Re: ST decals

On 20-Jan-00 at 15:20, Dean Gundberg (dean.gundberg@noridian.com) wrote:
> > I finished up a ST-DN (although I'm going to class it as a BB) using
> > a set of decals I ordered from Jay Chladek.  I am rather happy with
> > it, especially the decals.	One odd thing, the decals I did first
> > show significant lines, but the ones I did last show no lines.  It
> > can't be the decals, it must be something I was doing.  I just wish
> > the first decal I put on wasn't the Hull number on top of the
> > saucer.
> >
> > The decals are from:
> >
> > http://members.aol.com/JMChladek/decal.html
> 
> > And no, I am in no way affiliated, just a satisfied customer.
> 
> Roger,
> 
> How durable were the decals you got?	I bought some of the first ones
he
> did.	They looked great but they broke apart very easily, even if you
were
> very careful.  Jay mentioned he was working on the durability problem
and I
> was wondering if he had gotten it solved (since I need to order some
more
> ;) 

Well, I started out using an exacto knife and making cuts.  The one that
wrinkled broke into pieces so this may be the problem you have.  I
switched
to a spade bit in my exacto (one of the red handled jobs) and used
downward
pressure into a piece of cardboard and had no more problems.

I also never got the "wipe with a brush" thing to work.  I gave up on
that and just rubbed the decal/paper between my thumb and finger to
move the decal and then used tweezers to locate it.

> I did not have problems with lines and I assume you mean the edges of
the
> decals.  I used decal solvent to soften them up after final placement,
and
> then a few coats of clear gloss for durability and then a final coat
of
> Dullcoat so the mini isn't shiny.

Decal Solvent?	(rhetorical question, answer is obvious).

I like my starships shiny, kind of like I like a new car to be shiny.

There are some things I don't like about the first one, but the decals
aren't it.  I primered with Krylon sandable grey and painted with
ivory.	I had to put too much paint on to cover the grey.  The one
I am working on now is primered with Krylon sandable white and only
took one layer of ivory to get the color I was looking for, my SO
says this one doesn't look like it is made of bone. :)	Personally,
I don't think it looks like bone when on my black starscape, but that's
me.

Roger