I have to make my own decals, because two of the roads that I model are Southern shortlines and cars, locomotives and decals just aren't available for them. All of my AD&N equipment except for my boxcars and my Thrall All-Doors I have made the decals for. I did make the numbers to renumber my box cars.
I bought the little Testors decal kit at the LHS. You get a demo program, a can of Testor's Decal Bonder, and a sheet of white and a sheet of clear decal paper in the box.
It had the deal in the box that if you wanted the full Sure Thing Decal Maker program, you had to order it for $9.95. I did and I think it was worth it. It arrived in about a week. It's a pretty good program. You can scan images directly into it.
You can use it to size images as you want and add text, too. I also use Paint Shop Pro to work on images and paste them back and forth between the two. I wish I had a better graphics program, but I work with what I have.
I've used the Testors and the Micromark decal paper. I've had pretty good luck with both.
As far as fonts go, I have found that most of the railroad ones you have to buy. I just experiment with fonts and sizes until I find something that is really close. If you have a specfic design, you can take the image into a paint program and work on it and then paste it as an object into the decal program. If you have a photo of what you need you can scan it in.
I have an HP PSC750 printer/scanner/copier combo. I usually scan the car to get my background color as close as possile. I set my printer to print on Best quality and glossy photo paper. I always print out a test run on regular paper until I am satisfied with my design. Since I work in N scale, I usually make two sets of decals for each project on the same sheet in case I screw up a decal. I learned that I should do this the hard way after screwing up a few and having to make new sets.
I let the decal sheet dry for a couple of hours after I make it. Then I spray the decals with Testors Decal Bonder and let that dry overnight.
Make sure that you cut the top portion of the sheet with your decals on it off from the rest of the sheet before that you spray the sheet with the Decal Bonder. If you do this you can use the rest of the sheet for your next batch. If you do not do this you will ruin the rest of the sheet. With the Decal Bonder on it, the sheet will not absorb the ink when you print on it. I learned this the hard way, too.
A light even coat of the Decal Bonder is all that is necessary. If you spray the Decal Bonder on too thick, it makes the decal too thick and stiff, then it won't let details show through.
It's easy to spray on too much with a spray bomb. I shake it really well. I spray one pass each way while keeping the can moving. That is what I have found to work best.
I dip the decal in warm water for 2-3 seconds and set it on a paper towel. I used the Badger's Decal Setting Solution on the car, Microset works well, too. After the decal has set for about 20-30 seconds I pick it up with a pair of tweezers and slide it off the backing onto the location where I want it with a soft brush. I usually use the soft brush or a quilting pin to position it exactly where I want it. Sometimes you may have to use the soft brush very gently to work out any tiny air bubbles that may be trapped underneath a large decal.
If you need to use a decal softener on this type of decals, I have found that the Walther's Solvaset is too strong for them. It makes the decal shrivel up and the colors run. I have had much better results with the Badger's Decal Softening Solution and with Microsol.
I usually let the decals dry overnight and then seal them with Dullcote.
These are some example of some decals I have made.
I made the stripes, numbers, and heralds on this AD&N switcher and the sign on the shop. These were actually the first ones I ever made.
I also made the numbers for renumbering these AD&N boxcars, made the end numbers, too. I renumbered 10 of these cars.
I made the decals for doing the "overpaint" on these AD&N woodchip hoppers. I saw an old AD&N woodhip hopper like this last year. I did five of these. This one isn't finished. I still have to blend in the edges with some weathering/drybrushing and seal it with dull coat. Sometimes you have to work on the edges a little when you are using white decal paper. You can use the base coat color of the car or the decal and drybrush the edge to blend it in.
I had a difficult time colormatching on this car. I guess it will have to get weathered in the future.
These are examples of my pulpwood racks that I made decals for.
A few more.
This is the decal kit that I bought:
http://testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=2255
The Sure Thing Custom Decal Maker program can be ordered here:
http://www.decalgear.com/DG/
All usual disclaimers apply.
I'm not a pro at this by any means and I am sure that there are others that have some more or better tips.
