Hot Toys 1/6th scale ED-209
CUSTOM DECAL APPLICATION TUTORIAL
(now OFFICIALLY COMPLETE, with a final change described on page 4.
Consider this a companion to the 45 numbered photos I posted on the first page of this thread. As you read the text below, you can reference specific photos as indicated. Reading this text and looking at the companion photos will be a thousand times easier if you have downloaded all of the pictures, and have them in a folder for quick access in one window, while this text is in another window.)
This tutorial will cover the application of all the ED-209 decals, even though you may not wish to use them all. The placement of each individual decal has its own unique requirements and techniques for application, because the different body parts of ED-209 have different shapes, and so do the decals. Also, some of the decals are very small, so that presents challenges. I will describe and illustrate how to apply each one, with its own unique problems and solutions.
Getting started:
You will need a well-lighted work table. You will need padding of some kind to protect ED-209 against the hard work surface; a couple common towels will be fine. If your eyesight isn't perfect, a flex-position magnifier clamped onto the edge of your table will help a lot, though it's not necessary; some cheap magnifying reading glasses will work fine, especially for the smaller decal applications.
UPDATE: I am now spraying on a coat of lacquer to all decal sheets before sale, to protect them during shipping. You may wish to spray on another coat before you cut apart the decal sheet.
DO NOT BREATH THE FUMES. Lacquer fumes are toxic. They are also FLAMMABLE. Do this outside or with very good ventilation.
Shake the can very well, then spray from a distance of about 9 inches, passing the spray side-to-side in short bursts. DO NOT spray too much; three or four light quick passes will be enough, just until the surface of the decal sheet appears shiny and wet. (NOT ENOUGH is better than TOO MUCH. If the coat is too light, you can always add a bit more, but you can't take away... like adding salt to your soup.) Allow to fully dry for a period of about 2 hours. (I personally use WATCO clear wood lacquer sealer, which dries in about 15 minutes; but allow 2 hours just to make sure the decals are dry and safe to handle. Check the drying time of your particular lacquer brand.)
While the decal sheet is drying, gather all the basic materials together including about 1 inch depth of water in the white bowl. (the white bowl gives you an advantage, because the decals are either dark or brightly colored, so they will be easy to see in a white bowl.)
(SEE PHOTO - 00)
Remove the arms from ED-209; this will make many of the following steps much easier. You can proceed in a couple of different ways; You can position ED-209 on the padded work table, so that the first target decal area on ED's body faces UP and is more or less LEVEL. You might want to place a folded towel between ED's legs to keep them apart. Try to set the figure in such a way as to keep it stable so it won't tilt or rock. Alternately, you can also apply the decals while ED is standing up. I found this to be a lot easier; the soaked decals can be handled carefully, and put in place using your fingers. You will need to reposition ED-209 a few times, depending on which decal you're applying and where. With the arms removed, you can more easily apply their own decals, and mask them for the final lacquer coats to come later.
Helpful tips:
1) Place your shallow bowl of water as close to the intended decal location on ED's body as possible, so you can easily carry the wet decal a short distance from the bowl to it's destination.
2) Use sharp scissors to trim away as much extra transparency around the edge of the decal image as you can, before it goes into the water. This will help make the decal edges virtually invisible, for a more natural 'painted-on' look.
3) Only place ONE decal in the water to soak at a time, FACE UP. More than one decal soaking together can result in major complications.
Now we begin:
Now that the lacquer-coated decal sheet is completely dry, carefully cut apart the decals you intend to use, and trim the extra transparency from the edges. Put them aside in a safe place where they won't be disturbed by wind, or cats, or whatever.
Gently push ONE decal down to the bottom of the shallow bowl, FACE UP, and let it soak for about 1 minute. Extended soaking time may cause the decal to drift completely off and away from the paper backing; try to time 1 minute to avoid that. If the decal does separate from the paper backing and drift away, you can carefully pick it up out of the water on your brush or razor knife blade, or even with your fingers, and transport it to its destination.
1 minutes later: Dip a broad square paint brush (maybe 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide) or your finger into the water, and gently try to shift the decal to one side slightly, to see if it has released from the blue backing paper. If you can freely move the decal to the side separate from the backing paper, it's time to apply it.
