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Federal and State Law Enforcement Decals page 2 / LE-40
« Last post by RichIQ on March 21, 2021, 07:50:26 AM »Blank
Recent Posts
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News and Information / Computer screen shots
« Last post by RichIQ on March 17, 2021, 11:55:50 AM »Here are a couple of teasers for stuff coming up later in the year. The San Diego shot, shows the lettering I have been working on. The lettering at first glance looks the same for the specialty units. Its not. Each one is different. I could do it all the same, and most would not know. But I would. I am fortunate to have factory drawings of each unit, and can get the artwork to the scale it needs to be. The Orlando is something I have been working off and on with, for several years. In fact they have changed lettering since I started. I will put both styles on the sheet. Same as with San Diego, the lettering is not the same for the specialty units. The graphics were even different on later engines from the same specifications. Hard to keep up some times.
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News and Information / Re: Previous printings
« Last post by RichIQ on March 12, 2021, 07:04:55 AM »Troy, you have what is sure to be a collectors item!!
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News and Information / Re: Previous printings
« Last post by Troy on March 11, 2021, 03:46:58 PM »Looking forward to the new Phoenix sheet...One of the original sheets I bought from you nearly 20 years ago, and I still have one of them.
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News and Information / Out of NYFD
« Last post by RichIQ on March 10, 2021, 06:38:46 AM »I have run out of 43-FD-5, the NYFD. An updated file has been sent off for printing. About six weeks or so until they are back in stock.
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News and Information / Fire Department operated wreckers
« Last post by RichIQ on March 08, 2021, 09:06:35 AM »Just throwing this out there. We know LA City and County, FDNY, DCFD and Miami Dade all run rotator wreckers. Are there other's, and what are your thoughts on an FD Wrecker sheet?
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News and Information / Previous printings
« Last post by RichIQ on March 06, 2021, 02:53:45 PM »As time allows, I will be doing all new sheets of past agencies. I will be doing an all new DCFD first in this series. Like my other new sheets, I will make sure there is a lot of stuff for pick ups and SUV's, as that looks like all the new models we will get. I may look at printing San Diego fire again. I had done Phoenix Fire as my first full sheet. My new Phoenix Fire does not share anything with the original. So much as changed since I started doing this over 20 years ago.
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Emergency Vehicle Model Discussion / Re: Layering decals
« Last post by RichIQ on March 06, 2021, 12:49:54 PM »In this example, the Phoenix Fire Department does not use outlines, but has white around the letters, on a black drop shadow. Again, the shadows drops to the left. With this style of lettering, there is not much in the way of alignment required. You place the black in its final resting spot. When dry, take the white and lay it down over the black, in the far right corner, at the very top. Because there is no outline, no black should show on the right side, or on the top of the lettering. When the white is dry, the yellow/gold goes down over the white, centered.
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Emergency Vehicle Model Discussion / Re: Layering decals
« Last post by RichIQ on March 06, 2021, 12:47:30 PM »In this first example, the Detroit Fire Department is outlined in black. The outline would be too small to print on its own, so it is done as a solid object. But, Detroit also uses a drop shadow. In this case, as in most cases of fire related lettering, the shadow drops to the left. The three images on the left, are what gets printed, a black, white and yellow. They go down in that order. What I like to do, is put the black layer on where it will reside, and let it dry. Then when its time for the white, I use the top right corner of the black for alignment. You just lay the white down where you have an equal space to the top and right sides of the black. You can see the example in the photos. Once that is dry, you just lay the final color, in this case yellow/gold down over top of the white. The white actually determines the thickness of the outline, and the depth of the drop and left side shadows. You can fudge a bit if you want a more bold outline, and less drop shadow. Done this way, you get to do what looks best to you.
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Emergency Vehicle Model Discussion / Layering decals
« Last post by RichIQ on March 06, 2021, 12:43:01 PM »A few years ago, I started to print separate layers of colors for decals. This is for a couple of reasons. Foremost, it allows for much crisper graphics. And from an artwork standpoint, layering does not require the tedious task of trapping lighter colors under the next darker. Commercial screen printed graphics, are constrained to .004, or four one thousands of an inch. If the outline of your lettering or graphic is below that, it just wont print. However, if you make the outline a solid object, and then the next color over it, you can obtain those very fine outlines. By layering, I can get graphics that are otherwise not possible to print as one. There are a few drawbacks. One being, you have to let each layer dry completely. And layering is more time consuming. However, I am never in a hurry, and prefer the results of layering, especially on a model I just took weeks to build. Layering is probably not for the beginner, but you can get the hang of it pretty quickly. Another thing that layering requires, is careful study of the vehicle, and how the graphics are actually done. I will provide to very different examples below.