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Fruit Transfers

54Strat

Entry posted by 54Strat

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gallery_7221_867_15139.jpg

 

After a week of waiting for a reply from Fox, Cambridge Custom and Modelmasters and still not a peep (a bit disappointed in the lack of response tbo) I've decided that I'll have a go at making my own decals. So I ordered some decal paper, white and clear and I've read up a fair bit on how to best go about this.

 

I'll be using my BR Fruit D as a test case, but there's a big catch. The only way to print white on a deskjet is to print the decals on white paper using a colour to contain the white (which is in fact clear). Deskjets don't print white, you'll need an ALPS printer for that. So, as all of my decals are white I've printed an array of a BR Blue(ish) colour and varied the hue and saturation quite a few times in order to match the actual tone of the van (right pic). The aim is to get a colour as close as possible, so it won't be noticeable and comparing a test print done on normal paper I've produced one that is a very close match. Another way would be to scan the van in, and pick the colour from that.

 

One thing that was poor was the quality of the text at 2mm scale (right pic) even at 600dpi. This was corrected by outlining the text until the characters nearly met (left pic, enlarged for clarity). This produced something almost legible on normal paper, so I'm hoping for better results on the proper decal paper.

 

Before I get on with this, I decided I didn't like the colour Blue I'd used, so I've repainted it with a lighter shade. Now I'll have to match the colour again. Doh!.

 

ps. Fox just mailed and can't help, though at least I got a reply :)

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James Hilton

Have you tried Precision Labels? I've had some custom decals done by them twice - great service :) I'll be using him for my MSC Railway Sentinel shunter when that needs them too :)

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lyneux

Will be watching this carefully. I'm also in the process of creating decals for a few wagon projects (PHA, PXA and POA). I've got as far as producing test prints but haven't committed to printing on the transfer paper yet. I'm wondering how much thicker it is than the stuff Precision labels use?

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steam-driven boy
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Hi,

Highly impressed with the Fruit D, although I'd been happy with castings when involved in an uncompleted foray into O over 2 decades back I hadn't looked at whitemetal N through simple prejudice but I'm going to be correcting that - thanks.

I too am putting together some graphics, for now some N road vehicles in my case. Colour matching is only required for a Tomytec foam tender - which actually sports two shades of red! - and again, with a conventional inkjet printer it'll be coulour on white to overwrite some of the Japanese text.

I'll look forward to seeing your results and will post my own when I get there.

 

Regards, Gerry.

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54Strat
Have you tried Precision Labels? I've had some custom decals done by them twice - great service :) I'll be using him for my MSC Railway Sentinel shunter when that needs them too :)

 

Thanks, also had a mention of redfirecracker.co.uk from ewsjo, who does a similar services, I'll keep in in mind if I don't get the results from my dabbling.

 

Will be watching this carefully. I'm also in the process of creating decals for a few wagon projects (PHA, PXA and POA). I've got as far as producing test prints but haven't committed to printing on the transfer paper yet. I'm wondering how much thicker it is than the stuff Precision labels use?

 

The decal paper softens quite nicely with MicoSol, so I don't think the thickness is too much of an issue.

 

Hi,

Highly impressed with the Fruit D, although I'd been happy with castings when involved in an uncompleted foray into O over 2 decades back I hadn't looked at whitemetal N through simple prejudice but I'm going to be correcting that - thanks.

I too am putting together some graphics, for now some N road vehicles in my case. Colour matching is only required for a Tomytec foam tender - which actually sports two shades of red! - and again, with a conventional inkjet printer it'll be coulour on white to overwrite some of the Japanese text.

I'll look forward to seeing your results and will post my own when I get there.

 

Regards, Gerry.

 

The whitemetal is quite crude in places, it was why I left of the electrical fittings on the end as it just highlighted the oversized depth of the frames on the body, though I do think the overall appearance captures the character quite well. Printing white decals is definitely a challenge, looking forward to seeing how you get on too.

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