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Making Custom Decals

Printer Considerations

Laser Printers
More people have access to a laser printer than an ALPS. Do not sell the simple laser printer short because it only prints in black. Yes, I know there are color laser printers, but most people will not have access to one. Even if you do, the lack of capability for the color laser printer to print white limits the usefulness of the full color markings.

I used my HP 4P laser printer for several years before I ever even heard of the ALPS printer. I created lots of really great looking markings using my laser printer. One example is the NJ ANG Tiger F-4E Phantom.

To the right is the full image I printed on my laser printer. To create the full color tiger heads, I carefully masked the full color portions of the tiger heads on the nose of the F-4 model using frisket paper. I traced the shapes I needed to cut in the frisket directly off the tiger decal I had printed. The dots and line in the image, just above the tiger head, were used to align the masks on the model. These alignment marks coincide with panel lines on the model. After the painting was completed, I applied the black-only outline decal over the color areas to define the finished marking. The results speak for themselves.
 

This decal design on the computer with a masked and painted background on the model ...

created this marking on the model.

Other projects where only my laser printer was used:

• All the tiny access panel numbering found on my German F-4F Phantom.
   
• The pilot's name and "Pregnant Guppy" nose name on my Tigercat Fire Bomber. The blue "Guppy" writing was created the same as the tiger head above, by masking and painting the blue before applying the black-only decal over it.
   
• Many assorted markings found on all six of my 1/144 scale Century Series jets.
   
• The pilot's name, nose name, and aircraft data for an F4U-1A Corsair.
   
• I guess the point I am trying to make is to not think of having an ALPS printer as the end-all beat-all decal creating machine. If all you have access to is a black printing laser printer, the steps I have outlined here can work very well with that printer to make some very impressive decals. All this requires is some imagination and time to create the artworks.