I also got that kit, when I would make a decal and slide it off the paper, the image was to light.
Robby P. I bought that kit awhile back. I thought I could use it for reporting marks, graffiti, etc. Nope, the kit comes with some decals on there disk. Like race cars, air plane, etc looking decals. I have my kit laying on a shelf, collecting dust. I agree, a WASTE!!
I bought that kit awhile back. I thought I could use it for reporting marks, graffiti, etc. Nope, the kit comes with some decals on there disk. Like race cars, air plane, etc looking decals. I have my kit laying on a shelf, collecting dust.
I agree, a WASTE!!
alco's forever!!!!! Majoring in HO scale Minorig in O scale:)
Well, I am one of the moths that was drawn to the light.
At the end of the day and the enormity of the failure of this item coupled with the wasted ink and dullcote trying to make it work along with the prospect of spending MORE money to get a bigger library caused me to throw the whole mess into the trash can.
When I'm ready to order custom decals, I would contact someome who makes em as a service for a fee.
Im happy to try anything once.
Regarding cars, always buy the largest legal rubber you can get onto that car safely. I once was presented with a set of coopers that were like 2 inches across at the road and failed to hold a 2 ton car in a light drizzle. Never again. I carry a minimum of 215's now for the rubber on passenger cars and no less than 235's for front and 270's for rear of pickup trucks.
And with big rigs, I have never ever had either a bridgestone or michelin fail on the big road.
I absolutely refuse to label investing/spending ten bucks in order to ascertain whether an item is going to be usable or non-usable for some specific purpose a rip-off; I bought a 1978 Dodge Aspen--THAT WAS NOT JUST A RIP-OFF, IT WAS A ROYAL RIP-OFF! I probably shouldn't complain; after all, it was a Dodge and it did dodge everything except repair shops.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
last mountain & eastern hoggerjeffrey-wimberly I don't use the software but I buy the paper and fixative at Hobby Lobby and use that to make the logos for the MGRy and a graffiti decal or two. Jeff, I thought you used airmail paper for your decal type signage. Johnboy out................
jeffrey-wimberly I don't use the software but I buy the paper and fixative at Hobby Lobby and use that to make the logos for the MGRy and a graffiti decal or two.
I don't use the software but I buy the paper and fixative at Hobby Lobby and use that to make the logos for the MGRy and a graffiti decal or two.
Jeff, I thought you used airmail paper for your decal type signage.
Johnboy out................
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
stebbycentral BRAKIE Interesting my youngest brother-in-law uses one to make various truck line decals for his model semis and they look good to my eyes and I haven't heard any complaints from him. Maybe its better use is non-rail? The biggest complaints on the subject seem to be coming from military and aircraft modlers, who would need to produce things like national military insignias. Such items are apparently not included in the software library. The same principle would make this product inadequate for doing much more than basic lettering on MRR rolling stock. Given that limitation, kudos to Railphotog for the nice job he did on his diesel.
BRAKIE Interesting my youngest brother-in-law uses one to make various truck line decals for his model semis and they look good to my eyes and I haven't heard any complaints from him. Maybe its better use is non-rail?
Interesting my youngest brother-in-law uses one to make various truck line decals for his model semis and they look good to my eyes and I haven't heard any complaints from him.
Maybe its better use is non-rail?
The biggest complaints on the subject seem to be coming from military and aircraft modlers, who would need to produce things like national military insignias. Such items are apparently not included in the software library. The same principle would make this product inadequate for doing much more than basic lettering on MRR rolling stock.
Given that limitation, kudos to Railphotog for the nice job he did on his diesel.
Thanks! I think some,including the military modelers, may be missing something with this kit. It is a kit for making decals, period. It comes with a mini CD that has some minor designs, such as flames for cars, etc. It wasn't intended to be a supply of all possible decals ever wanted/needed. As has been said and shown, there are many free graphic programs out there, and certainly any military insignia, logo, or whatever can probably be found on the 'Net. Just copy it an put it into your graphic program, size as needed, and make the decals. What do they expect for ten bucks anyway????
