Ridge Runner Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 (edited) Hi all! I am new here, although many may know me through other sites. As a newbie I thought I'd start by asking if anyone out ther has a solution for USAF lettering And numeral decals when the need is for NMF edging, normally applied on International Orange Red areas. I cant find any decal solutions and to date my only solution has been to accept the generous offer of a friend who printed paint masks for me. I can't keep asking him as I am sure it is a tiresome job. Any ideas? I intend to try using the Amarilo font on my PC, adding a grey edge (cant do NMF) and printing on clear decal shhet. thanks, Martin Edited December 31, 2018 by Ridge Runner Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 3 hours ago, Ridge Runner said: Hi all! I am new here, although many may know me through other sites. As a newbie I thought I'd start by asking if anyone out ther has a solution for USAF lettering And numeral decals when the need is for NMF edging, normally applied on International Orange Red areas. I cant find any decal solutions and to date my only solution has been to accept the generous offer of a friend who printed paint masks for me. I can't keep asking him as I am sure it is a tiresome job. Any ideas? I intend to try using the Amarilo font on my PC, adding a grey edge (cant do NMF) and printing on clear decal shhet. If you have your USAF decals printed on an Alps, you could add a 'Metallic silver' or 'Silver foil' edging. Maybe that will be similar to your bare metal finish? However it's probably more costly than having masks cut. You could also have the masks cut 'commercially' by for example Gator Masks. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 Hi Rob, I use Photoshop with downloaded Amarillo font to print my decals. What is Alps? Also, if I then print on clear decal film how do I get the edging to show? In my previous attempts it is very weak. Martin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 51 minutes ago, Ridge Runner said: Hi Rob, I use Photoshop with downloaded Amarillo font to print my decals. What is Alps? Also, if I then print on clear decal film how do I get the edging to show? In my previous attempts it is very weak. Martin Alps = Alps printer, the most-used printer for home-made decals, since it can also print white. See here: https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/models/decals.htm You'd need to prepare artwork as vector graphis, like Coreldraw, Illustrator, Inkscape (last is free). It would be very easy though, like a 2 minute job, if you have the Amarillo font. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 24 minutes ago, Rob de Bie said: Alps = Alps printer, the most-used printer for home-made decals, since it can also print white. See here: I forgot to mention it can also print metallic inks: Metallic Gold, Metallic Silver, Metallic Magenta, Metallic Cyan, Gold Foil and Silver Foil. Possibly Metallic Silver or Silver Foil could match the NMF 'color'. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 Thanks Rob, although it looks like you'd need a degree in computer skills and luck in finding an Alps printer! ;) Martin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 26 minutes ago, Ridge Runner said: Thanks Rob, although it looks like you'd need a degree in computer skills and luck in finding an Alps printer! 😉 Martin Both correct! But I could provide the artwork, it's just a few minutes work. And you can outsource the printing, the page contains a list. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Boyer Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 He also forgot to mention that the Alps printer hasn't been made in what, 15 years? As handy as it was, I don't think there has been any home printer since the Alps that could do what it did. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skyhawk174 Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 (edited) 24 minutes ago, Paul Boyer said: He also forgot to mention that the Alps printer hasn't been made in what, 15 years? As handy as it was, I don't think there has been any home printer since the Alps that could do what it did. Paul I had read recently that someone in Asia bought the rights and you can get an "ALPS" printer again but the price is still up there. I think it would still be cheaper and less hassle to get someone to custom print for you. Edited January 2, 2019 by skyhawk174 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 30 minutes ago, Paul Boyer said: He also forgot to mention that the Alps printer hasn't been made in what, 15 years? As handy as it was, I don't think there has been any home printer since the Alps that could do what it did. I got mine 10 years ago, one of the last MD-5500s made. The printhead developed printing gaps on my 10th sheet, so it was a horrible investment. Other are luckier, and offer custom printing jobs. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob de Bie Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 4 minutes ago, skyhawk174 said: Paul I had read recently that someone in Asia bought the rights and you can get an "ALPS" printer again but the price is still up there. I think it would still be cheaper and less hassle to get someone to custom print for you. There as a rumor like that, a couple of years ago, but it did materialize. You can still buy refurbished Alps machines from Elephant Rocket in Japan. Slowly, the unique white printing option of the Alps is developed for other (modern) printers. Indycals has one of them, and the results look even better than those of an Alps. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skyhawk174 Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 22 minutes ago, Rob de Bie said: There as a rumor like that, a couple of years ago, but it did materialize. You can still buy refurbished Alps machines from Elephant Rocket in Japan. Slowly, the unique white printing option of the Alps is developed for other (modern) printers. Indycals has one of them, and the results look even better than those of an Alps. Rob Hey Rob, good to know. The thing is with the rate my modelling is now I surely don't want to get involved in printing my own decals. Most of what I want to build has been released by the decal guys. thank goodness. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Thanks everyone, particularly Rob. I cant see myself looking for an Alps - if one is even available - and so I will stick to what I know and for what I need I will still gratefully accept the mask cutting offer from my friend. All I need are the edged US letters and numbers for then they are over International Orange/Red. For the rest I can cope with clear decals over white painted backgrounds, I think. All my best, Martin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Boyer Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 You can also do it by placing a wet letter/number decal onto silver/aluminum trim film decal. When you apply the decal, be sure that you don't get the paper of the trim film we. Don't use setting solution, and wick away any excess moisture. When the letter/number is dry, CAREFULLY use a sharp blade and straight edge to score through the silver ink (but not down through the paper) around the letter/number with the proper border. Now cut wide around the scored silver bordered letter/number and remove it from the sheet. Place a few drops of water on your work surface and float the letter/number on the drops. Allow the water to soak the paper from the back side until the silver loosens. You don't want to wet the top of the decal as that may loosen the black letter/number. Remove the excess material from around the silver-bordered letter/number and carefully place it on the model. This is a painstaking process, I know, but it works! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRealMrEd Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Hey Martin, Another way is to cut out the black decals, and using ruler and sharp hobby blade, leave an even clearance of decal backing paper/film around all the letters. Place the decals on some two-sided sticky tape, (Scotch make one, there are many others), then lay they sticky-taped oversize onto Tamiya or your other favorite light-tack tape, and cut out the letters along the oversized edge, and there you have the masks for the aluminum outlines. Place these tapes masks on the model after applying the bare-metal finish, but before shooting the orange/red/yellow/other layer of color. When done, remove the tape masks and apply the black decals as usual -- the sticky tape on their back won't matter as it's only on the decal backing. You can also do the same with the stars-and-bars or other insignia. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 There are some great ideas out there :). Thanks. I'm not sure I have a steady enough hand for that careful cutting! ;) Martin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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