"Temporary" Tattoos on Plastic

[itsonlyakit]

Found these "temporary" tattoos at dollar stores and M.........s. A very colorful assortment so I bought one package to experiment with. Instructions: cut out design of choice, peel off clear coat, put on your object (supposed to be your arm) face down, remember the graphics are reversed, apply a wet cloth to dampen the backing and the image will be released.



Here with a 6" rule to give a scale size. "Rat Rod" builders will like the variety of images available. Roofs, doors, deck lids will benefit.



Closeup of surf board, graffic down the center is the"tattoo" after application it was clear coated with automotive rattle can clear.



Trunk lid with a "tattoo" added, minor touch ups also added



The hard part about these transfers is predicting their positioning
because of the white backing. Also they cannot be moved once down so careful positioning before removing clear cover..........you can figure it out, I did !!!!



Examples of "tattoos" on unpainted gray and white plastic. Images work best on light colored backgrounds, gloss or matte clear coating will seal them.
Cheers Eh!

[models4life]

Looks good,I will trying them on a few projects I am working on.Thanks for the info.

[4speed]

I'll try these as well!! Very Cool!!! Thanks for posting!!! ;D

[hobbybobby]

Thanks for the post.

I use these also, have a full folder:
























First I cut it out roughly, but before I attach at my model, I cut it exactly the outer contour in order to position them better...


Here on the bottles:





Here, on Eddie`s helmet:





Important to say is also that these are not very opaque...


Try it out! ;D

[chromecop]

I've seen these "tattoos" being used on models before and it works quite well. Would it be possible...to attach them to an empty decal-sheet first, seal them with clear, and then apply them just like a normal waterslide-decal?

[Dennis M]

They are wicked' thanks for sharing. Dennis

[kettlekettle]

tons of ideas and endless possibilities. Ive used them in the past. They look cool and work great.

[Steve-o]

Yes i also have place & stick tatoo's .
They work real well on plastic !! ;D

[darquewanderer]

Now this is a cool idea. Thanks.

[snakeplissken81]

Very clever, thanks for the tip.

[futurabat]

I've wondered for years if this would work! Awesome, thanks for posting.

[mind9]

;D This makes me ferry happy.

Always wanted to try this.
Thanks


Gr
Dirk

[Wardster]

I've played with this idea with good luck, too -- so, definitely, if you find some cool temp tattoo's: go to town with 'em!

Here's an old pic (from this past June) from another thread, where I had mentioned having tried the idea out ...



Something to note is that most of the temporary tattoo's I've run across look like they have a white background, when you see them in the store ... but they don't. So, as noted by others, above: they're fairly transparent and/or show the paint colors that are underneath them...

... BUT, with another step or two before you apply them, you can "add white" to the "decal's" back side ... by spraying or brushing on some acrylic paint, right over what you see, as it sits on the sheet. (Keep in mind that the side you see on the sheet, is actually the side that touches the model / your arm. Meaning you don't even have to "stay in the lines" when you add some white, or some other background color, to your temp tattoo.)

(On this example, I'll have to go back in and touch a few things up ... but at least most of the skull's white was easy to add; and didn't obscure any of the detail that's already pre-printed on it. I got a bit carried away, playing with setting solutions and the like ... and, yes, one of these days: need to finish that model up!)

[Count Dragula]

Thanks for the pointers on the temporary Tatoos....I used a temporary tatoo on the helmet of my 1:20 scale AMT "Gridiron Grabber" kit.....You can get these temporary tatoos at your favorite NFL teams local gift shop.Here is my "Colts Grabber" with said tatoo (and a Colts Christmas ornament to accompany the build).

Todd ;D

[rustybill1960]

Huh . . . .
Hot tip!
Gonna have to check that out
Thank You for sharing
Later
Russ

[Wardster]

Aug 17, 2012 1:18:54 GMT -6 chromecop said:

Would it be possible...to attach them to an empty decal-sheet first, seal them with clear, and then apply them just like a normal waterslide-decal?

I haven't tried it, but it seems like that should work out fine. It would also give you the option to use a clear background, or a white one ... depending on the type of "blank" decal sheet used.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2013 1:25:58 GMT -6 Wardster said:

Aug 17, 2012 1:18:54 GMT -6 chromecop said:

Would it be possible...to attach them to an empty decal-sheet first, seal them with clear, and then apply them just like a normal waterslide-decal?

I haven't tried it, but it seems like that should work out fine. It would also give you the option to use a clear background, or a white one ... depending on the type of "blank" decal sheet used.

Seem to me that it would not work being you have to do the transfer of the temp tattoo with water but thats just me let me know if anyone has tried this with any success...

[41chevy]

THanks for the posts. I'll defiantly be using some on a future project!! Paul

[Deleted]

Another thing not to over look is magazine images or any other image on paper, I did this on my aztec warrior model its an image out of a magazine and I have done this on several models, you cut the image to shape, using elmers glue coat the back of the image and then glue to the surface of the model it will require that you work the paper smooth till the image is flat to the part, once dry what I do is clear coat it then wet sand it with 1200 sandpaper then clear coat repeat until you do not see an edge around the image. May take up to a half dozen times or even more.