1/60 Decal sheets?

[dreadpyrat]

If this is a n00b question, forvive me. I ran a search on the forum and couldn't find an answer so here goes:

does anyone make 1/60 scale decal or sticker sheets for Valkyries? I'm considering getting an unpainted VF-1S and doing it up but I'd like to find some markings for it first. Any advice is appreciated!

Rob

[Jasonc]

To answer your question, there isn't anyone really doing decal or sticker sheets...However, when I did mine, I had to make my own custom decals, and use some 1/72 scale decals. I'm in need of finding high quality decal sheets so that I can start making some for people. If anyone has links, or knows where Anasazi used to get his decal sheets from, I can make some decals possibly, or at least we can make all our own.

[dreadpyrat]

To answer your question, there isn't anyone really doing decal or sticker sheets...However, when I did mine, I had to make my own custom decals, and use some 1/72 scale decals. I'm in need of finding high quality decal sheets so that I can start making some for people. If anyone has links, or knows where Anasazi used to get his decal sheets from, I can make some decals possibly, or at least we can make all our own.

Thanks Jason! That'd be awesome if there was a way to make our own. What I really want to do is a Minmay Guard, like this one (apologies if this belongs to someone on the forum. Hope its OK to post it.)

I'ev got hi-rez scans of the decal sheets that came with the Hasegawa 1/72 scale MmG that I could reqwork (I'm a graphic artist) to the correct scale. I just don't know the first thing about printing them.

[Maiden Japan]

There's a company http://samueldecal.com/ makes custom decals for Macross

but they only offer for 1/72 and 1/48 sizes.

[anime52k8]

Thanks Jason! That'd be awesome if there was a way to make our own. What I really want to do is a Minmay Guard, like this one (apologies if this belongs to someone on the forum. Hope its OK to post it.)

I'ev got hi-rez scans of the decal sheets that came with the Hasegawa 1/72 scale MmG that I could reqwork (I'm a graphic artist) to the correct scale. I just don't know the first thing about printing them.

there are a several companies (Testors, MicroMark, I've seen a brand online called Papilio etc.)that make printable water-slide decal paper. These are sheets of decal carrier film on paper backing that you can print onto using regular inkjet or Laser printers.

there are quite a few things you need to be aware of though before using these thing though:

first off, decal paper comes in ink jet and Laser types. Don't mix them up (i.e. try to run ink jet paper through a laser machine.)

Laser printers work much better when it comes to making decals because the ink bonds to the carrier film. Ink jets deposit a layer of ink on top of the film (the film doesn't absorb liquid) which you have to seal with some sort of clear coat, otherwise they will smudge/run. Details tend to be blurry on Ink jet printed decals, the protective clear coat makes them thick and stiff, and they're generally more delicate so if you have access to a color laser printer, use that.

regardless of whether you use ink jet or laser, you should be aware that because printers don't have white ink, any white on the image you print will be the color of the carrier film when you print it. So if you have clear carrier film, everything that's white in your becomes the color you painted your model. you can buy decal paper with white carrier film, but you have to cut out your decals VERY carefully to avoid having unwanted white around their edges.

Now, for your case this shouldn't be a problem as the base color of the MMG is white already, so clear decal sheets should work fine.

also, going back to cutting out your decals for a second. Because Decal Paper consists of a single continuous sheet of film, it's very important to cut as close to the edge of the decal as possible to avoid lots of excess carrier film that will be visible on the model.

[anime52k8]

If anyone has links, or knows where Anasazi used to get his decal sheets from, I can make some decals possibly, or at least we can make all our own.

The Reason Anasazi's decals were so good wasn't because of the paper he used, but because of the printer he had. Anasazi had an ALPS Printer.

AlPS printers use special ribbon cartridges that are coated with colored resin. when the printer prints, the ribbon is pressed color side down against the paper and a heating element presses against the back of the ribbon, melting a dot of color onto the paper.

This gives you several benefits over normal printers:

First, ALPS printers could make crazy high resolution prints (up to 2400 DPI). Second, because of the way it printed, it could print spot colors in addition to standard process colors (this is why it's perfect for decals). Process colors are regular CMYK like on any color printer; Spot colors are extra layers of single color in adition to the CMYK, Colors like metallic's and white.

so you are able to print white onto clear decal film, and you end up with decals that are more opaque, higher resolution, and resistant to smudging or bleeding.

The bad thing (and part of the reason Anasazi doesn't make new decals) is that ALPS stopped making these printers years ago, and they are no longer supported in the US. As of 2008 they were still making inks for them but only for the Asian market.

so to get one of these printers you have to find a used on that works (which will be VERY expensive when you do find one), you have to find ink for it (again, very expensive since it will probably have to come from Japan), and if it breaks your pretty much screwed.

[mickyg]

Close, but not quite about the printers not being made anymore.

Actually, they are still being made (well, as of 6 months ago when I looked into doing this myself) but only in Japan. So any new machines have to be shipped out of Japan, so shipping prices aren't cheap and the retail cost of the unit also goes up. So yeah, the cost of ownership for Anasazi went up so high that it just became more than what made sense for him to continue. Oh, and since all servicing and parts tend to be either heavily specialised or needing to be done in Japan, that price goes through the roof too.

So anyone wanting to do this, needs to weigh up all the costs and benefits and decide if it's worth it in the end. I'm hoping someone makes that jump!

In the meantime, the fact that the VF-1S kits are coming with standard decals, that means Yamato's found someone to do at least that much. I'm still holding out hope that they'll release some special sets for popular customs (of which the Minmay guards, surely are). Who knows? Maybe we'll get something in the not too distant future.

Edited June 20, 2010 by mickyg

[Robelwell202]

I've been toiling over a similar issue for a while.

I've gotten both Special Edition Weathering versions of the Destroid Tomahawk (Tan and OD-Green), and I've been wanting to get extra sheets of the water-slide decals for those, to use on my standard varsions. The sicker sheets just don't cut it.

So far, it seems my only option os to scan the 'Weathering' sheets, then reprint them on laserjet decal paper.

That is, unless someone knows were I can find extra sheets at...