Note: At this stage, many people would use some kind of 'Decal-Set' on the target area and on the decal itself, before applying it. First of all, the term 'Decal-Set' is misleading. This substance doesn't 'set' anything. 'Decal-Set' is mostly vinegar, intended for two purposes: to clean the plastic decal area of oil, and to soften the decal and make it more flexible. This step is not necessary; Almost all the decal areas on ED-209 are perfectly flat, so the decals don't need to be 'rubberized'. (The small black text decals for the inside and outside of the gun arms will be applied lengthwise on the cylindrical gun arms; they will lay flat, even though the gun arms are cylindrical.) If your ED-209 figure has oil on the decal spaces, wipe them clean with a dry cloth before proceeding.
Use a brush to 'paint' a tiny bit of water onto the decal target area- just one wet brush stroke will do. The smaller the target area, the less water is needed. This will allow the decal to be moved around easily for perfect placement.
Now, use a pointed tool in one hand- maybe a hobby razor knife, to tilt one edge of the decal (paper backing included) up from the bottom of the bowl, just high enough to slip the square brush under it. With the other hand, use the brush like a spatula to SLOWLY lift the decal, paper and all, up out of the water. Lift it slowly and keep it level as it rises, so the decal won't slip off the paper backing. Make sure the decal STAYS ON the paper backing at this point if you can.
Carefully lift and carry the decal with paper backing to its intended destination, and lay the whole thing- paper and all, onto the application area, with the correct image orientation, right-side up. Now just slide the decal onto the target surface and pull the paper backing out from under it at the same time. If you are applying the decals with ED-209 standing up, you can hold up the decal & paper backing with one hand and slide the decal onto ED's body with the other hand. If the decal isn't placed exactly where it should be, dab a little water onto it with the brush, and just move it around with your fingers, or with a razor knife or tooth pick for smaller decals. If it doesn't want to move, don't panic- dab a little more water on it, and try moving your finger in the center of the decal, just to get it loose; then PULL the decal with the brush or with a finger, until it's correctly positioned.
Note: If a wet decal folds on itself or wrinkles, carefully lift it back into the bowl of water. It can easily be unfolded floating in the water, but be careful not to damage it.
Now that the decal is exactly where it belongs, the next step is to remove any air bubbles and excess water from underneath the decal. This can be done by pressing your finger down on one edge of the decal to anchor it, while using the brush to 'sweep' in the other direction.
When all air bubbles and excess water have been brushed out, let the decal dry in place. If you do accidentally shift the decal out of its correct position, just dab more water on it and around its edges, and try again. If the decal isn't correctly positioned, KEEP IT WET until it is.
After the decal is completely dry, DON'T TOUCH IT until it has been sealed in place with the second lacquer coat. It can literally fall off if it's disturbed, until you seal it. If this happens, the decal is still quite usable; you'll just need to dab a tiny bit of water onto the target area and re-apply it. This type of decal does not have a layer of glue on the back, in order to make them as thin as possible.
I know this sounds like a ton of work considering how many decals there are, but it's just the language that makes it seem that way; Much more effort was needed for me to TYPE this than it takes to place a few decals.
So, that is how I apply one water-slide decal.
_______________________________
Specific decal locations:
(SEE PHOTO - 01) (outside right leg, stock) On my ED-209 at least, the large 'Dangerous Subtances' decal isn't centered in its proper place; the decal is shifted to the right, so the right edge of the metal frame is covered with black decal; the black even folds over the edge a bit. It's possible that one or more of your like-decals have the same problem, on the inside and/or outside of the legs. If that is the case, when you apply the new upgrades make sure they ARE centered, then you might need to repaint some of the frame edges metallic to create a complete, symmetrical metal frame around the image. I sized the new decals to fit on these two rectangular spaces (outside legs) with exactly 1mm of frame space allowed on all four sides. I suggest using TESTORS 1181 Aluminum enamel or TESTORS 1180 Steel, to paint the frames as needed.
(SEE PHOTOS - 02, 32 and 34) (outside right leg, after virtual application; after metallic frame painting, and masking for final coating) I decided to try the following chronological order of actions, and it worked very well:
1) paint inside leg 'dangerous subtances' decal spaces aluminum first, then
2) apply new black and white decal and small 'open' decal,
3) mask, exposing both decals
4) coat with gloss lacquer (2 coats, 45 minutes between them)
5) final dull coat
Painting the inside leg rectangular spaces totally metal (not only the frames, but the whole space) then applying the decal, then lacquer coating... It did NOT ruin the metallic finish of the aluminum paint as I expected it would. It still looks metallic, and the best benefit is that the new aluminum paint is now sealed in with the decal, so it won't rub off.
