Decals? Who Needs Decals?

Not Stanton Ewert!
Check out the hand lettering on his Estes Teros clone posted on the Model Rocketry Fanatics Facebook page -











Those aren't decals!
A small bottle of paint, a sharp brush and a very steady hand.

TLP Pershing #K046 Build, Part 53, Applying Vinyl

I got the vinyl lettering, so back to finishing up the TLP Pershing:

I saw an Ebay listing for custom vinyl.
For around $10.00, RapidVinyl.com cut two sets of U.S. ARMY lettering for me.

When applying vinyl sometimes you tape one side and make a "hinge". In this case I marked the outside cover with pencil center marks.

The back layer is peeled off. Pull slowly, down and away from the lettering still on the top layer.



Don't burnish until the lettering is centered and in position. You can re-position the lettering line if it is only lightly set on the surface
Press the letters in place then peel off the top layer.
Again, pull slow, down and away from the letters.

Cover the letters with a piece of clean copy paper and final burnish.

Sky Hook Build Lettering Part 9

This is from the original Letraset rub-on lettering sheet I used on my Sky Hook entry from 1972. They still rubbed on, but not very easily.

24 point type is actually too small for this model, but it is what I used then.

Through High School and college I had plenty of experience doing this kind of lettering in paste-up or diplomas. Anytime I wanted something centered, I'd make practice wording on a separate sheet of paper and set it on the work surface for positioning.

I laid masking tape down for a baseline reference once I decided what side of the rocket I wanted the lettering line to go.

Those tick marks under the lettering were meant for "proper" spacing. They are actually useless, unless you want the letter spacing to look like it was done on a machine. I only used them for my baseline.