Moments of Zen

[DogfighterZen]

First prints done, 1st (Top) came out blurred and immediately knew why, forgot to change the printer's settings for this kind of paper...
2nd (Bottom) came out almost perfect, only a few black dots missing from one of the black falcons.
After about 20 minutes of drying time, got both sheets sprayed with several coats of Microscale liquid decal film and waited for another 20/30 minutes, but as i was getting too anxious to know if the print would hold up, i applied one small decal from the blurred sheet on my F-16PM ADCUP, which has been promoted to test subject... 





Although i printed these on white decal paper, it was on purpose because i bought the cheapest sheet i could find just for the tests. After about 10 or 15 seconds in water, it came off the backing paper really easy and stuck to the model very well. Still, easy to move around into the right position when i dabbed a bit of Micro Set, to which it reacted fine, no curling or blurring the print. The pic doesn't show it very well but what surprised me was that the decal was thin and didn't crack or brake. I then removed it from the model after i knew the test was successful.

All i can say is, i'm glad i finally did this, there are many more decals on the way!

[zenrat]

Looks good.
I wouldn't rush things though.  Maybe i'm too carefull but I give my ink 24 hours to dry before I seal my decals and then give the sealer 24 hours before I apply them.

What make paper are you using?

[DogfighterZen]

Looks good.
I wouldn't rush things though.  Maybe i'm too carefull but I give my ink 24 hours to dry before I seal my decals and then give the sealer 24 hours before I apply them.

What make paper are you using?

Thanks!  Well, i don't think it is from a known brand, it was the cheapest i could find on the bay. I bought it from Craftsnaccessories, from the UK but searching the bay again revealed they aren't sold anymore... But i also bought a couple of Expert's Choice clear and white sheets, to be used after the tests are complete.
I know, i should be more patient, i was just so curious that i couldn't wait... But no problem, it was hard to get the decal off the model, it settled down really well, even before the Micro Set was applied. The print had no problems, didn't smudge the ink. 
I've read some tutorial on which the modeler said that you don't need to wait too long, just enough for the ink to dry, and as my house is pretty warm most of the time (around 25/27º Celsius), they were dry in a matter of a few minutes, i just waited the half hour to make sure. It was a good thing that the 1st print came out blurred, it was handy to check if the ink was really dry without fear of messing up the good ones. I do have a tendency to use the airbrush to dry the paint when painting models, and i did the same after each coat of decal film was applied, guess it helps a bit, right?
Now, i think this sloppy test was very helpful, if the Expert's Choice sheets are better than this "generic" brand, everything should go smoothly, but i will take your advice on waiting longer between every step, cause i really want to get this right.
These lo-viz markings have opened up an even wider choice of subject for PoAF Whifs... 
I'm enjoying a day off work today for working the whole weekend, so i'm now compiling a few more images that have to be printed on white paper, and i'll show those later on.

[zenrat]

If it works for you then go with it.
There is no "right way", just different paths to the same result.
You will prossibly find that when trimming right up to the ink on white paper that the water gets under the sealer and washes some of the ink off.
Happens to me anyway.  I touch up with paint and a very small brush.

Having tried Testors and Bare Metal Foil brands I now use Papillo decal paper from the US.

Printing your own decals opens up a vast new world of whiffs.  I only wish I had an ALPS printer so I could print white.

[DogfighterZen]

If it works for you then go with it.
There is no "right way", just different paths to the same result.
You will prossibly find that when trimming right up to the ink on white paper that the water gets under the sealer and washes some of the ink off.
Happens to me anyway.  I touch up with paint and a very small brush.

Having tried Testors and Bare Metal Foil brands I now use Papillo decal paper from the US.

Printing your own decals opens up a vast new world of whiffs.  I only wish I had an ALPS printer so I could print white.

Yup, i totally agree with you, all roads lead to Rome... and thanks for the warning on the white sheets, although it didn't happen to the one i used, it's always good to know. Those Papilio sheets look good, maybe i'll buy some next time. I read quite a few good reviews on the Expert's choice sheets so i went with those, if the name means anything, should be good...
One thing i don't get, why aren't ALPS printers a more popular product? Is ALPS the only maker of this kind of printer? I checked their web-site and could only find refurbished printers on sale. The cheapest was 450$ +shipping, probably that's why they're not so popular...
Anyway, while going through images i'd saved in my hard drive, i came to the conclusion that i'll be printing almost everything in clear sheets, there's not much white in the decals i wanna print right now.
This means i have to get back to the bench, there're 4 models in final painting stages, just minor masking and detail painting in order to move on to decals...
I am curious to see how the Hornet will come out, the grey is very dark so i'm having a hard time to choose if i should leave it like it is and just paint the rest of the details or if i should give it another color...
Masking's being done on the P-47 to paint the anti-glare panel, and also on the F-15CSE to paint the nozzles...

[NARSES2]

Are Alps printers still being made ? Something in the back of my head says "no", but then it's been wrong many times before 

[PR19_Kit]

Are Alps printers still being made ? Something in the back of my head says "no", but then it's been wrong many times before 

I don't think so. I looked into it a few years back and there was another company making a look-alike, but they sank without trace. I believe someone is still making the inks/tapes thingies, but that's about all.

