Custom Decals

[Onnie]

Hey Everyone, 

                           I'm looking for a source for custom decals. I'm working on one of the great Mobius F-100 models and want to decal it as a nursery I worked on as a young guy. Any help would be appreciated. 

                                                                                 Thanks, Don

[maxwell48098]

Here's one source of high quality custom decals.

https://stsdecals.com/

[Ferbz]

Don, you may have to make them yourself. If you have decent Photoshop and/or Illustrator skills, maybe you can make the decals on the computer and print them out on inkjet waterslide decal material. I've done this very thing not too long ago on a build. I found clear decal print sheets at Hobby Lobby (cant recall the brand at the moment), made my design in Photoshop, printed it out, then applied the decal to my model. Obviously, there are a couple important points to keep in mind if you go this route: You'll want to make sure your image file(s) are the right scale for your model and at the correct resolution (highest is best, like 300dpi), follow the instructions for the printable decal sheet that you use. The sheets I bought called for lightly spraying the printed decal(s) with a clear fixative or clear matte spray (maybe all brands call for this?) If this is not done, the image on the decal will dissolve when placed in water. Luckily, I printed a couple copies of my image to test this first! Lastly, and this is not crucial, but I would recommend protecting the decals with a clear coat over them once you applied them to your model and have dried completely.

[Onnie]

Thanks to both of you for the responses. I will definitely look into the custom maker Maxwell. Making my own is probably more than I want to bother with Ferby,  though I do know some people with those skills that I might talk to.

[bobss396]

I'm at the point where I need to make my own decals for the stock cars. I have an HP8610 Officejet Pro printer, but would buy another if it would help make a better decal.

Can decals be made in Paint? I may have to wait until I get a new computer in order to download a decent graphics program, this one barely chugs along.

[howsthat1959]

On 2/13/2024 at 1:48 PM, Ferbz said:

Don, you may have to make them yourself. If you have decent Photoshop and/or Illustrator skills, maybe you can make the decals on the computer and print them out on inkjet waterslide decal material. I've done this very thing not too long ago on a build. I found clear decal print sheets at Hobby Lobby (cant recall the brand at the moment), made my design in Photoshop, printed it out, then applied the decal to my model. Obviously, there are a couple important points to keep in mind if you go this route: You'll want to make sure your image file(s) are the right scale for your model and at the correct resolution (highest is best, like 300dpi), follow the instructions for the printable decal sheet that you use. The sheets I bought called for lightly spraying the printed decal(s) with a clear fixative or clear matte spray (maybe all brands call for this?) If this is not done, the image on the decal will dissolve when placed in water. Luckily, I printed a couple copies of my image to test this first! Lastly, and this is not crucial, but I would recommend protecting the decals with a clear coat over them once you applied them to your model and have dried completely.

To size the decals to scale, I add the picture to Microsoft Word document and size the image using the photo editing feature. I also fiddle with the brightness and color sometimes to make sure the image looks right.