Also: I tried an experiment: I added the final dull coat to one side, and not the other. The gloss lacquer isn't really very glossy; it produces a finish like polished eggshell. I decided that I didn't really need the dull coat for many of the decals, and I also decided to give an extra coat of gloss lacquer for even better protection- so including the first coat on the uncut decal sheet, that is a total of three coats of gloss lacquer. I applied the 'ED-209/3798 CRSL:R20' decal above the missile launcher, and I DID need to add the final dull coat.
(SEE PHOTOS - 03, 35 and 36) (outside left leg) You have the option to apply the custom orange triangular decal on both sides, or apply just one and leave the other side with its original red and white decal. In the movie, both versions appeared at different times on the life-size prop and the animation model, in the same location on the leg. In other scenes of the animation model, there was no decal in this location at all. (The same note regarding non-centered decal framing applies here, as in photo #01 above.)
(SEE PHOTO - 04) (inside right leg, stock)
(SEE PHOTO - 05) (inside right leg after virtual application)
Before applying the two black and white text decals on the inside of both legs, both of the flat rectangles should be repainted metallic, right over the top of the original stock decals, to accurately reproduce the frames as they appeared on the life-size ED-209 prop in the film.
Metallic paint is sometimes tricky and unpredictable; Some brands and specific tones never really seem to fully dry, and continue to be vulnerable to smearing and rubbing off, feeling 'tacky' seemingly forever. I have found a couple kinds that really DO fully dry, and have a very good metallic look: TESTORS 1181 Aluminum, and 1180 Steel, in the small 1/4 oz bottle.
Very important note: A little bit of metallic paint goes a long way; If you lay on too much paint, it will take MUCH longer for the frame to fully dry, and will be subject to fingerprints longer. Most metallic paint is also very fluid; if too much is used, it could bleed into areas where it shouldn't be. Dip your fine detail brush in the metallic paint, dab it onto a cloth to drain out most of the paint, and then lay the paint onto the rectangular panels lightly, in careful strokes. After it is dry, a second coat is recommended so the metal coloration is consistent.
(SEE PHOTOS - 06 and 37) (inside left leg after virtual application; after metal frame painting and masking)
(SEE PHOTO - 07) (right rear of elbow, stock decal is printed upside-down)
The upside-down decal on the elbow (and its right-side-up twin on the left elbow) are sort of 'special needs' decals. In the film, they have the exact same height-to-width proportions as the others of their kind, located on the outside of the right and left gun arms. (the left one is missing on the HT figure.)
For some strange reason, Hot Toys made the rear elbow decals slightly taller and a tiny bit more slender than the other ones. (I think during the design phase, they made the rectangular depressions a bit too tall and skinny- then later had to make the decals fit.) This means that two small issues will need to be dealt with, in order to replace the upside-down decal and its opposite twin:
1) Cut
ALL the extra blue paper/transparency off the left and right edges of the decals, to make them slender enough to fit down into the rectangular depressions. While the decal is still wet and freshly applied, use a razor knife edge to gently push the right and left sides of the new decal down into the edges of the depression. You can press excess water and any air bubbles out from under it by pushing gently onto it with your fingertip.
2) Since the existing decals are a bit longer/taller, CENTER the new decals top-to-bottom, leaving about 1mm of space above them and below them. This will leave tiny slivers of the original decals visible, (the upside-down 'danger' on the right side will be visible just below the new decal, and just above it on the left side.) You should use the metallic paint to fill the 1mm spaces above and below the new decals, AFTER it has been framed and masked with tape and after its final coat of lacquer. This will re-frame the new decals and make the old ones invisible.
(SEE PHOTO - 08) (right rear of elbow, new improved decal virtually added right-side up)
I have included several extras of this decal, so you can apply another one to the left elbow too, and also on both gun arms. (shown later)
(SEE PHOTO - 09) (right inside gun arm, stock)
(SEE PHOTO - 10) (right inside gun arm after virtual application)
These inside-arm decals should be applied directly behind the bolt as shown, centered between the two sides of the black rectangular area below them.
