"custom" decal..
02-10-2004, 05:30 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Price,
UT
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
"custom" decal..
Anyone know of a good method for putting custom graphics on your plane? I don't mean designs cut from trim, but more of a way to put something like a cartoon character or drawing or something on it, perhaps something homemade that's similar to decals that come with a kit?
02-12-2004, 10:57 AM
#2
My Feedback: (9)
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Newark, OH
Posts: 1,194
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: "custom" decal..
It depends on the size and complexity of the graphic. There are two options, one is having custom water-slide decals made, and the other is having custom vinyl graphics cut. Both work great, but have their own special strengths and weaknesses...
1) Waterslide Decals:
These can be made from just about any supplied computer graphic but look best when made from vectored illustrations like those from Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, or a CAD program. Photoshop/bitmap graphics can also be done, just not quite as crisp/clean as vectored art. The nice thing about these is that they can be full process color (like a photo) which works great for things like warbird nose art. They don't work well for extremely large areas like those that you would normally cut from Monokote/Ultracoat as trim. They can be a little tricky to apply, but with practice, they go down smooth and blend right into the surface.
These can be made by Hans at www.heavydatehobbies.com
2) Custom Vinyl Graphics
These are very durable and relatively easy to apply. They can be done in any size, even long/large strips and shapes as part of the overall covering scheme. The downside is that you can't do full process color (like photos or nose art illustrations) since each color has to be cut individually from different colored vinyl stock, and "reassembled" into the finished design when you apply it to your plane... no "gradients/shading" with this medium. Normally you would want to stick to no more than 3-6 colors or you'd be killing yourself trying to register all the colored pieces back together on the plane. It could also get quite expensive with too many colors. These can only be cut from vectored art like that listed above... no Photoshop, JPG, Bitmap type images. CAD or EPS art works best.
These can be obtained from many vinyl graphics cutters, do a search and you'll find some. My partner, Dave Johnson, cuts these for custom plane jobs and may be able to help you out. You can find his e-mail link on our web site at www.renderwurx.com/rc (Hangar 37).
Obviously, you can also cut graphics from covering film or paint them on, but I don't think that is what you were asking about.
Tom
1) Waterslide Decals:
These can be made from just about any supplied computer graphic but look best when made from vectored illustrations like those from Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, or a CAD program. Photoshop/bitmap graphics can also be done, just not quite as crisp/clean as vectored art. The nice thing about these is that they can be full process color (like a photo) which works great for things like warbird nose art. They don't work well for extremely large areas like those that you would normally cut from Monokote/Ultracoat as trim. They can be a little tricky to apply, but with practice, they go down smooth and blend right into the surface.
These can be made by Hans at www.heavydatehobbies.com
2) Custom Vinyl Graphics
These are very durable and relatively easy to apply. They can be done in any size, even long/large strips and shapes as part of the overall covering scheme. The downside is that you can't do full process color (like photos or nose art illustrations) since each color has to be cut individually from different colored vinyl stock, and "reassembled" into the finished design when you apply it to your plane... no "gradients/shading" with this medium. Normally you would want to stick to no more than 3-6 colors or you'd be killing yourself trying to register all the colored pieces back together on the plane. It could also get quite expensive with too many colors. These can only be cut from vectored art like that listed above... no Photoshop, JPG, Bitmap type images. CAD or EPS art works best.
These can be obtained from many vinyl graphics cutters, do a search and you'll find some. My partner, Dave Johnson, cuts these for custom plane jobs and may be able to help you out. You can find his e-mail link on our web site at www.renderwurx.com/rc (Hangar 37).
Obviously, you can also cut graphics from covering film or paint them on, but I don't think that is what you were asking about.
Tom
