i'm beggining to hate decals

A couple of things that might help:

1. Use water-slide decals. This will make it appear that you have "printed" the design on like Lego does. Also, there is some softener that you can use to make them conform to curves (head, arms, etc.).

2. Use a program like Corel Draw for your decals.

3. Use thicker lines to improve clarity.

4. E-mail Kaminoan to get a color template. His colors are identical to Lego's.

5. For the paint, prime your piece first. Then use many light layers of paint. When you are done painting, seal your piece.

6. Use scissors to cut your decals.

7. Search. I'm sure there are many threads that could help you.

I hope this helped.

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Keep Customizing!

-Jon

thank you but what exactly are water slide decals

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I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, they are basically (someone correct me if I'm wrong) decals that you put on to your peice, get it wet, and then "slide" the top layer of the decal off, making it appear that the pattern is actually printed on.

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Keep Customizing!

-Jon

Mostly correct - you get the decal wet, then slide it off the paper -- and THEN put it on your piece and let it sit. Once it dries and is coated for protection, it tends to look like it was printed on. Waterslides are solidly superior to normal sticker decals. Problem is - to get the best results you need a special printer, which very few people have and even can afford. Kaminoan is one - RedBean is the other. At least, those are the only two that offer their services.

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MCN Moderator of Customization Tips, Techniques & Questions

then where can I get water-slide paper

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I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

www.micro-mark.com has some. Thanks for the correction, Damien. I actually have some, I just never used it yet, so I wasn't 100% sure how it worked.

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Keep Customizing!

-Jon

Can you buy water slide paper in any normal stores (or non-online ones)?

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Kind of an old topic but, some office supply stores carry the stuff as well as many hobby stores. Hobby Lobby for example and you can then check specialized model shops in your area. The ole' fashioned way of picking up the yellow pages and calling around.

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~MCN Moderator of the Minifig MOCs Forum~