Large Scale Central

Stained Glass Windows

General Discussion
#1

So I was thinking about the church and decided it would be much more visually interesting to have stained glass windows. I don’t plan on ever modeling interiors. And I also have every intention of sealing windows so bugs can’t get in. Rooster gave me the tip of using foil tape to make window backings that look like light reflecting. And I will likely use this technique on most all of my buildings as it is relatively easy and inexpensive.

But for doing a stained glass window I am thinking of using the technique of printing a picture and laying it behind the window. And this would work well for a stained glass window. Sure you will loose much of the detail on close examination, but at a distance should look decent.

Is it a fair idea to glue the picture to a piece of clear plastic and then glue that to the back of the frame so that it seals the whole thing from the weather and not ruin the printed picture?

I feel like this has been discussed before, maybe even by me. But I will be darned if I can find the thread. So forgive me if this is a redo of an old topic.

window
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The grey would be my printed window frame.

#2

Do you want to light the interior and have it shine through? May not work if printed on paper.

Could inkjet print on .010” clear plastic. White would be clear. Not sure how translucent. You would need to seal it of course.

I worry about fading due to UV or other causes. Some signs I printed this way on the same thickness white styrene have faded pretty far.

image
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#3

I have not had much luck printing on styrene like you have. Not sure why but it just doesn’t work for me. The ink or dye what ever is in these machines just puddles up into little droplets. I have the same basic issue trying to print decals which is why I am not going that route.

One route I am try is to see if my new laser printer will print them better than inkjet. If I can print a decal on clear film then lighting it would be very cool. If not then I will go paper and leave it un lit. But UV fading is something I had not even considered at all. Hmmm.

#4

I think that anything printed will fade and peel away over time and if the building is sealed, how do you change it?

When I did stained glass for my Jewish Temple, I cut the framework and panes, clear and colored, on a laser table from acrylic and CA’ed the pieces together.

#5

The buildings won’t be completely sealed. I will have some form of access (removable roof or some sort of bottom access so I can get to the interior when I need too.

I just found a forum that discussed using overhead projector film. Its transparent and is designed to be laser printed on. And its plastic. May have to give this a try. And if I copy the image in reverse then when it is printed it will be on the backside of the film and should be protected when inside the building. :thinking: :thinking: :thinking:

#6

Key to inkjet on plastic is to lightly spray it with hairspray (!) before you print. Gives the ink something to stick to.

#7

I remember you telling me that before and I had no luck still. Also tried Dull Coat. Neither allowed me to print worth a dang. Now it could have just as easily been my printer. And I no longer have an inkjet as I switched to a laser so I could make decals on laser paper which does work somewhat. But not great.

#8

Laser Transparency film

This maybe promising through my color laser printer.

#9

When I was doing my passenger cars, I made some slides in Powerpoint and took them to Staples to have them print on clear plastic - seemed to work pretty well. I think ALL of the pictures I ever printed on paper to stick behind windows faded after some time and, even though the buildings were sort of sealed, still suffered from water damage - perhaps just from condensation?

It MIGHT work, but I’m not sure how long it would really last… :thinking:

#10

this is what has me intrigued about the transparency film. Since it is toner that is more or less burnt into whatever its printing on I am hoping it will last. Especially if I can do it directly tot he film.

#11

When I did the clerestory windows in one of my coach projects, I used clear inkjet labels and printed the image on them, then I cut it to size and stuck it on the clear window plastic.

#12

I did some stain glass windows in a Pola Church model many years ago, I sketched the window out on the clear window plastic in the kit and then painted the design with Tamiya transparent paint, took forever, but really turned out nice. Today you might be able to get clear color in a pens sold at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby.
trainman

#13

I put stained glass windows in a “castle” on my last layout. I bought laser printer transparency film and printed out actual window designs from a church that I found through an image search. Inkjet ink fades pretty quickly in the sun… laser ink less so, but you should still plan for periodic replacement.

When I made mine I built little styrene “boxes” that were foil lined and equipped with LEDs so that they lit up from the inside at night. The transparency was glued to the front of the boxes with E6000 so it could be peeled off if/when it faded. Then I glued the box to the inside of the window opening. The boxes weren’t completely sealed, but were closed enough to keep out bugs and trash.

I’ll poke around and see if I can find pictures.

#14

This is perfect. You did exactly what I was thinking I could do. I am glad you had positive results with the laser transparency film. I will be giving this a try.