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I will need resources for the following:

1. scale boat crew figures 1/15 scale, preferably sitting
2. scale dog figure, 1/15
3. a source for my custom hull decals: boat name, reg. numbers and the boat license sticker

Finding those scale people and animal figures for our models is the hard part. Painting, sanding, drilling, priming, glueing, epoxying, filing, sawing, cutting is the easy part, relatively speaking.

All Day Dan

My Feedback: (5)

http://www.callie-graphics.com/

Dan

mfr02

1:16 is a more common modelling scale and there are figures available, mostly military, but some civilian - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Resin-Mode...-/300771073654 for example. Remember that all people are the same scale, but they do come in a variety of sizes, just look around. Figures to a slightly small scale are usually easier to fit than those to a larger scale. The next "near" scale is 1:12, probably a bit oversize. Then there are the 3D printing options becoming available.
For dark graphics on a white boat, print on decal paper, many suppliers on t'interweb, both for inkjet and colour laser, options are waterslide, adhesive plastic and dry-rub, depending on your printer and where you look.

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Dan:

I sent Callie Graphics and email inquiry. I told them I need waterproof decals for a boat's hull. The graphics will have to hold up to water exposure. My boat will need a name and registration numbers just like full-size vessels have on navigable waterways. I also asked them if they can apply the decals to my boat's hull as well for a neat, professional look.

mfr02

Callie provide the decals, you provide the skill.
That is modelling where you provide the effort and display the results of your skill, rather than show a nice toy that you bought.

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I am a better model painter than a decal applier. I would gladly pay a reasonable price to have my decals professionally applied. I have the skill and confidence to build the rest of the boat. The Callie web site claimed to offer other model services besides decals.

If you don't have the skill to rebuild your car's transmission at home, AAMCO will gladly do it if you hand them enough money to make it worth their while.

mfr02

There is a world of difference between rebuilding an auto transmission and developing the ability to stick letters to a surface in a straight line. The cost of postage, packing and insurance for a two way trip would probably exceed the value of the model by an uncomfortable margin, which would need to be in a state of completion, decals being usually the last thing to go on before the final protective varnish.
When you have mastered the intricacies of sticking a row of letters down where you want them, you will have another skill. Another reason, with dark lettering on a white background, for printing your own - you get, if you need them, multiple tries at little cost.

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I never considered putting on protective varnish. Just "marine-grade" hobby paint on the hull, cabin and deck with suitable water-resistant decals over the paint. One time I built a model airplane out of a plastic kit. I sprayed clear paint over the decals and the decals all curled up. They became detached.They were water-slide decals but I realized years later that I had applied the decals in error by NOT using decal set UNDER the decals to make them adhere firmly when dried and cured. I am not sure water-slide decals are suitable for boats and their wet operating environments.I think the self-adhesive decals are the best in wet conditions for adherence but the damn things cannot be easily positioned like water-slide decals can.

I would only send the boat's molded plastic hull in via UPS ground. The boat can still be assembled according to the directions with a painted hull. It is much easier to spray paint sub-assemblies than paint a complete built boat with all the tedious masking that would be required. I would paint the deck and cabin assemblies before cementing to the hull. All the deck hardware would go on after painting the cabin/bridge/deck etc.