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I'm experimenting with adding decals to my Kreons to diversify my kitbash options.

My first test subjects were my kitbashed Omnibots.



I printed torso designs on what were supposed to be "clear" address labels. While Downshift is looking pretty decent, Camshaft's label is a bit obvious, and Overdrive looks like he might have some bubbling.

My understanding is that waterslide decals are far more effective. That might be a future experiment.

While I was at it, I tried making some face decals as well.



Yes, that is an attempt at a Kreon Gears in the middle.

So long as you are standing at least two feet away, these faces aren't so bad. Up close, however, the labels seem "frosted" giving the Transformer a kind of "Kabuki" look. It's less noticeable on helmets that feature a chin strap since it covers the seam where the label ends.

(The face decals were applied to blank gray Lego heads.)

And, as you might have noticed, I lack a color printer...so the eyes have been left uncolored.

If anyone has better luck finding a truly transparent label, let me know!

This is an awesome idea man, the execution needs a little polishing but you're on the right path. I dig it.

I've never worked with custom waterslides, any idea how well they print or if you need a certain type of printer?

wulongti wrote:This is an awesome idea man, the execution needs a little polishing but you're on the right path. I dig it.

I've never worked with custom waterslides, any idea how well they print or if you need a certain type of printer?

I've not used waterslide decals either...but it's apparently what all the cool kids are doing nowadays in Legoland.

They seem pretty hard to find in actual stores, so you end up having to order them off the Internet. I've been too cheap. (It's usually about two dollars per sheet plus shipping.)

From what I've read, you can run the paper through a printer, cut out the decal, soak it in water, and then apply it to the desired surface.

There is inkjet waterslide paper and laser waterslide paper. You have to make sure you use the right settings on laser printers otherwise the paper will melt in your machine. Inkjet waterslide paper has to be coated with a sealer before you wet it or else your ink will run. Here's where I read all of this:
http://www.minifigcustomizationnetwork.com/howto/897.

if you could iron out all the details enough to be able to sell sticker sheets I could see a partnership forming between your sheets and my upgrades... XD

Maybe there is a print-on-demand site that could print sticker sheets and allow for shops to be setup.. like cafepress.. but better... hmmn... maybe even talking to the folks at Reprolabels if you had a few sheet designs ready to go....

wulongti wrote:if you could iron out all the details enough to be able to sell sticker sheets I could see a partnership forming between your sheets and my upgrades... XD

Maybe there is a print-on-demand site that could print sticker sheets and allow for shops to be setup.. like cafepress.. but better... hmmn... maybe even talking to the folks at Reprolabels if you had a few sheet designs ready to go....

I tried to pitch the idea to Reprolabels and they indicated that they weren't interested in expanding into Kre-o territory.

I've also been looking into custom sticker sites, although I'm having a hard time finding one that will print transparent stickers. If you find one, send me a link! (These faces are so tiny, you could fit a dozen on small sticker...so long as you are will to cut them out yourself.)

When I get home from work today, I plan on trying different gray-scale backgrounds to make the faces blend in a little more. That won't help the chest decals at the moment, but it might make that kitbashed Constructicon look less like a Geisha-bot.

Tresob wrote:I tried to pitch the idea to Reprolabels and they indicated that they weren't interested in expanding into Kre-o territory.

Well that stinks.. though I suppose that it's not like they could offer such a thing without some sort of investment cost and the need/desire for Kre-o stickers vs stickers for mainline toys is very small.. :/

I've also been looking into custom sticker sites, although I'm having a hard time finding one that will print transparent stickers. If you find one, send me a link! (These faces are so tiny, you could fit a dozen on small sticker...so long as you are will to cut them out yourself.)

I have a fairly high end color laser printer at home... I wonder if it would be worth it to self print and ship or go through a print shop like kinkos or staples.

Of course now I'm getting ideas for building a website that would allow you to drag and drop designs onto a sheet of "paper" so that you could customize your sheet layout and then hit submit on a form to export a PDF of that layout for printing...

Dangit, too many ideas and never enough time to build them all.

When I get home from work today, I plan on trying different gray-scale backgrounds to make the faces blend in a little more. That won't help the chest decals at the moment, but it might make that kitbashed Constructicon look less like a Geisha-bot.

The idea of a Geisha-bot and/or Kabuki-bot is hilarious.

wulongti wrote:I have a fairly high end color laser printer at home... I wonder if it would be worth it to self print and ship or go through a print shop like kinkos or staples.

Of course now I'm getting ideas for building a website that would allow you to drag and drop designs onto a sheet of "paper" so that you could customize your sheet layout and then hit submit on a form to export a PDF of that layout for printing...

Dangit, too many ideas and never enough time to build them all.

I have a low-end BW laser printer, but the lines looked really clean for me. The image was set for 600 dpi. The trickier part is for color-fills, which always end up looking speckled even on a professional printer.

Anyway, I ran the experiment to darken the labels, but it failed. My printer couldn't print them light enough to do the trick...resulting in faces that were too dark. What it did do fairly well, however, is create faces that were completely black, like G1 Scavenger.

Another unexpected problem cropped up. Labels and decals make the head thicker, which caused some of the heads to fit too snugly in their helmets. This was only a problem because I'm not "done" with these yet, and tried to swap heads.

If I get a chance, I'll post my new "totem pole" of robot heads.

Iwprk in waterslide decals for model trIns. I actually quite like your idea for clear adress leabels, but they do frost quite a bit.

The catch with waterslides and printing your own, is that you absolutely have to have to have to seal them in Glosscote (krylon makes some that's pretty good) and you cannot let them soak for too long. Professional decals like seen on model trains are printed onto thpaper. The kind you make at home on your HP print on the pPer. Should water get undeneath the sealcoat you made with Gloss (you know, from the side of the paper where you cutit out) it can and will wash the ink off.

Otherwise irs not too bad. Be sure to make plenty of extras though, in case that first decL rubs, washes, flakes. Or waraps itself around your finger and tears itself.

When decalling, i highly reccomend keeping your fingers soaked. The decL will try to stick to anything dry, and if your hand is more dry thN the surface you are worki on, you'll be it. qtips and soft topped tweezers are not a bad idea either for positioning.

Lastly, when selecting paper, you'll needto make sure you get decal paper for your printer. I don't think i've ever seen decal paper of laserjets, but you'll needto distinguish between a deskjet and an inkjet. Also, if your decal is going ona fairly dark surface, and thT's most of them. Most times the decal won't hVw printed daek enough to show up, so its neccesary to either fill the color in on the decal, and print ona white decal.