The In My Stash GB : Redux

raptordriver wrote:

Wow Il2 that turned out great How bout another one?

HAHAHA - thanks for making me laugh, Raptor!

Sidure, Razor, thanks for your comments.  You guys both had awesome builds too! 

The two IMS GBs sure have produced some outstanding models.  I can think of at least a dozen right off the top of my head

Great job IL2. Through all the trials and tribulations you stuck with it and the end result was truly worth it. Great finish,decals and well displayed. Dont worry about the deadline, its the finishing that counts and its a beauty.

Steve

Thanks guys!  You're the best.

It IS good to be done with this one! LOL

Sir IL2  Well done she looks great.  I second Arki's comment I'm glad you stuck with it your perseverance payed off.

Cheers

Bear

IL2 - great finish! Must be nice to have it all wrapped up after such an arduous several months.

Everything seems to have worked out in the end - that NMF looks great, the markings are awesome...two thumbs up!

Gorgeous IL!   Simply gorgeous.  The inflight display is very nicely done with just the right amount of drama to it.  

Very glad you stuck with this to the end.

Gentleman
At long last, I give you the finished Lindberg B-58, in "Super Sue" markings:

I didn't want to double-post too much, so the rest of the photos are viewable in the aircraft forum:
/forums/1006672/ShowPost.aspx#1006672

This has been a truly exhausting build but I've learned many new skills and techniques.  I'm glad that you guys picked this kit and I am overall pleased with the end result.  I would have set this kit aside many times if not for the encouragement from you all, so you have my thanks.   My only regret is that it was not completed by the deadline!

I look forward to participating in an IMS3 GB in the future!

Shoot, 4 hours is worth it knowing that you just banged out 10 builds worth of decals...from SCRATCH!

Awesome toot too, I think I need to read it several times to absorb all of it. Thanks man!

Making decals is a breeze.  Try it once and you'll have it mastered.

This webpage at BareMetalFoil explains it all.  Make sure you use the liquid decal film, as it keeps your decals from falling apart when you apply them.  The decal film is super-easy to apply: I just use a big foam brush to spread it around on the page, then it self-levels sort-of like Future.  No need to airbrush it.  And I always go with the laser printer paper instead of the inkjet variety.  Maybe there are inkjet printers that can produce results comparable to laser printers, but they are rare and expensive.

http://www.bare-metal.com/Experts-Choice-Decal-Film.html

Also, it's supremely important that you draw up your decals at 300 DPI or better.  Photoshop (and most other image programs) start you out with a default image resolution of 72 DPI.  That's the perfect resolution for web graphics, but if you ever want to print out your image it will look very pixilated at 72 DPI.   300 DPI is a good size.  Then getting the sizes right is just a matter of scanning another decal sheet at the same resolution (300DPI) and using it as reference to scale your custom decals.  I usually try to fit my decals into a 7.5" x 10.5" area which allows for a 1/2" page margin.  Lastly, you want to make sure that the employee running the printer verifies that the image prints at 100% size and is not "scaled to fit" on the page.  Also, i've found it helpful if this employee is an attractive college-aged girl.

You have to be mindful of whether or not you need to print your decals on clear or white paper.  Yellow SL numbers printed on clear decal film will work great when applied to a white surface, but they will be almost invisible when applied to a dark surface.  You might notice that I have printed out some white silhoettes of the Boise Bee markings to go behind the actual decal.

Hope all of this helps!  I'd be glad to help you with it.  Making your own decals really opens up a lot of new possibilities in this hobby.  Let's see, on that decal sheet I have:

- Custom nose art for a "what-if" P-51H scheme
- "Boise Bee" markings (scanned from ICM decals, which silver horribly.  Mine wont!)
- Custom decals for a Bell-212 heli-ski scheme
- Decals to apply to the wood base for my B-58
- SQD and SL numbers for my P-51A build
- Spitfire markings for Jonnie Johnson's Spitfire IX
- Tailband for a 388^th F-16C
- Aircraft numbers for a KA-50 Hokum

ALSO:
- A bunch of extra P-51 stencils, since I build a lot of mustangs
- various sized USA and Canada flags, for general use
- A whole bunch of "no step" stencils in various sizes (always need these)
- General lines of various widths (some dashed)
- numbers, letters, on and on

All from two decal sheets and about $10 invested. 
4 hours in front of the computer screen though

Sir IL2 Well done on the decals they look great. I never thought of scanning my decal sheets, that will save me some greif with Sqn codes.  The B-58 looks great so far now get the rest of those decals on you've got 5-6 builds waiting

Dave Staples has a printing service here in Canada they could probably print that up.

