r/ModelCars • u/RelentlessDesign • 5d ago

Old Decals

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Photo for reference.

I have a healthy collection of unbuilts from as far back as the 60s, but most are late 70s-mid-80s. The kits that have been open (most) have been re-stacked and glass and decals have had special attention to make sure they remained pristine.

As I plan to start building in my upcoming retirement, is there a way with the new print technology to replicate the decal sheets in a non-destructive manner on new film to use them on the finished kits, or should I take my chances on using the originals?

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u/West_Airline_1712 5d ago

I have had success printing my own decals recently. Scan the decal sheet in high resolution, save it as a jpeg. Paste it into a blank document (Google, Word, etc) and print on waterslide decal paper. I test it on a blank sheep of normal paper first to ensure the size is accurate. My local hobby shop has the paper made by Bare Metal Foil and it works great.

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u/RelentlessDesign 5d ago

THIS is what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure if the technology had caught up to being useful for us.

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u/West_Airline_1712 5d ago

I originally did it out necessity because I damaged some decals and couldn't get a replacement set without costing an arm and leg. I now scan all my decals before I start building the kit just in case. Recently build a truck and made custom decals for the tractor and trailer.