Another newbie question: what’s the difference between decals (deckles, hardy har-har) and stencils. And, while we’re at it, what does it mean when decals are in register? Thanks again for putting up with my ignorance.
Bill
Decals you are familiar with. The ones commercially available, as opposed to the self-made ones, come in a fairly wide variety. The really nice ones are now digital prints on clear backer film, but they were made with multiple silkscreen layers in the past. Any time something is printed in multiple layers, the layers need to be “registered”. In other words the layers need to be precisely placed one over the other. Often you will see what are called “reg”, or registration marks around the border of the print. Those look like little bullseyes.
When something is out of register, it’s obvious because teh elements aren’t lined up. Sometimes it just looks a little blurred, or the center red dot in a white circle isn’t in the middle. This is the result of a hurried or not carefully controlled process.
It’s more information than necesssary here, but then going down the scale into small production runs, things can change.
Stencils, as you may imagine, are masks. For instance, a white star decal would be a white printed star on a clear surrounding background. A white star made with a stencil would be an opening cut into a piece of self adhesive paper or tape. Place it on the model, paint the white star, and remove the stencil mask.
It’s a more prototypical way to do things, and can really make a difference in appearance for larger scale markings. It has limitations, it can’t do small dense blocks of type.
But imagine building a beat up Japanese prop fighter with a lot of chipping, wear marks and dirt. A bright red decal dot takes a lot of work to blend into the surrounding finish. A painted red dot made with a faded color of red will look great.
I hope that’s helpful,
Bill
Wow Bill, thanks for the great explanation (and your time)! Not too much description at all. Thanks again.
Bill
Gawd it has other issues, but I built this and used hand cut masks. The Hinomarus were as simple as a wide piece of tape and a circle cutter.
The civil registration codes (that word again!) were made by printing them out on paper, taping the paper down over wide tape on a cutting mat, and cutting through the paper and tape with a sharp Xacto. Not too hard or time consuming when you put your mind to it.
Try doing stuff like that, it’s a change from plunking down sheckles on aftermarket stuff for every model.
You can also buy machines to cut stencils. I use a cricut explore one and have been having a lot of success though it usually comes through lot’s of trial and error but the reward is worth it. The photos are of a just for fun WIP for my parents so there is no accuracy but it’s a good example of what you can do. All the markings were painted with stencils and you can actually get pretty small with the stencils as you can see, it even captured the comma in the Cliff’s Joy on the side. 
Aren’t the tiny little decals that were stenciled on the actual aircraft (such as “No Step” all over the place on flaps, etc) sometimes referred to as stencils too? (redundantly, even though there are really just small decals)
Or do I have that wrong?
That’s the term, however it’s probably out of date.
When adding the models marking, a combination of decals and painted markings is normal.
Another marking method is dry transfer lettering. It’s a self-adhesive letter, usually, deposited on the back of a carrier sheet as a reverse image. The sheet is placed over the model and the letter is burnished on to the surface from the front with something blunt like a soft pencil or charcoal drawing stub. Great for making white lettering, which is hard to do with home created decals.
You seal them after application.
To a modeler, there are the two different meanings. A stencil is a mask you use to apply paint. Decals do not need paint, they replicate a painted area, whether that area was painted freehand or with stencils.
The use of the word stencils is appropriate for military vehicles and planes. Those miscellaneous small marking stenciled areas are so small it would be very difficult to paint them yourself, so they are supplied as decals in kits. That is, it is a decal of a stenciled painted area.
90% of model markings are decal related.Nose art just to start.stencils are no match On the contest tables.Stencils work better on the armor side of modeling.Spray on aircraft rounduals have micro raised edges that you can feel Also, decals slide into position rather than getting right the first time spraying Stencils.Any way.Good luck and happy modeling.
OK but it was a question from a new member, not a request for a qualitative comparison.
And probably 99.99% of aircraft model markings, based on the quantity installed, are decal related because that’s what comes in a kit box.
But it’s all worth playing with to see what works best for you, Bill56.
I have nothing to add but this, Great question! Keep asking because it brings out a lot of awesome information. I learned some things from this too.
Great job GM with your synopsis.