Questions, feedback, comments, criticisms, suggestions, and additions are welcome.
I bought the little Testors decal kit at the LHS. You get a demo program, a can of Testor's Decal Bonder, and a sheet of white and a sheet of clear decal paper in the box.
It had the deal in the box that if you wanted the full Sure Thing Decal Maker program, you had to order it for $9.95. I did and I think it was worth it. It arrived in about a week. It's a pretty good program. You can scan images directly into it.
You can use it to size images as you want and add text, too. I also use Paint Shop Pro to work on images and paste them back and forth between the two. I wish I had a better graphics program, but I work with what I have.
I've used the Testors and the Micromark decal paper. I've had pretty good luck with both.
As far as fonts go, I have found that most of the railroad ones you have to buy. I just experiment with fonts and sizes until I find something that is really close. If you have a specfic design, you can take the image into a paint program and work on it and then paste it as an object into the decal program. If you have a photo of what you need you can scan it in.
I have an HP PSC750 printer/scanner/copier combo. I usually scan the car to get my background color as close as possile. I set my printer to print on Best quality and glossy photo paper. I always print out a test run on regular paper until I am satisfied with my design. Since I work in N scale, I usually make two sets of decals for each project on the same sheet in case I screw up a decal. I learned that I should do this the hard way after screwing up a few and having to make new sets.
I let the decal sheet dry for a couple of hours after I make it. Then I spray the decals with Testors Decal Bonder and let that dry overnight.
Make sure that you cut the top portion of the sheet with your decals on it off from the rest of the sheet before that you spray the sheet with the Decal Bonder. If you do this you can use the rest of the sheet for your next batch. If you do not do this you will ruin the rest of the sheet. With the Decal Bonder on it, the sheet will not absorb the ink when you print on it. I learned this the hard way, too.
A light even coat of the Decal Bonder is all that is necessary. If you spray the Decal Bonder on too thick, it makes the decal too thick and stiff, then it won't let details show through.
It's easy to spray on too much with a spray bomb. I shake it really well. I spray one pass each way while keeping the can moving. That is what I have found to work best.
I dip the decal in warm water for 2-3 seconds and set it on a paper towel. I used the Badger's Decal Setting Solution on the car, Microset works well, too. After the decal has set for about 20-30 seconds I pick it up with a pair of tweezers and slide it off the backing onto the location where I want it with a soft brush. I usually use the soft brush or a quilting pin to position it exactly where I want it. Sometimes you may have to use the soft brush very gently to work out any tiny air bubbles that may be trapped underneath a large decal.
If you need to use a decal softener on this type of decals, I have found that the Walther's Solvaset is too strong for them. It makes the decal shrivel up and the colors run. I have had much better results with the Badger's Decal Softening Solution and with Microsol.
I usually let the decals dry overnight and then seal them with Dullcote.
These are some example of some decals I have made.
I made the stripes, numbers, and heralds on this AD&N switcher and the sign on the shop. These were actually the first ones I ever made.
I also made the numbers for renumbering these AD&N boxcars, made the end numbers, too. I renumbered 10 of these cars.
I made the decals for doing the "overpaint" on these AD&N woodchip hoppers. I saw an old AD&N woodhip hopper like this last year. I did five of these. This one isn't finished. I still have to blend in the edges with some weathering/drybrushing and seal it with dull coat. Sometimes you have to work on the edges a little when you are using white decal paper. You can use the base coat color of the car or the decal and drybrush the edge to blend it in.
I had a difficult time colormatching on this car. I guess it will have to get weathered in the future.
These are examples of my pulpwood racks that I made decals for.
A few more.
This is the decal kit that I bought:
http://testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=2255
The Sure Thing Custom Decal Maker program can be ordered here:
http://www.decalgear.com/DG/
All usual disclaimers apply.
I'm not a pro at this by any means and I am sure that there are others that have some more or better tips.
Questions, feedback, comments, criticisms, suggestions, and additions are welcome.
Thanks for the links too.
