Tutorial How to: DIY decals

[Jhoren]

Thanks so much mkeller234, this is brilliant! I was so excited when I found this post because I have been trying to find a way to make miniatures of my groups SWRPG characters for a while and I couldn't really justify the cost of waterslide decal paper for just 2 characters. I used this method for their faces. Here is my character, Jhoren

In really close up photos (like this) his face is a little more glossy than the other minifigs and you can see the seam of the tape, but I like this method because I play with my LEGO minifigs A LOT so if I end up messing up a face I can just print out a new one and stick it on.

[ThunderDrako]

Thank you very much!

I used your method in some of my customs :)

[meepinater]

nice! have you tried designing the decals and then printing them on waterslide decal paper? it's like those fake tattoos, only for legos! (i have yet to try it, but i have heard lots about it.)

[meepinater]

so i tried this with an inkjet printer... it has no effect whatsoever. is this expected? is a laser printer necessary?

[MatthewRC]

What's the recommended size of a face decal for blank minifigure heads?

[Artanis I]

On 6/26/2018 at 12:24 PM, meepinater said:

so i tried this with an inkjet printer... it has no effect whatsoever. is this expected? is a laser printer necessary?

I believe so. You want the toner to transfer from the paper onto the sticky tape. Ink won't do it.

[LuxorV]

10 hours ago, MatthewRC said:

What's the recommended size of a face decal for blank minifigure heads?

You should check the measurements in this other tutorial on printing decals.

[meepinater]

13 hours ago, Artanis I said:

I believe so. You want the toner to transfer from the paper onto the sticky tape. Ink won't do it.

oof... 

:(

oh, well. I can get a laser printer eventually... maybe when they get cheaper... I don't want to spend that much money yet.