Custom Inkjet Decal 1/550 Dendrobium
I had this urge of trying out inkjet decal (transparent type) and thought that Dendrobium would make a good testbed since it's nearly all white (while reducing one box from my pile :P). Actually it was quite a messy job since I made various mistakes throughout the process. Thankfully they're not 'that' visible from the photos.
I haven't finished the tiny orchis & gerbera when suddenly surge of works came in and grabbed my time away. On top of it, recently my flatmate accidentally sent the thing flying from 1.5m high -_-. The damage was considerably small from that height though. It's lucky I had at least photographed it before, which is what you see here.
The custom inkjet decal is most prevalent in the bay doors :)
The printed decal, before all the cutting and pasting.
That came out really nicely.
I've used them before but I always get this glossy finish. It looks fine as long as it's not under direct lighting. But if it is than I get these killer glares.
Does your decals do that too? I have no idea how to fix it ;A:
Some of them, especially the bigger ones, reside nicely after spraying clear matte. The big ones on the bay doors blend so nicely it looks like it's painted. However, the others, mostly the small ones, just kept being shiny no matter how much clear matte I sprayed on top of them (maybe not enough?). It's one of those things that didn't appear on the photos XP ...
I'd also like to know if someone got an answer :)
looks really nice :) great job
Thanks!
Wow, that looks really nice. ^ ^
Thanks :)
The result turned out really good (^^)b
Thanks!
Nicely done!
Thanks :)
Nice decal jobs! Love Dendrobium design all the time, even in SD Sangokuden also xD
Lol, I think I saw that one before as well XD. Before making the kit, the image of Dendrobium I had in mind was that of the huge bays, cannon, and i-field generator. However, I've found out now that the body itself is very nicely designed :).
Very nice. Pink label doesn't look bad. Wish I can get one and do the same thing as you did on the GP03 :)
I'd love to see if you decide to try it :)
This is so awesome.. I mean really really awesome. xD
So can I use any inkjet paper on printing them?
Thanks! The correct one would be any inkjet printer on inkjet waterslide decal paper :). I got mine from a local hobby shop.
Those decals came out reaaaaaally nice on the kit. I'd try doing that myself, but I'd need to make/get convincing markings first, hah. Still though, nice job all around. As you say, it's probably easier to notice the edges up close but they look great in the photos.
Thanks! I'd love to see what you will come up with as well :)
how did you make it? I kind want to make it as well
First, aside from the kit, you'll obviously need the inkjet printer and the inkjet decal paper. (I think) The paper usually comes in 2 different variant: transparent and white. At that scale, it's more flexible for me to use the transparent one, although that limits my kit color. Any decal color other than black would only be ideally used on white surface.
Then well, for the large ones, measure up the area of your kit where you want to place the decal, perhaps with tracing paper, and scan the result. If it's flat enough, scan it directly and design on top of the image as a guide. After that, just print it on the decal paper, and spray it evenly with clear/fixative to give it limited waterproof capability.
The rest is almost just as usual: cut it close to the markings, put it to water, slide, and set :).
wow, amazing man
Thanks :)
That looks awesome^2
Thanks!
Very nicely done! Love the design n color ^^
Thanks! The GP logo was taken from Anaheim Journal though :P
this type of decals is dry transfer or water slide type?
Water slide one :)
Cool! Was it hard to get the scale right?
For the bay doors, I scanned them and design on top of it so they fit just nice. I measured roughly the other larger ones and prepared 2 different sizes for the small markings so I can decide during pasting which scale is better :).
Owh! Good method^^ Very nice!
great job! you've finished it and it looks really awesome, mine is still on the works :P
Thanks! I'm sure yours would look awesome, can't wait to see it :)
BTW, can I ask how do we print this?
Any printer will do?
Sorry noob question... ^^;
Especially since I still need to coat it after printing with clear/fixative, I believe as long as the ink can stick to the paper, any printer will do :).
Man, that dendrobium with those decals are just sweet! I didn't know there's such things called inkjet decals until now, only knew there were laser printed decals^^;
Thanks! I imagine laser printed decals would be better :).
great work. you could have told us it was the 1/144 and we might be inclined to believe you.
Lol thanks!
Whooah! Superb!!Naisuu Custom! *thumbs up My Gunpla Mode is Turn On Suddenly. LOL~
Thanks :)
Awesome work!
Thanks! XD
Looks very nice! btw where is the GP-03s?
Still in the box, waiting for when I get enough free time allocated for it :P
Fantastic Work!!
Thanks! :)
Nice work! I just decided to start on my 1/144 Dendrobby, and was sourcing for decal sources and found your post. If you don't mind, could you give me the details of the Printer model and location you bought the printer? Hopefully at Sim Lim, and hopefully still in stock ^^. I sourced for a decal printer a few years back, but back then there was only one that could print decals, and was sold out. Which Singapore Hobby shop do you go to? Thanks!
Hi! Well, I used inkjet decal sheet so in theory any inkjet would do. I just used the printer that I've already had in hand, which was a rather old HP Photosmart 2575. The inkjet paper that I used was bought at M Workshop at Sunshine.
From what I saw on the net, the desktop printer with the best ability for printing decal is ALPS due to its micro dry system (btw it can print white too), but it's very niche, expensive, and it's said that the production and support for the printer had been ceased outside Japan.
But in any case, if in the first place you intend to buy (normal) desktop printer for decal printing, I read that laser printer is probably a better choice since the ink is resilient to water and thus you don't need to clear coat it. Decal softener works too apparently.
Hi!, Thanks for the quick reply ^^. I see, so any printer will do, thats good to know. I read in your post that there is also the transparent version of the decal sheet, which is good ^^b. There was only the white ones back then.
The ALPS, yup that was the one I was sourcing for. As you said, it was too expensive and there is no support and repair for it, so i gave up.
On a side note, I sourced this site up looking for 1/144 GP03D decals. http://www.samueldecal.com/
I'm thinking of getting this one, http://www.samueldecal.com/alpsdecal2/0083/GP03D_v2_A.jpg , and do some other customised as well. But its quite ex... -_-.
Still looking for a cheap source of those little red warning stickers. The site has some but I need like 10 sets of them for one side of the Dendrobby...
Anyway, thanks very much for the tips! Next time I go see Benard I'll pick up a few peices to test out. My Company's Laser Printer prints color hee hee.
I think I saw that site before as well :). However, the cost for producing a custom A4 decal was quite something that I tactically retreated -_-. I would probably only order them if I'm in dire need of opaque, quality custom decal to be placed on top of colored base.
Good luck on your Dendro! ^^
Ha ha, thanks! if I can get an A4 sized of the small red warning stickers for the cost of the decal sheet, I'll be set ^^.