It's about time someone came up some new technology on that front, there's more applications than we home decal printers that could use it I'm sure.

[DogfighterZen]

Well, i did find info on their site regarding acessories and repairs, there's a company that will continue to repair and refurbish the printers at least till 2030. But still, the ones i saw on sale were so expensive... Also read somewhere that you can only run those with windows xp... Couldn't agree more with Kit's words, a modern up-to-date Micro Dry printer would be very welcome by a lot of people, not just modelers. Crazy as it is, i have been considering buying an ALPS MD-1300... There are many Portuguese aircraft of which the markings were never issued in decal form, so i could even try to make a few short run series of sheets by Dogfighter Decals...

[Gondor]

Well, i did find info on their site regarding acessories and repairs, there's a company that will continue to repair and refurbish the printers at least till 2030. But still, the ones i saw on sale were so expensive... Also read somewhere that you can only run those with windows xp... Couldn't agree more with Kit's words, a modern up-to-date Micro Dry printer would be very welcome by a lot of people, not just modelers. Crazy as it is, i have been considering buying an ALPS MD-1300... There are many Portuguese aircraft of which the markings were never issued in decal form, so i could even try to make a few short run series of sheets by Dogfighter Decals...

If your going to do a short run production of decal sheets its better to get them printed professionally rather than to do them at home.

Gondor

[DogfighterZen]

If your going to do a short run production of decal sheets its better to get them printed professionally rather than to do them at home.

Gondor

Guess i would only do it at home if they came out good, wouldn't wanna be selling crap to anyone. The ALPS printers are specific for this type of printing so i think the quality should be good enough to ask a symbolic amount of money for any sheet. The company www.alps-printer.com also offers decal printing services, that's another option, just a matter of knowing how it works. Anyway, this is all "whif" cause i'm not sure if i'll be able to make the investment anytime soon, or if i really want to do it at all. Just an idea...

[DogfighterZen]

Ok, had some time to spray some paint and this time it was the Jug's turn, a decal sheet for PoAF's P-47s which had been ordered some time ago arrived at my parent's house last week and i only managed to go pick them up today so it's about time i get to finish my half-whif... Portugal had the planes, but i'm gonna give this one a bit of a twist to the scheme and markings to see if anyone notices it back on the Portuguese forum...
Most of you who use Tamiya acrylics probably already knew this but, today i found that the X-11 Silver can be a bit polished with a dry kitchen paper tissue. I was trying to wipe of some glue residue from the masking and i noticed that after the glue was gone, that area wasn't as grainy as the rest, so did the same to rest of the model and, IMHO, the result is much better. After that, antennas went on and then i brush painted the canopy's framing. All that's left is some minor paint on a few details and on to varnish and decals.
The F-18D's nozzles also got some attention as to get the painting finished in that area, another one that just needs detail painting, and on to varnish and decals it goes...

[DogfighterZen]

Today i gave my attention to the Revell Me-262 that i was supposed to finish for my best mate's kid. A few days ago i went to his house and the kid asked for the model but i saw his disappointment when i told him it was still to be finished...
It is also a good one to get me testing out stuff i haven't tried before, being one of the two i dug out of the SB pile, the other was one of the very first models i built since i got back into modeling, the Italeri 1/72 Spitfire Mk.IX.
Now, the 262 is not a whif but also, it's not intended on being 100% real, i masked it almost like i saw on pics and profiles found on the web but the colors aren't correct... not that the kid's gonna know, but i wonder if the finished model will get him a bit more interested in this hobby.





Not a whif but, i guess if i put No.1426 markings on it, i can say it was flying with the Rafwaffe out of Farnborough...



Don't know how most folks prefer to paint this scheme but i think that it will be easier for me this way, so let's see how the under side and mottled areas come out...

The Spit's camo, also not intended to be a real scheme, was free hand airbrushed...



i can say that this was another successful experiment, the camo lines on the 262 are clean and no overspray on unwanted areas, the Spit gave me the idea that a free hand camo is not as hard as i imagined but, obviously, i still have a lot to practice and, if this was model to be finished, i'd probably mask off some areas in order to make it a proper scheme. All in all, i'm happy with today's test results, next test will be masking with blue-tac, in my case, UHU's Patafix, and with Tamiya tape, on curved/uneven edged camo schemes like the Flying Tigers's P-40...

[NARSES2]

Both look fine to me, 262 is especially neat in that scheme

[DogfighterZen]

Both look fine to me, 262 is especially neat in that scheme

[DogfighterZen]

Well, not much whiffing on my bench lately, but i've been doing some stuff that has come out ok, so far...
Revell's P-47 got it's prop painted(sitting on it's wing waiting for glue to dry cause i dropped it while unmasking and snapped off one of the prop blades) and is ready for a gloss coat and decals, now it's a matter of choosing to go RW or Whif...
RW Flying Tigers P-40B masked and painted the camo, next is the light grey underside.



The masking for the camo on the P-40 was my first attempt at a masked and airbrushed, hard-edged camo scheme, i'm quite satisfied with the results so far, makes me wanna try a SEA scheme and i know just what's screaming for one from the bottom of the stalled builds pile, and i can assure you it will be a whif...