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Apr 07, 2002, 11:01 PM
Heli Bouncer
Looooeeee!'s Avatar
Thread OP
Discussion

Inkjet printer colorized silkspan and finish techniques..


Hi

I'm scratch building a 28" balsa SE-5 bipe for light E-power and have been experimenting with running silkspan sheets "piggybacked" to standard paper using purple UHU, through the printer, to see if there might be an easier way to precolor and decal the silkspan before applying. I'm going to try some kind of fixative for the ink as I don't know if the polycrylic method of finishing the silkspan will cause the ink to run.

My question is.. has anyone tried this method of pre-colorizing fiber based coverings. I saw an article in MA a few years back about using inkjet prints on regular print paper in a transfer method onto tissue using Chartpak blender pens for peanut scale FF models.

I can say that my first experiments went without a hitch. I imported the BMP from the FMS liteSE-5 as basis for the color and decalage, scaled it up in PSP and printed some trail sizes on the adhered silkspan. Looks pretty good, if a little darker than I thought I wanted.

I also realize that this will involve tiling the finished 'span sheets onto the plane, but I think it'll work. I'm kinda suprized that no-one's done this as I've been extensively searching out this technique, not finding anything other than making decals using an inkjet printer.

Looee
Last edited by Looooeeee!; Apr 08, 2002 at 01:48 AM.
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Apr 08, 2002, 05:16 AM
Registered User
EZ-Bee's Avatar
There is stuff about Inkjet Printing Tissue on the Net , mostly related to Free Flight.

You need to use Dope or similar to waterproof the tissue.

Anything water based will make it run....

If it's got nasty fumes its probably OK for Inkjet Ink.....

The same should apply to "SilkSpan"

( I take it Silkspan is Silk, not just a brand name heavy tissue ? )
Sorry if that sounds silly, but the common brands of materials you may see in USA you do not find here , and sometimes you find the 'brand name' is a little different to what it sounds .

See these links,

http://www.rc-soar.com/tech/graphics.htm

http://www.aeromodel.com/TM/E1328T74

http://pw1.netcom.com/~bradleyp/elec_rc.htm

http://xoomee.com/tips.htm

http://www.flyingacesclub.net/alamo/tissueprinting.htm

Have not tried it myself , just storing up information for that day when I need it.

Peter....
Last edited by EZ-Bee; Apr 08, 2002 at 05:20 AM.
Apr 08, 2002, 06:43 AM
I have been using this method for about 6 years and it works great. I build models now that I wouldn't have tried before this method. I have been using Krylon Fixatif to seal the printed tissue before covering use about 3-4 light coats with the first 2 coats being the lightest. I cover with the purple UHU stick. Smith Miniplane 3 channel, GWS DX-A, 26" span, Printed tissue covering home made fiberglass prop. Started life as a free flight scale model.
Last edited by flailing; Apr 08, 2002 at 06:51 AM.
Apr 08, 2002, 08:10 AM
dusty bible = dirty life
Majortomski's Avatar
I used this method to print German Lozenge on plain tissue not silkspan. See this thread:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...hlight=lozenge


But either the alcohol I use for shrinking or the dope tends to make the colors run a bit.

HTH

Tom S
Apr 08, 2002, 11:12 AM
Heli Bouncer
Looooeeee!'s Avatar
Thread OP
That's what I needed gents, thanks a bunch. See you here again soon.

Looee
Apr 09, 2002, 07:59 AM
Here are a couple of shots of my Fokker with printed tissue. Again built as a free flight model but converted, just need to finish equipment installation. Next is a Fokker D-7.
Apr 09, 2002, 12:06 PM
Heli Bouncer
Looooeeee!'s Avatar
Thread OP
Flailing

Those are very nice models you've made. I'm inspired to finish this nicely. Some questions.. Will the Fokker be OK with the rudder so small? I've got a couple of rubber FF indoor planes with tiny rudders and the turbulence outside can cause much Dutch rolling.

I'm asking this as my next planned plane is an AVRO 511, which also has a smallish tail surface. I've always tried to enlarge these just in case.

Looee
Apr 09, 2002, 12:59 PM
I won't know about the rudder until I try it, if you notice the rudder is sheet balsa easy to make a larger one if needed, and it has been enlarged a little. A free flight trick we used was to put clear plastic sheet on the cabane struts to give us improved directional control with scale rudder sizes. Also the Fok uses wing warping a first for me.
Apr 20, 2002, 08:13 PM
Heli Bouncer
Looooeeee!'s Avatar
Thread OP
Hi all..


The experiments with the printing have progressed to the point where I'm covering the top wing of the SE5. I'll get some images later this evening. I'm using Bullseye shellac as a substitute for dope as it's thinned with alcohol and the smell isn't too bad. It also does not bleed the colors out of the inkjeted silkspan

I've had to play around in PSP and Paint to get the scale of the decalage right and the color close to what I want. Still I'm not sure if I'm close to WWI RAF colors for the SE5, but it looks damn close to the olivey dark green

I'm pre shellacing the frame in old time honored tradition dating back to model prehistory, of applying the colored sheets onto the still tacky wing surface and using shellac thinned with alcohol to bond through the silkspan, then pulling it tight as the shellac under starts to soften. I've had to overlap the sheets as one piece doesn't cover. I hope the overlaps don't show too much,



Looee
Apr 20, 2002, 09:46 PM
Heli Bouncer
Looooeeee!'s Avatar
Thread OP
Here is some of the skeleton(s) with the top wing covered 'cept for the tips.

I've downloaded some Losenge patterns, for printing on silkspan, for a Fokker DVI, (looks like a DRI with DVII wings, sort-of...) that I've just scaled up from peanut size. This WWI scale stuff is getting addictive..
Last edited by Looooeeee!; Feb 26, 2012 at 10:19 AM.
May 22, 2009, 08:35 AM
Intermediate Multi
Trisquire's Avatar
Do you need a fairly high-end inkjet printer to get satisfactory results with this technique? Paul Bradley uses a Hewlett Packard model 1120. I have an older Canon inkjet. At the time, it was the least expensive printer they made.

Tom
May 22, 2009, 04:01 PM
Registered User
Tom,
I've experimented with this technique on a few indoor models and get good results with an Epson CX3600 all in one job and cheap, aftermarket inks. All were done using gift wrap type tissue.
Be prepared to experiment. Set the printer for best photo and see how it comes out. Depending on colour, just set for photo may be enough. I can only get lozenge to print properly if I use photo enhance.

Pete
May 22, 2009, 06:09 PM
Intermediate Multi
Trisquire's Avatar
Thanks Pete. You're getting great results.

Tom
May 22, 2009, 08:45 PM
Still the "Pro"-crastinator...
Steve85's Avatar
Here are some pics of a Guillow's Rumpler I "lozenged" using the ink-jet printer technique. The link is to the build thread over in the the free flight forum, and buried in there somewhere are swatches of four- and five-colour lozenge pattern for anyone interested in trying the same.

You do have to be careful about water-based anything bleeding the colours, unless you're lucky enough to be using an Epson printer, which I'm told uses non-water soluble inks.

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=968198

Steve


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