Gorrit,
We've had a few discussions about homemade decals of various sorts. See the messages at:
Solid Model Memories.net > Tips and Techniques > Markings and decals.
We don't have a summary list (yet!), but they break down into the following sorts:
- print on white paper ("paper decals"), which are pasted on. The 1940s kits all used these. Garet has used this technique for profile models, and many members have used it in the past for 3D models
- print on special water-slide decal film (white or clear backgrounds available). You end up with a decal similar to the kind you get in a kit, except that you have to trim the edges yourself. Kenny Horne and Garet (and probably others on this site as well) have both used this method.
- paint onto gummed paper (Gera's method)
- print onto tissue (Ken Pugh's method; kenny Horne has tried this and also tracing paper), technique used in balsa-and-tissue planes
- print onto self-adhesive labels (Ray has been experimenting with this, and I have tried a few -- one is stuck to my desk at work as a durability test)
White lettering is almost always a problem. Once upon a time, there were ALPS printers that could print white decals, but they haven't been made in a while. There are various ways around this, but all have tradeoffs.
Garet
