Hi there,

Having been inspired by Snafu, Duxford's new p-47, i bought myself a razorback Thunderbolt and got building. The whole thing is finished except for the names on the side of the fuselage.

Does anyone here make their own decals? How easy is it? Would you print me some please? how much? So many questions.....

have you tried Miracle Masks made by our own Mal Mayfield (Holdfast)?

I find his masks very easy to use and look better than the attempts I've made in the past at decals

I hadn't but I will look tomoro. Thanks

Looking forward to hearing from you James

You can buy Decal paper and then simply print the images you want out on it the only tricky part is sealing them on the paper after you have printed them , to do this you have to give it a few good coats of clear gloss and wait for it to dry , once done you can just cut them out in the same way you would normal and presto your done . I think still have some sheets of decal paper you can get it with clear backing or white backing i think the website is something like creative paper.com or something like that im sure yull find it if you have a search

I think that the name of the company is Crafty Computer Paper Printing your own decals is fine but there are several drawbacks; as Dave says, you have to coat the printed image with a clear coat, which you can buy from CCP. However this makes the decal very thick, no matter how little you apply (3 coats are suggested) The biggest problem though is that printers are designed to print on white paper so if you print on clear decal paper the image will always be washed out. Yo can apply it to a white background, or apply to white decal paper but that's only works if the actual image has a white background, because you will never be able to cut around a complicated image, without leaving a white boarder. Apparently you don't require the clear coat on laser printed decals? I will be experimenting with that when my man cave is finished. Another problem is the image itself, if you have a clear fully side on image that's fine but if not you will have to draw it!

I'Ve had decent results -




I like Microscale clear trimfilm, and I use Krylon clear acrylic sealer, which responds well to Microsol. Testors also makes white and clear film suitable for printing.
I have a laserjet printer, but I guess there are products specifically for inkjet printers.
color matching is a trial-and-error process.

I tried with an inkjet some time ago and it was a complete disaster. the ink was simple washed away when putting the decal in water and despite using the recommended fixing fluid.

Now I have a set for lasrrprinters but haven't used it yet.

But I have big plans to do it soon, of course

Hi James

I tried a couple of inkjet systems sold in the UK by Crafty Computer Paper and their waterslide paper worked well once I applied a varnish coat correctly. See the Review HERE.

All the best

Rowan