Can it be done?

[Spitfire7]

At the moment i'm having some trouble with the decals on my current project, a Lola T93/00 Ford. The decals supplied are cracked and unusable. One option suggested to me is to use microscale liquid decal film, this will probably work but might leave the lines where the original cracks were still visible.

But i've come up with another option. I found out that Museum collection made a set of decals for this car to convert it into another version, but have sold out everywhere i've tried. BUT, i found a picture of the decal set on the museum collection website which looks actual size, so i was thinking that i could simply print this picture of the decals off on decal paper.

I know this is probably illegal or something but i'm 16 and don't have the infinite budgets some of you guys seem to have. So should i go ahead and do it?

Heres the pic i found (i've reduced it in size so i could upload it here)

[will69camaro]

I'm pretty sure it's not illegal as long as you dont print them and try to sell them but i could be wrong. I say it's worth a shot if you cant find new decals. See how they look printed off (might try regular paper first to see how they look before using the decal paper)

William

[malsheem]

While that photo of the decals might be actual size, it is probably doesn't have sufficient dpi to maintain a high level of detail when you actually print it. A useable image like that would be over 1mb easily for one decal sheet; not a size for web posting. You can try it with that image, but I don't think the results will be good.

[Vric]

the image is way to small to have good result. it would need to be 4 or 5 time biger than that to have good result. Then, you will have to print it with an Alps printer. all in all, it will cost you a good 15$ to do.

[Tikiman]

He said the image is reduced, so i don't think that is the actual size.

[Vric]

Originally Posted by Tikiman

He said the image is reduced, so i don't think that is the actual size.

Even if it's a little bigger, I'm sure Museum collection isn't dumb enough to give a full resolution image of their Decals online

[Spitfire7]

Originally Posted by Vric

Even if it's a little bigger, I'm sure Museum collection isn't dumb enough to give a full resolution image of their Decals online

Yes, i did reduce the size slightly so i could upload it to AF and post it here. I actually think that it could be the right size for the model:

Here is the actual size pic on the museum collection website: click here.

[StephenDeli]

F1 specialties has the decals.

http://www.f1specialties.com/main/decals/040.php

[Spitfire7]

Originally Posted by StephenDeli

F1 specialties has the decals.

http://www.f1specialties.com/main/decals/040.php

I know, but it will cost me about £15 or something to buy them and ship them to the UK. Using this method will cost me £4-£5.

[Vric]

Originally Posted by Spitfire7

Yes, i did reduce the size slightly so i could upload it to AF and post it here. I actually think that it could be the right size for the model:

Here is the actual size pic on the museum collection website: click here.

this image is way too small to get good result.. you better buy it.

[hirofkd]

You can fill the cracks with paints before you apply the liquid decal film.

Also, if you print the image in the actual model size on a piece of paper, you can also find out how good/bad the image is.

Also, Hobby Link Japan list the item as Backorder (which means it's still obtainable). The Museum Collection site says that the oval course version is still in stock, while the road circuit one is out of production. Perhaps, you can write to HLJ and have them get one for you.

[minniebanister]

Just for kicks, I downloaded the image from the link you provided and printed it with my HP R80 inkjet onto an ordinary sheet of paper. It didn't come out well at all. Most of the smaller words are so fuzzy you can't even read them. Malsheem is right - the image DPI is too low. As Vric said, they'd be really dumb to put a full resolution image online.

As far as legality goes, there is a difference between something being illegal and somebody taking action because you did something illegal. Yes it would be illegal for you to download their image to avoid paying for the decals. However, as long as you don't try to pass it off as your own work, or make zillions of copies and try to sell them, nobody is going to take action against you. It wouldn't be cost effective - even if they ever knew you'd done it.

[Okiemodelbuilder]

Originally Posted by Spitfire7

I know, but it will cost me about £15 or something to buy them and ship them to the UK. Using this method will cost me £4-£5.

In the big picture you aren't talking a lot of money. Ink jet printers do not print white either. Don't buy another kit, CD, DVD or whatever else you spend "discretionary" funds on and buy the decals. You will be happier in the long run. Marc

[cyclone1410]

Originally Posted by Okiemodelbuilder

In the big picture you aren't talking a lot of money. Ink jet printers do not print white either. Don't buy another kit, CD, DVD or whatever else you spend "discretionary" funds on and buy the decals. You will be happier in the long run. Marc

Good advice. The image properties state that it is only around 100k with resolution of 403 X 539 pixels - nowhere near enough for a decent printout. Lash out and buy the decals and make sacrifices elsewhere to compensate - we all have to do this from time to time.