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I am assuming there are suppliers of repro decals around, so looking for information on them please including recommendations and experiences.   I am keen to get hold of some for my early F1 cars, but also for a couple of minis.

Thanks 

Andy 

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1 hour ago, SuperChamp82 said:

MCI in California - https://mciracing.ca/

You’ll end up disappointed by everything else unless custom made. 

California? i thought they were based in canuckistan....?

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On 8/1/2019 at 5:50 PM, SuperChamp82 said:

MCI in California - https://mciracing.ca/

You’ll end up disappointed by everything else unless custom made. 

Wait a minute.. in support of Nathaneal and his stock.  I have some high-definition full vector designs that were recently added in and can assure you are top level design, I’m sure there are many others as well Unfortunately, I’m currently not taking any custom design, so sorry can't help with the F1 request. I have to relocate back home to the west coast in a month and WILL be tapped out busy for a while...

Audi R8 24hr LMS E-Post Brief (raced at 2018 TCS Finals in SoCal ! )
Porsche 961
Mercedes-Benz GT3 Polarweiss
Mercedes-Benz GT3 Weathertech
Mercedes-Benz GT3 DHL

 

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On 8/1/2019 at 11:50 PM, SuperChamp82 said:

You’ll end up disappointed by everything else unless custom made. 

Exactly. I won't claim I've tried absolutely every "brand" of Tamiya repro decals out there, but I've tried all the rather wellknown ones and some "esoteric" ones, some of which are/were claimed to be fantastic, and none don't even come close to MCI. That doesn't mean that MCI decals are perfect, and how correct for instance the sizes and colours are, vary from set to set. Overall quality is however very good for being repros, and I've been satisfied with all of the exactly 65 sets I've bought from MCI so far. In comparison, all other "brands" I've tried have at the best been barely acceptable for a (rough) runner, at the worst downright garbage. "Garbage" as in putting them directly into the garbage bin after unpacking them. Literally.

However, two new "brands" have recently popped up. One in the Netherlands and another one in Germany and I intend to try both, although an alternative to MCI is hardly required. In my opinion, the only (mostly) superior option to MCI are the original decals, and I don't think it's very likely that Tamiya, Kyosho & co will re-release many of their old decals. And AYK certainly won't! :P

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I too would highly recommend MCI.  I'm also interested to know why no one has ever been able to replicate the quality of Tamiya originals???

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1 hour ago, Hudson said:

I too would highly recommend MCI.  I'm also interested to know why no one has ever been able to replicate the quality of Tamiya originals???

It's due to the print process and economies of scale. I wrote this to explain (click the "Truck Norris replied to a topic" heading to jump to my comment):

 

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+1 on Nath’s customer service 

I’ve bought over 20 sets from MCI and he was let down once by UPS losing one en route and another with a colour mismatch 

He didn’t quibble either - just immediately resent at his own cost 👍

Also agree with @Mokei Kagaku - the only better kit stickers are Tamiya OEM 

A few people will do superb custom though - usually at a price to match 

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On 8/3/2019 at 4:08 PM, Truck Norris said:

It's due to the print process and economies of scale. I wrote this to explain (click the "Truck Norris replied to a topic" heading to jump to my comment):

 

I kind of figured that this was the issue, set up costs are simply too great and demand not sufficient, it's still a bit crazy though that 40 years on and with all the marvels of modern technology, even considering much smaller demand,  no one can match the old school Tamiya decals.

Is it fair to say that MCI decals are as good as tamiya in terms of stickiness and thickness and durability?

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Agree with all of the above gents 

And @Truck Norris always takes body work to another level - with insight that teaches me something every time I look 😂

My point re MCI focuses on detail vs value 

Nath shoots a gap left open by others - with stickers that retail somewhere between $14 to $24 plus postage the last time I looked.

@Mokei Kagaku is then spot on re Tamiya OEM being the only  (non-custom) winner - but @Truck Norris then notes why volume vs cost make that obvious.

I do struggle sometimes with the expectations in here guys 😂

Show me better stickers for the money than MCI and I’ll be happily disabused 👍

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On 8/1/2019 at 10:45 PM, Andyfish2000 said:

I am assuming there are suppliers of repro decals around, so looking for information on them please including recommendations and experiences.   I am keen to get hold of some for my early F1 cars, but also for a couple of minis.

Thanks 

Andy 

The decals I put on my HG ( clone bruiser ) are from MCI racing and they are superb👍 any other unless they are the original are generally a disappointment and as you can see they do almost any customisation and considering they are from Canada the delivery is pretty quick!

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18 hours ago, moffman said:

The decals I put on my HG ( clone bruiser ) are from MCI racing and they are superb👍 any other unless they are the original are generally a disappointment and as you can see they do almost any customisation and considering they are from Canada the delivery is pretty quick!

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Very nice. Do you spray clear over the decals? 

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2 hours ago, magnumb said:

Very nice. Do you spray clear over the decals? 

Normally I do but on this I never no reason but I have sprayed over MCI decals before and they are fine!

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Decal surface finishing is a key - esp lexan vs ABS.

Guys recommending high gloss finishes are right for lexan.

You need a dull matt - sometimes ever so lightly abraded - finish for ABS or the lacquer coat drifts. 

And even shelf queen lexan merits a v light silicone dressing or similar.

Why ?

Because the best sticker glue still perishes over time - esp at the edges - and if you want a finish that will last / gently patina it needs sealing.

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Someone asked in this post why no one has managed to match the quality of the original Tamiya items. As far as I am aware, the originals were screen printed using various ink bath processes, a system which is now obsolete.

