Decal printer paper

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Zoom
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Decal printer paper

Post by Zoom »

I bought a Heller Canadair CL-215 before realising that the Spanish fleet were re-engined in the 80s / 90s so have ordered the 415 (which looks much the same). Only problem is it only comes with French decals. The Spanish decals are €12 a pop (plus postage) which seems quite steep when I only need a few mostly grey characters and roundels.

Has anyone had any success with printing your own onto inkjet paper?

FarnboroJohn
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Joined: Tue 28 Aug 2012, 7:57 pm

Re: Decal printer paper

Post by FarnboroJohn »

Zoom wrote:
Sat 31 May 2025, 6:52 pm
I bought a Heller Canadair CL-215 before realising that the Spanish fleet were re-engined in the 80s / 90s so have ordered the 415 (which looks much the same). Only problem is it only comes with French decals. The Spanish decals are €12 a pop (plus postage) which seems quite steep when I only need a few mostly grey characters and roundels.

Has anyone had any success with printing your own onto inkjet paper?
Just been doing some (not saying on what as it's a confidential project from the future owner) - worked really well except that some yellow warning shapes had no saturation and disappeared against the red underneath. Not expensive (something like 10 sheets for £20) so worth a go. Black lettering worked perfectly as did colours against a white background. I made sure to use decalfix and had no adhesion problems.

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Zoom
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Re: Decal printer paper

Post by Zoom »

I presume you have to use a laserjet not inkjet printer otherwise the ink will run? Having studied photos of the plane I'm modelling it looks like I just need the aircraft ID characters and roundels. The red fuselage lining (and grey on top of the wing) is probably best done by hand with paint. The model is covered in proud rivets which will need removing with a fibreglass pencil around the decal area before I spray paint, otherwise the decals won't adhere properly.

FarnboroJohn
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Re: Decal printer paper

Post by FarnboroJohn »

Zoom wrote:
Sun 01 Jun 2025, 6:32 pm
I presume you have to use a laserjet not inkjet printer otherwise the ink will run? Having studied photos of the plane I'm modelling it looks like I just need the aircraft ID characters and roundels. The red fuselage lining (and grey on top of the wing) is probably best done by hand with paint. The model is covered in proud rivets which will need removing with a fibreglass pencil around the decal area before I spray paint, otherwise the decals won't adhere properly.
Brother assures me it was inkjet, not laserjet. I did put a couple of light coats of varnish over the top after leaving the prints to dry for 24 hours (as recommended by various worthies on the internet) and I've had no ink running issues. Hope this helps and look forward to seeing the results!

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Zoom
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Re: Decal printer paper

Post by Zoom »

I've rubbed off all the rivets where the decals are going to go. Bought the cheaper Vallejo decal fix hope it works!

Something I did with model trains is spray some waterslide paper with paint and then cut them to shape, I will do this for the bodyside stripe using the redundant French decal sheet so it matches the wings. I'm using the Italeri decal sheet (image available online unlike the actual model!) as a template.

The kit itself goes together well, it's very handy being able to get inside the fuselage (before the wings go on top) to attach the windows after spraying which was a PITA with the Hercules (could only use the rear door aperture).

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Zoom
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Re: Decal printer paper

Post by Zoom »

The technique of spray painting some spare decal and cutting the stripes to size worked well. Unfortunately the Vellajo decal fix (although it worked well) has a left a matt residue around the decals so I'll need to spray the whole model in satin (I think, glass is not right) varnish once complete.

FarnboroJohn
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Joined: Tue 28 Aug 2012, 7:57 pm

Re: Decal printer paper

Post by FarnboroJohn »

Zoom wrote:
Tue 10 Jun 2025, 7:53 am
The technique of spray painting some spare decal and cutting the stripes to size worked well. Unfortunately the Vellajo decal fix (although it worked well) has a left a matt residue around the decals so I'll need to spray the whole model in satin (I think, glass is not right) varnish once complete.
On the whole, a success then. Good!

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