logo - that's a very modern font that's used there. I'm sure the original in the 1930s didn't look like that. You probably can't tell the difference in 1/32 or 1/48, but I thought I'd pass that observation along.
The font in the logo isn't modern, it's hypermodern. It's Calibri, which is a brand new font created just for Microsoft Vista for better visibility on LCD monitors. But none of the period pictures I found on the net are even close to telling me what the original font was.

But it's hard to tell when printed at the scale size.

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I know I'm late to this party, but one note on the Springfield logo - that's a very modern font that's used there. I'm sure the original in the 1930s didn't look like that. You probably can't tell the difference in 1/32 or 1/48, but I thought I'd pass that observation along. It gets my goat when I see decals for WWII aircraft with type done in Helvetica. Helvetica was invented in the mid-1950s.

:thumbsup:

J

You make a good point.

I thought the same thing but the scale/size is SO small, it should look presentable. My artwork is a little "off" as well- the text isn't quite centered on the aircraft. Sometimes however, "perfect" isn't believable in our imperfect world.

Thanks for your post.

More to follow, Wiggy

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I will print your decal with those. I try to print as much as possible on each sheet so I don't waste paper.

Hey Man, pardon my impatience. I get too excited.

I'm SO greatful to you for helping me out.

Hope I can return the favor.

Thanks again, Wiggy

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Wiggy:

If you have a Hobby Lobby near you they carry Testor's Decal Maker kit and decal paper. I it would help you to get the kit and use the instructions to print your decals.

No Hobby Lobby nearby. I've heard of that store.

Thank you for the link- I check into the kit.

Thanks for your post, Wiggy

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Hey fellas, just wanted to say "thank you" to all who posted. :worship:

I learned a lot, got some great tips, a decal kit link, and just what I needed- HELP.

Keep an eye on the "In-Progress" forum- you'll get to see what this was all about.

Happy modeling and thanks again. :worship:

All the best, Wiggy

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