I always have to laugh when someone says that things aren't like they used to be because the technology doesn't exist anymore. Hang on, aren't we living in the 21st century? How can we not replicate old technology?  Instead of trying to achieve the same results with a PC and printer, why doesn't someone just screen print some decals?....🙄

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14 minutes ago, junkmunki said:

Someone asked in this post why no one has managed to match the quality of the original Tamiya items. As far as I am aware, the originals were screen printed using various ink bath processes, a system which is now obsolete.

I always have to laugh when someone says that things aren't like they used to be because the technology doesn't exist anymore. Hang on, aren't we living in the 21st century? How can we not replicate old technology?  Instead of trying to achieve the same results with a PC and printer, why doesn't someone just screen print some decals?....🙄

you can still screen print, it's just for small runs, it makes the stickers really expensive. But you can get colours that you can't print easily like metallics etc. Below is a pic of a screen print I did for a customer last year. I bought the screen kit from an Art store and made my own jig to screen them. I had about 100 to do. The screen I used cured under sunlight, so I didn't need too many special chemicals or anything. The hardest part was getting the screen really tight on the frame, as it needs to be super tight so there is no sag. otherwise you get bleed through the edges.

When going onto PVC or vinyl, you'll want better inks, so they are permanent.  

One colour onto cardboard is easy once I was setup. But for multiple colours, you'll also need a better setup, as you have to register each colour precisely, so that means a much better setup. Also you have to make a screen for each colour, plus you have to buy inks in minimum quantities, so for white or black etc, that would be fine, but if you've got special colours, they either have to be mixed or you ending up buying more than you need.

Compare all that to a wide format printer (what a sticker is generally printed with). I just have to load up the artwork, make sure I have the right media and press print. If there is unused space, I can fill it with other artwork. We have a matching cutter too, so when setup correctly, it'll print and then cut the stickers to shape. Relatively very little work, when compared to screen printing for small runs, that can still give decent results.

 

screen-print-sample-1.jpg

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Is Nathan active here?  I wrote him through Facebook but got no reaction since yet. I have a special project in the make , and before i start Drawing a complete Decalsheet from scratch perhaps he has a Vector file i can Start from....?

 

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15 hours ago, SuperChamp82 said:

Decal surface finishing is a key - esp lexan vs ABS.

Guys recommending high gloss finishes are right for lexan.

You need a dull matt - sometimes ever so lightly abraded - finish for ABS or the lacquer coat drifts. 

And even shelf queen lexan merits a v light silicone dressing or similar.

Why ?

Because the best sticker glue still perishes over time - esp at the edges - and if you want a finish that will last / gently patina it needs sealing.

See if I have this right....

Dull matt finish on decals for ABS if spraying clear over them so it can adhere better? 

And for lexan you seal the edges of the decals with silicone? or the whole decal? 

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Follow up on Nathaniel's printing quality, they are as good as you can get with today's technology.

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IMO Miles who him and his father used to sell vintage Tamiya and Kyosho parts did the best decals, all were redrawn in vector and the colours were the best/closest.

Screenprintdigital as did quality ones as well.

I have a feeling both were given cease and desist letters from Tamiya.

I have bought decals twice from MCI Racing. The first was 5 sets, including a Juggernaut set and a boomerang set. The juggernaut ones were so badly pixelated. Someone here posted a picture of the Dick Cepek logo, which was the same as mine. The boomerang ones I cut the bumper stickers out and placed them on a new vintage bumper, and then proceeded to buy a NIP vintage Tamiya set. I wasn't happy with any of the 5 sets and haven't used any apart from cutting out those boomerang bumper stickers.

The second set I bought about two- three months ago. I decided to give it another whirl as I felt like my Grand Hauler could do with some vintage king hauler decals but with a colour change.

These are the king hauler ones, the gold looks to have run out or something, so cannot be used.

I sent an email and was assured replacements were on their way. That was over a month ago. Still hoping they will show up.

Widqanb.jpg

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Just received some MCI sticker sets today. First impression - they looked great - I mean, they're not originals, but I thought the print quality was excellent. However, when I placed them next to some of the original bits I still had, I noticed the repros were scaled a bit bigger. Now I'm really concerned as the sticker set for the Corolla is a bit substantial - they cover window sills, body contours, etc... :wacko: are they sized usually like this?

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On 8/22/2019 at 11:19 PM, berman said:

The juggernaut ones were so badly pixelated. Someone here posted a picture of the Dick Cepek logo, which was the same as mine.

Yes, that was mine. 

The pixellation is indeed a little excessive sometimes. Presumably some of the artwork is in raster format and of an insufficient resolution. I can't think of any other reason.

The resolution of the printer may be a factor, some very large format ones, especially older ones, don't have a particularly high DPI as they are intended for making big window graphics etc but the resolution fall off is usually more subtle and not the obvious pixellation effect. I don't think I've ever seen that effect actually caused by the printer.

Considering I've had different sets with different levels of pixellation, I'm guessing it's the artwork.

Aside from that though, they are probably the best you can get at the moment and you can't really notice the pixellation from normal distances, even on the worse ones. I've always been very pleased with them and find them to be good value.

Screenprintdigital made some very nice ones but it seems like the lawyers got to them because they don't do the repros any more. 

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...so i've started re-stickering my old corolla wrc.. my first mci set... and so far its been grand! sure it's not the easiest for me, and i still got a ways to go with the set, but so far i am a very happy chappy!

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this is actually the first rc i bought with my own cash, also the first i put together by myself... well i applied the original stickers without removing the protective film...

 done laughing?

so i found it in storage with all the stickers peeling off. but underneath the protective film was still an almost perfect shell :-) 

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