Replacement Decals

[BirdDog]

I have been contacted by a fellow model builder in the Tyler area who has a 'Hasagawa/Minicraft' Grumman S2F-1 Tracker in 1/72.

He tells me that the decals have broken/shattered, and would like to know his options. He seemed to think that Testors (his guess) had a software program at one time which would let a person make their own decals. Does such a program exist and who has it, and is it freeware, or must it be purchased?

I have and will be passing on to this man, the address and phone numbers I have found for both Hasagawa and Minicraft. Neither of these companies has the plane in production at this time and a look at Squadron mail-order did not locate any kits or decals that he could use.

I have heard of a decal making machine (alpa, alsa, or something like that) which does allow one to make decals, but I understand it is expensive, and I don't think this man will want to spend quite that much money.

He has suggested that he has the means to scan the current decal sheet, so I would also ask if he might be able to scan to say 'PAINT' and then fill in the cracks and then print out onto decal paper the repaired decals? If so, what would you advise as the next step. What would you recommend as a sealer, so that the ink does not run?

[pyrman]

I believe this is what you're looking for.

 

Custom Decal System

[Mark Deliduka]

I have been contacted by a fellow model builder in the Tyler area who has a 'Hasagawa/Minicraft' Grumman S2F-1 Tracker in 1/72.

He tells me that the decals have broken/shattered, and would like to know his options. He seemed to think that Testors (his guess) had a software program at one time which would let a person make their own decals. Does such a program exist and who has it, and is it freeware, or must it be purchased?

I have and will be passing on to this man, the address and phone numbers I have found for both Hasagawa and Minicraft. Neither of these companies has the plane in production at this time and a look at Squadron mail-order did not locate any kits or decals that he could use.

I have heard of a decal making machine (alpa, alsa, or something like that) which does allow one to make decals, but I understand it is expensive, and I don't think this man will want to spend quite that much money.

He has suggested that he has the means to scan the current decal sheet, so I would also ask if he might be able to scan to say 'PAINT' and then fill in the cracks and then print out onto decal paper the repaired decals? If so, what would you advise as the next step. What would you recommend as a sealer, so that the ink does not run?

 

Pyreman got the right one. That is Testor's kit.

 

A few points on it though. Your friend doesn't need an ALPS printer unless he needs to print white. Otherwise, if he buys white decal paper, he'll have the white automatically.

 

The Testor's kit comes with a spraycan of sealant inside and I have used it to seal old decals that I had from old kits. It is good stuff. As for the computer program included in the kit, it is difficult to work with in that you cannot just import any design. It is very complicated. I would recommend not even usiong the program and just doing as suggested: Scan to Paint and go from there.

 

As mentioned above, if there is any white in the decals, he will need to print them on white decal paper or the white parts will come out clear as regular inkjet printers cannot print white. In that event, he can paint the model white where the decals are supposed to go and then place the decal over the white painted portion. A bit of trouble there, but it is an alternative in the event he cannot get white decal paper.

 

I hope this helps a little. Pass on my best wishes to your friend and I hope he succeeds in getting the decals fixed.

[TimHortman]

Thanks for the link & info guys!

I never knew this existed!

Has anyone ever used it? How are the results?

[hotel26]

Thanks for the link & info guys!

I never knew this existed!

Has anyone ever used it? How are the results?

 

 

I have and the software is pretty useless.

Scan and go with MS paint for the cheap solution, my fave cheap

Also let the ink dry before spraying the sealer.

And do a test print on regular paper to make sure the size is correct.

 

You must also trim pretty close to your decal.

[VonL]

I'm pretty sure there are 1/72 Micro/Superscale decal sheets out there with 'Stoofs' on them. You can probably buy or trade for them, if time spent looking is not a factor, or the kit's markings are a must-have.