Printed Tissue Markings for Scale Models

I have recently been corresponding with Stanislav Cerny, a master FF modeller from the Czech Republic. He has developed a very simple but effective method for creating markings for scale models using a colour ink-jet printer. Note that this page contains some large images, and some of the files presented for downloading are also large... they may take a while to download.

Before I get into the description of the technique, and to wet your appetite, here is a picture of Stanislav's Albatros (in Peanut Scale). All the markings, camouflage and lettering are printed onto the tissue before it is attached to the model. The results which Stanislav gets with this technique are really stunning:

Preparing the tissue for printing:

The process is quite simple. Its the detail which matters. 

The first step is to paste a sheet of tissue to a piece of paper so it can be fed through the printer.

This is accomplished by using a glue stick to paste the outside edges of the tissue to the paper, as shown in the sketch at the right.

The next step is to experiment with your printer to get consistent printed output. You may need to adjust the "density" of the printing - that's the amount of ink which is sprayed from the ink-jet head on each pass.

Once this is working OK, you can download some of the pre-designed artwork which Stanislav has created for various models shown below...

Stanislav has built a number of 1:20 scale and peanut scale models using this technique, and he has shared the markings files which he has created in CorelDraw for us all to use. I have converted the CorelDraw files to both JPEG and PNG formats, but the resolution is not as good in these formats. There are also some fonts which you need in the CorelDraw files (these are included at the bottom of the page).

Below you can find several models, with the markings in files which can be downloaded. Stanislav's original models for the Bf109, P-51H and Convair Charger are all 1:20 scale, so if you download the CorelDraw 7 files, they should already print out at the correct size for this scale. I have saved the JPEG and PNG files at a higher resolution, so they may not print out at the correct size... you'll probably need to scale the output to your printer. These files are provided for you to experiment with... please don't ask for help with printer settings, 

If you're going to use the CorelDraw 7 files, you will also need some extra fonts, which you can download in in this Zipped file.

I trust you enjoy these gems from Stanislav... wether you use the files which Stanislav has created to decorate your own masterpieces, or take inspriation from his technique and give it a try on other models, we all owe Stanislav a vote of thanks for sharing his genius with us.