Cheers

Bear

Looks awesome Il2.  I've experimented with making my own decals in the past but the inkjet quality is barely acceptable.  We don't have office max up here but I'm sure I could find somewhere else to do the lazer printing.  Great idea. 

I also used scans of existing decal sheets to help create modified images - especially for code letters.  In fact I started getting into the habit of scanning all my decal sheets before I used them to build up a library for future reference.

Now... to try to guess what your next 5 or 6 builds will be...  Hmmmm!

Wow...I officially feel reduced back to near-n00b status!

I wouldn't even know where to start making my own decals. Shoot, I wouldn't even know where to start asking questions about making my own decals! For instance, how do you design something on your pc and get it to scale properly? AAAAAHHH! Head is spinning!

Awesome, IL2!

Well it took about 4 hours, but I've finally finished my decal sheets (1 white / 1 clear).  This milestone is not particularly relevant in the context of this GB, but I thought it might make for interesting reading anyways :)  

But one thing that I did want to emphasize is that if you ever need decals laser printed (gives better results than inkjet), take them to OfficeMax.  I got both of my 8x11 sheets printed at 600DPI for $1.04 total cost.  Excellent results, awesome price.  The decal sheets are from BareMetalFoil, and they are like $3 each.  Add shipping costs to that and they can be quite pricey, so I always try to fit as much stuff on them as possible.  I have decals on these sheets for my next five or six builds!  Also, I discovered that during the Photoshop phase, importing scans of some of my other decal sheets helped immensely for reference when trying to make my decals the correct size and color.

Note: these are quality-reduced JPGs.  The print copies ~8MB each.  I'm glad to share the files, if anybody want them.

Thanks, guys.  I'm hoping to have her done before the weekend.  I'll snap a whole bunch of pictures then

Looking good IL2.  At least from what I can tell from that teaser of a photo.  Looking forward to seeing more.

Here's a quick photo to prove that I'm not slacking off!

I used the ProModeler DarkWash directly on the metallizer surface, which has settled itself quite well in the seams and adheres well despite the lack of a top-coat.  Even decal application has not disturbed it.   It's not really visible in this photo.

I've raided my decal stash as much as possible for the markings.  Now I need to sit down and photoshop the rest of them and get them printed at Kinkos.  I'd much rather be physically working on a model than drafting decals on a computer :P

Hi Kenny, nice to see you 'round again.

I am still battling my kit every night!  She's fighting to the bitter end.  Maybe one more week before I am finished.  Less if my luck holds out.

hey guys working on my site looking for some pics of completed models if anyone wants to mail me some of there work i would appreciate it . try to have a solid color clutter free background if you can . kenofny@yahoo.com

figured since i cant build i might as well do something lol

kenny

Sweet  

I'm working on her every night, fellas. 

I want to wrap this build up in short order so I can move on to others.   This weekend I plan to draw up the decals in Photoshop.  This is probably the single-largest task I have left.

Sir IL2 great save. I'm glad it came out ok, sounds like a good investement in windex and paper towels now let's see her finished.

Cheers

Bear

IL2windhawk wrote:

It took half a windex bottle and two rolls of paper towels, but the grace of some higher force shined down on me today.  I managed to remove the entire Future coating without damaging the Testor's Metallizers. It's beyond my comprehension how the strong ammonia-based solvent did not dissolve the metallizer that is so easily damaged by other solvents, or even tamiya tape and Q-tips.

IL-2 - I can't believe it myself! Those metalizers are pretty touchy...looks like you pulled it off nicely! Great save!

Nice save IL2, looks like its going to work out well for you in the end. Glad you did not have to start the paint all over again.

Steve