Fonts For Decals

[Kenny Horne]

Hey Gang,

I've been up all night trying to get a font that will look RAFish.  I have found a great site
http://www.simmerspaintshop.com/forums/dlcat-military-fonts-19/

but although I've been able to download the fonts, they don't seem to work.  There is even a forum topic detailing this problem but I seem to have no luck so far
http://www.simmerspaintshop.com/forums/photoshop/561-solution-font-problem.html


I've also found http://web.archive.org/web/20020210183915/members.aol.com/p5219/fonts.htm

that seems to list the same fonts with details for usage, but these downloads don't seem to work.

One day I'd like to get this all figured out but in the meantime, for a 144 scale model, some blockish lettered font would do.  Apparently, none of my hundreds of fonts are close.

Anyone... help...

Kenny

[lastvautour]

Have you checked to see where the fonts downloaded. I was having the same problem then I found that the fonts had downloaded into a new folder within the windows font folder. I relocated them and voila, it worked.

[Kenny Horne]

Ya Lou,

I've got them in the right place.  The numbers work and two or three letter also, but for the most part if I select a passage to change the font, it simply deletes most of it 

Oh well, I'll keep trying or figure something else out.

Thanks,

Kenny

[lastvautour]

I know the RCAF font does not recognise uppercase letters or punctuations. It will type all in upper caps but using lower cap on the keyboard.

[teddon61]

Lou, is it possible to explain the procedures for decals to one who has never attempted to produce a decal in a relitively short message?
Or can you recommend a book explaining the procedures. I am fascinated by the prospect of trying it, unless it requires a large expenditure for materials.
although in all honesty, after painting so many national ensignia on aircraft, I don't know if the procedure would be for me.
So if the procedure is complicated, don't bother, painting the insignia on only requires a small brush and the ability to hold one's breath.
Ted Billings

[Oceaneer99]

Kenny,

For my 1/144 Spitfire, I used one of the RAF fonts from the site you listed, and also had a lot of trouble with it.  I use a Mac with OS X, and the font would show up in FontBook, but not in the word processor, or it would show up in Word, but only the upper half of the letters.  I ended up printing out the letters VERY LARGE form a friend's Windows 2000 computer and then scanning the letters in to a graphics program.

I used Linotype Font Explorer to look at the fonts, and the letters and numbers all show up in the "Unicode Private Use Area".  I don't know very much about fonts, but Unicode is a standard way of numbering the characters so that you can include all sorts of languages and symbols, even ones like Chinese and Arabic.  Most of the fonts I checked have the numbers, symbols, and 26 letter Latin alphabet under "Basic Latin" (about 95 characters total), with perhaps one or two letter combinations, such as "fi" and "fl" in the private use area.  So I think my problem is that I don't know how to type letters from the "Private Use Area".

I did notice that the site now has the "GIMP fixed" fonts, which are contained in the .zip file as well.  I use Gimp (an open-source paint program), and it completely ignores the standard RAF fonts, but seems to work okay with the "GIMP fixed" ones.  I have no idea what is different about them, but it seems like I can use them now. 

If you still have problems, let me know what you want to spell out and which font, and I'll make a TIFF file with the letters written very large that you can rescale and use.

All of the RAF fonts show up with the name "New" on my computer, so I can only have one installed at a time!

Incidentally, I did have a similar problem when I bought the Windows TTF version of the "Sublime" font, which is very close to the Leroy font used in the old Navy ID model plans.  But since I had to pay for that font, the company had me return the TTF version and quickly sent me the Postscript version instead, which worked just fine.  So, since the RAF fonts were made by volunteers and offered free of charge, I'm willing to work a bit to use them! 

Garet

[lastvautour]

I use Windows XP home edition with Office 98 and have no problems in printing military fonts. Without being present it is hard to diagnose what the problem might be. As to a roundel, national insigna or other graphic, I usually find them on line.

[Kenny Horne]

You guys are the best!

Lou, I simply had to type them in lowercase, and voila, out they came in perfect uppercase letters. 

and Garet, I now used the GIMP fixed ones and like I said, bam, it worked.  Thanks so much guys.

Ted, are you asking how we go about printing decals?  I'll start a new thread on how I go about it. 

OK, so I'm off again,

Great work guys,

Kenny

[Oceaneer99]

We're glad it worked, Kenny.  This group has bailed me out many times.  I consider Ray to be my personal Obi-Wan Kenobi, with his voice appearing out of his emails, "Garet... use... sanding... sponges... to fine-sand... fuselages" was a great time saver.


Garet

[davetunison]

So which one of us is Yoda???

[R.F.Bennett]

Yoda, always thought was I ...