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
I bought it at wally world for about 6 bucks (IIRC). I thought it was a cheap way to try out the process.
I never used their software, but used MS Powerpoint, instead. These are some of my results:
I'm pretty pleased with it as a product, but I have some experience with Powerpoint and that helps.
Now that I know how it works, I'll just buy refills of paper and laquer.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
I didn't buy the kit, but I bought the paper and fixative, which is sold as "refills.". I printed a photo on the decal paper from the photo program (I have an HP Photosmart printer), and it came out sharp and clear. I let the ink dry overnight and sealed it with the fixative, again allowing an overnight drying time. It went on like any other thin film decal. Most computers come with a photo program, a word processor (road names and reporting marks), and some even have Photoshop or drawing programs. Note that most word processors will allow you to import/insert graphics and pictures. I'm not sure what you'd need another program to do for you.
Bob
Nice looking engine
When using MS Word to make lettering you can size the font down to 1pt by highliting the test then typing the size in the font size box. You can't do fractional below 1pt but you can do it above 1.
Dan Pikulski
www.DansResinCasting.com
Here's a model of a local shortline diesel that I made, with decals made using the Testors decal kit. The stripes came from another source. I copied the Sunbury logo from a color print I took, did some of the lettering in MS Word, and some in Print Shop because Word could not do the small lettering on the bottom of the cab. The kit worked OK for me.
The first thing to keep in mind here is there is no "magic" software that will produce decals. If one were to look at this kit for what it contains it probably is an OK deal. Although I have never seen one of these kits I think I know what it contains...a couple of sheets of decal paper for inkjet printers, a bottle of clear sealer and a software package.
Decal paper is available from several sources. A qick internet search will turn up several sites that sell inkjet compatible paper. The next item is easier. Several sites I researched years ago indicate that Krlon Cristalkote (sp) is the best clear to use. The last item is the software. I have seen decals made on Microsoft paint program that look very good. There are several free imaging programs out there that will do an acceptable job. The last item that is needed to make these decals is not included with this kit. It is the talent to draw and manipulate the image you need to make the decal. Simple things like reporting marks and weight data is easy to make using a word processing program. Logos are a bit more dificult and this is where the talent comes in. As a decal producer I full well know what goes into producing a quality decal. I use Adobe Illustrator to do all of my artwork. This program is not needed for the casual modeler making one or two decals/year. I use it because I need the ability to scale up or down without losing resolution.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
The decal kit is intended for all hobbies, not just model railroading. I've used it to make special decals for a few of my projects without any problems. I used some of my own software, never even tried to view the enclosed mini CD. I don't think it says anywhere on the package that it willl allow model railroaders to design train related decals. It's a decent, if not a great product for the price.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
So I'm in the local Hobby Lobby, and I come across this new item. (Well, I've not seen it in the Hobby Lobby before, anyway.) It was a kit made by Testors to make water-transfer decals using an inkjet printer. And it was only $10.00 for the software, the decal paper, and the fixative. Which was atttractive to me because my wife is looking for a cheap gift to get me for Christmas, being that she's currently unemployed.
I looked up the product on the net, thinking I was going to print out the details of the product so she could locate it more easily. Instead I run across a bunch of forum postings on other modelmaking groups saying in essence: "Don't buy it, it's a rip off."
Apparently the chief complaint of thse users who have purchased it, is that the decal-making software provided with the kit does not allow the user to import images or decal designs. And the image library provided with the software is VERY thin. But Testor's has a solution; they have a downloadable upgrade to the software! For an additional cost, of course. IMHO, that's a little too close to "bait and switch" for me. And for a lot of other people as well, apparently.
So if anyone out there was thinking like me of asking your spouse for this item, I would just go for the socks instead.