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You know what I have on my computer? Google.
http://www.papilio.com/inkjet%20adhesive%20transparency%20clear%20film%20media.html
Designed for making clear window signs. The trick would be laying it on A) correctly and B) without bubbles. Might be worth a shot if other forms of adhesion dont work.

The projector part reminded me of when we glued ALL of my math teachers overheads together (into a 3" stack), which made me think of it being part of the sheet in advance.

Hrm... what about clear vinyl sheets (idk if they make them, or if they'd be worth it... its quite the predicament :( )


Automatically Appended Next Post:
BTW: I hate the page bumping nightmare that is Dakka's caching server

There does not appear to be a way to order it from the web site...

Nope, gotta call it looks like:
http://www.texascraft.com/hps/catalog/index.html

Yeah, but Alf, there's no way to order that product from that page.

http://www.amazon.com/Avery-Sticker-Project-Inches-04383/dp/B0009DTDYM
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=rQ2&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&q=transparent+adhesive+paper&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1920&bih=1015&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=5648820388877424670&sa=X&ei=fnXuTYzaAqTo0QHEvcHeAw&ved=0CFcQ8gIwAw
http://www.hyaz.com/inkjet%20clear%20adhesive%20vinyl.html
Because I'm awesome. Looks like clear printable shipping labels would work just the same, they just arent 8.5 x 11 sheets.

I love it when the orkmoticons show up in urls.

I know, their website bites, their catalog bites.

You have to dig around in their categories section to find where the "Adhesive Window Transparency Film" because you can order online, you just have to be in the right category to order (and I haven't found the correct category yet).

Wow, just Wow. Those wings are beautiful man!
Well done on wittling it down to that idea WM.
Hope you find a way of printing them off or otherwise applying them

I snuck out to Wally World over lunch and picked up the Avery clear paper. According to the reviews it's not at all that clear so probably poorly suited to the task, but it's the one I could get in-hand easily so I'll experiment with it before ordering one of the other brands.

BTW... ugliest... shirts... ever.... Just so you know. While I was there I thought I'd get a few new short sleeved button down shrits for summer. Gods they were awful! I bought the only decent looking shirts in the entire store... 3 of them, and they're nothing to brag about. I know it's only Wal Mart but good Lord!

Pics or it didnt happen

I figured the Avery paper wouldnt be as good, but would be easy to find and test with. Didnt know it would be walmart easy to find.

I'm liking the look of the Computer Grafix paper... depending on the Avery test I may just go ahead and order that).

Anyone else catch WM's comment bout glueing the teachers transfers into a 3" stack? lol wish i thought of that during HS we made a pyramid out of all the lunch benches and tossed a vw bug frame on the roffs of the cafeteria

Could you cut it big and let it wrap around, then glue it on the green side?

then paint over the film with green, its done, if it lifts even slightly the shadow just adds more veins.

Naaah, too much work, and the back is sculpted so it wouldn't work anyway. I think one of the adhesive sheets will work just fine, just have to experiment with them.

You could always make a vein template from your print out and just hit the wing with a quick 75% white 25% silver or Clear and metal particles
(using the metal particles would not cover you existing paint but just add a metalic shine to the veiny areas making them stand out and you can
buy them from just about any paint/auto shop for about 20 bucks for a bag big enough to spray a car) mix from the air gun to add the veins in
faintly and shiny as well matey, it's a bit of work getting the template done but you only need one and then it's easily repeatable.

The silver/metal in the paint mix will make them shine as well so that when the light catches them they will feel even more insecty.

go one step further and buy a can of harlequin auto finish which is a clear coat with a relfective property that shines like a rainbow of colour
similar to a lot of insect wings.

Which ever way you go he's looking mighty keep doing it mate.

Never heard of harlequin auto finish, wonder if it's available in the States...

Gitsplitta wrote:It works!!



I found a good drawing on the web of the vein pattern of a preying mantis wing & copied it onto regular old transparency film... and viola! Instant veins on the wings without mucking up the background. This is just the prototype to see if the concept works. I'll be making my own veining pattern specifically for the wings, then copying that for the final product. I can make the veining in any color I want (based on the inks of the printer) so I can experiment a bit. Not too shabby. The veins show up better than this if you push the transparency tight to the wing, but this was the best I could do in order to take a photo.

THAT IS COOL!!!

I think I've got it. Still have a bit of touching up to do and the lower right wing pattern is not quite the right size (had to fill in pattern with micron pen)... but this is the look I was after. Material is ridiculously easy to work with. I may never worry about decal paper again (for flat surfaces anyway). So it's not perfect, but for a "make it up as you go along" prototype, it's better than I could have hoped for. With luck the dull coat will help to hid the flaw in the lower right wing and keep everything on nice and tight. I'll do some edging before I call it done so the edge lines are clean and crisp.

It looks awesome. Very well done.

if money wasn't an issue a nice finely detailed piece of etched brass for that detail might have worked well, It would stand proud of the surface or you could have used it as a spray mask but that would require thicker lines and some sort of adhesive....

Totally awesome. Brilliant work!

Only curse words could describe my enthusiasm for this miniature... so I will be clean...

Gits... EVERY time I see you experiment with something it turns out freaking awesome. I only hope that my Blood Angels can have even a fraction of awesomeness that is your mantis warriors

That, sir, is bloody beautiful. Again with the fist full of win. My only slight niggle is not with the wings as such, but whether there's enough colour contrast between them and the power weapoons, though it's tricky to tell from this pic.

o.o

awsome
truly
truly
awsome

That looks pretty damn good, a very good contrast in color compared to the green.

Amazing execution of an awesome idea. Love it.

Beautiful Gits, I say again, a perfect solution!

That solution is perfect. I like the wings trimmed.

Heck, I even liked the wings longer than the cover - I had this mental image of the wings unfurling like an insect due to some sort of nifty technology.

Thanks all! I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. I think I'd like to see the veins a little bit lighter & not quite so black... but I worked for an hour in photo shop and couldn't figure out how to do it without changing the color of the background. I have some other programs to work through though so I'll try those next. Of course it took me all 3 sheets of sticker paper to get even this close... so it's back to Wal Mart for more after work.

From the side there is a clear difference between the swords and the wings, it just doesn't show up well from this angle. I did want them similar looking though as they are both energy bathed surfaces. Though at one point I did toy with the idea of making the swords a reddish-orange-yellow blend rather than blue.

Need to work on the helmet next. I'm not satisfied with the way the white is looking but perhaps I'll feel differently when it's done. I suspect getting the eyes done will make a bit of difference.

Best of all it's my Friday! One long, mind-numbing day of redundant training and I've got 3 days off (most of which will be spent camping with my eldest & the boy scouts). Hope the weather holds. We just had a night a crazy severe storms go through. Only 1 tornado in the area but crazy 80-100 mph straight-line winds and soft-ball sized hail. Luckily the worst was south of us.

Lucky for some. Going anywhere particular for the camping?

And yeah, the eyes will make that helmet. I suspect a rich red will ease your troubles, especially since it's a fairly large area for it.