The rebel symbols on the jackets of Fenn and Gideon (and later on Biv, and the mandalorian skull symbol on Boba, etc..) are intimidating me.




I've been thinking of printing my own like in this video. There are plenty of rebel/imperial/mandalorian vector images floating around the net so designing them shouldn't be an issue. Print a sheetfull of those in different sizes and I should be golden. I've even planned out how to print Biv Bodhrik's white symbol (one cannot print white with a home printer): paint the shoulder pad white, print out the outlines, and paint around it. Should be easier than freehand...

So I've pretty much planned it all out, but has anyone done this already?

Not with IA minis but i have used both inkjet and laser waterslide paper. I recommend the Inkjet type as the laser version looks rather pixelated whereas the Inkjet prints give a more smooth impression.

I was wondering how I would get Fett's bantha skull on his shoulder...

Excellent idea!

Not with IA minis but i have used both inkjet and laser waterslide paper. I recommend the Inkjet type as the laser version looks rather pixelated whereas the Inkjet prints give a more smooth impression.

But a laser printed sheet is ready to use right after printing, while an inkjet print needs to be spray protected to prevent the ink from running with the water (I read)...

In any case I only have a laser printer. I'm going to give it a try, but not for a some time yet, maybe a month or 2. Still a lot of bad guys to paint before I get to the Rebel heroes...

I was wondering how I would get Fett's bantha skull on his shoulder...

Not to be that guy, but it's actually a Mythosaur Skull. Much more intimidating than a bantha.

I was wondering how I would get Fett's bantha skull on his shoulder...

Not to be that guy, but it's actually a Mythosaur Skull. Much more intimidating than a bantha.

I was wondering how I would get Fett's bantha skull on his shoulder...

Not to be that guy, but it's actually a Mythosaur Skull. Much more intimidating than a bantha.

That's ok! I don't hate "that guy". Especially if he has an interesting bit of info, like you do...

I recently printed my own decals for a model, and I must say they have good potential. A couple observations: as another poster stated, the laser decals do look slightly pixelated, but this may be related to printer settings, will have to tinker a little. While you cannot print white decals, you CAN print off white, so perhaps a slightly grayish or cream color would work, and then brush some fine highlights by hand. The bigger problem, IMO, will be getting fine enough detail. The rebel logo on Fenn's shoulder should only be about 1-2 mm in diameter, so getting the notches on the 'head' of the Phoenix will be either out of scale or rough. I hope to be proven wrong...

I recently printed my own decals for a model, and I must say they have good potential. A couple observations: as another poster stated, the laser decals do look slightly pixelated, but this may be related to printer settings, will have to tinker a little. While you cannot print white decals, you CAN print off white, so perhaps a slightly grayish or cream color would work, and then brush some fine highlights by hand. The bigger problem, IMO, will be getting fine enough detail. The rebel logo on Fenn's shoulder should only be about 1-2 mm in diameter, so getting the notches on the 'head' of the Phoenix will be either out of scale or rough. I hope to be proven wrong...

Please, do take pictures of the final results. I'm skeptical about the off-white thought. Have you already applied the decals? I'm anticipating high transparency after they've been removed from their backing paper. I'm also not too worried about the pixel-look. I think I can paint over it and make it nice, I just kinda need the template there first. I think. I've bought the paper but I haven't tried anything yet. I'm still a few figures behind Sorastro...

I can post some pics tonight if I remember. They were the orange markings for a rebel snowspeeder, I've been working on a major overhaul of the ERTL kit from the 80's, almost 99% scratchbuilt in the end. I have applied the decals, but have several different 'tests' and botches still on the paper I can try and photo for you as well. The pixelation is only apparent from about an inch away (looking REALLLLY closely), and is more about there being slight space in between the dots of toner, so transparency of light colors might be a problem. You could also do a orange decal for Biv's shoulder pad with a 'hole' where the rebel symbol is, and apply it over a white shoulder pad. Then use paint on the decal for some highlights/paint chips etc. You wouldn't even need to do the WHOLE shoulder pad, because you could artfully use paint to blend the orange of the decal into the paint on the rest of the pad.

So here is where I'm at. The following closeups were taken with a 10x macro lens. The real-life size of the 'lines of script' decal is about 5 mm.

Printed decal still on the sheet:

http://s171.photobucket.com/user/tomkat364/media/Printed%20Decal.jpg.html

The decal applied to the model part:

http://s171.photobucket.com/user/tomkat364/media/Applied%20Decal.jpg.html

And the gratuitous beauty shot of the snowspeeder model itself, just starting to get some weathering:

http://s171.photobucket.com/user/tomkat364/media/Snowspeeder%20Dryfit.jpg.html

Compared to stock kit from another modeler:

http://s171.photobucket.com/user/tomkat364/media/P1040639.jpg.html

Hope that helps.

Um... apparently I can't post pictures. Not sure what that is all about...

Actually, you can print pure white decals ... soft of ...

You buy solid white decal paper, not clear. It is sold at Hobby Lobby and other hobby stores in the same spot you buy regular decal paper (or order off the internet). Print your outline on the white paper, slightly bigger than you want the decal, then cut out the decal and trim off the outline. Then presto! ... pure white decal.