Note: These decals do not appear anywhere in the film. They are only present in photographs of one of the original ED-209 animation models on display at Tippett Studios. It's possible that the animation model that had these decals wasn't used in the film; or if it was, the decals are not seen during the animation scenes.
(SEE PHOTO - 11) (left inside gun arm, stock)
(SEE PHOTOS - 12 and 27) (left inside gun arm after virtual application)
These inside-arm decals should be applied directly behind the bolt as shown, centered between the two sides of the black rectangular area below them.
Note: These decals do not appear anywhere in the film. They are only present in photographs of one of the original ED-209 animation models on display at Tippett Studios. It's possible that the animation model that had these decals wasn't used in the film; or if it was, the decals are not seen during the animation scenes.
(SEE PHOTO - 13) (left outside gun arm, stock)
(SEE PHOTOS - 14 and 28) (left outside gun arm after virtual application)
These outside-arm decals have a different placement than the inside-arm decals; they sit higher on the arm. The left one shown above is centered over the black area below it.
Note: This decal on the left arm does not appear anywhere in the film. It is only present in photographs of one of the original ED-209 animation models on display at Tippett Studios. It's possible that the animation model that had this decal wasn't used in the film; or if it was, the decal is not seen during the animation scenes. It IS however seen on the right life-size gun arm prop, when ED-209 tries to shoot Murphy in the face at close range in D. Jones' office.
The red and black 'finger danger' decal at the right of the photo was missing entirely, at least on my ED-209. According to the life-size prop in the film, it should actually be placed in a slightly different position than we see here, as explained below.
(SEE PHOTO - 15)
(SEE PHOTO - 16) (right outside gun arm, stock)
(SEE PHOTO - 17) (right outside gun arm after virtual application)
Like its twin on the left outside arm, this decal sits higher on the arm than the inside ones do. However, unlike its twin it is not centered in the middle of the arm length. The right end of the decal should be placed about 14mm from the front edge, where the arm cylinder angles down to a cone shape. The bottom of the decal should be placed about 8mm above the metal-colored plate below it. Remove the targeting device before applying and sealing this decal.
(SEE PHOTO - 18) (left and right rear slide rail caps, stock)
(SEE PHOTO - 19) (left and right slide rail caps after virtual application)
(SEE PHOTO - 20) (left front slide rail caps, stock)
(SEE PHOTO - 22) (Above: left front slide rail caps after virtual application)
(SEE PHOTO - 24) (right front slide rail caps after virtual application)
(SEE PHOTO - 25) (missile launcher, stock)
(SEE PHOTOS - 26, 29, 30, 31) (missile launcher with virtual new decals)
Here we see four separate decals virtually applied.
1) black and yellow caution bars (I removed stock decal)
2) black and yellow missile launcher diagram (I removed stock decal)
3) black and red 'finger danger' (covers stock decal)
4) wire plug 'CN49' code sticker (absent on original figure)
On the life-size prop, the wire plugs are made from a milky-white translucent plastic. There are several such plugs on the figure's gun arms, all of which I have painted off-white for improved accuracy. The smallest decal in the set is applied here in its accurate place, on the lower two-thirds of the white wire plug, just above the butt of the top missile. I suggest you paint the small wire plugs off-white too, so the tiny code decal will stand out in contrast.
Photos 29, 30 and 31 show how I removed the original decals, then masked the right gun arm, and then spray-sealed those decals in place.
Note: I removed the original caution bars decal because it was placed a bit crooked. I also removed the original missile launcher diagram decal, for the following reason: The original decal has an incorrect width-to-height ratio, compared to the decal in the movie. When I created the decals, I reproduced the correct width-to-height proportions according to the film. Therefor, the new custom decal is slightly less wide than the Hot Toys decal, while its height is the same as the stock decal. I removed the original stock decal so its left and right edges would not be visible from underneath the new decal.
(SEE PHOTO 32) This picture shows the outside right leg, decals applied and fully masked for spraying.
Note: the four small 'OPEN' button decals need to be trimmed a bit before applying them; Use your scissors or press down on a hard surface with a razor knife to trim the left and right sides a tiny bit, and trim the top and bottom a tiny bit too. When I was measuring the red rectangle on the legs, it was very difficult to do it with high precision, so just to be safe I had them printed with a little extra space for trimming. When you apply one 'OPEN' decal, center the text 'open' in the middle of the small red rectangular space.
