Be Excellent To Each Other

l got the Land Rover Defender set for Christmas. I'm looking forward to building it over the next few months. It isn't the size of the instruction book that daunts me, but the sheet of stickers. Anyone got any advice on how to successfully apply these first time? I'm thinking tweezers might work.

My first big build was the Lunar Lander and I found placing them very nerve-wracking. The slight angles on some of them detracts from the overall effect.

Maybe a clear transfer tape? I've used some for vinyl stickers before and it works great for that

I'd go for low or medium tack

Thanks! Will take a look.

This is likely to be the only 4WD I'll ever own, so I want it looking sharp.

Spray the part with window cleaner, you'll be able to move it to get it in the right place then just rub it down with a dry cloth.

The flat bit of the tool is great for positioning stickers.

I’ve got a roll of transfer tape if you want some popping in the post, @Kern.

gosh my desk is minging

Send some tape to KovacsC as well please, Mimi, just so he can get rid of some dust off that bloody keyboard

Keyboard now clean.

I'm not sure i need my dust any cleaner

Yay for Christmas holidays and computers gathering dust, though.

That'd be super, thanks!

Sure thing! I’m just getting a few bits ready for the post and will get some on its way to you today x

How does transfer tape work? I've never heard of it.

It's flexible sticky backed paper or clear film but - crucially - not as sticky as the thing you're trying to stick. So you stick the sticker on with the displayed side stuck to the sticky side of the transfer tape then carefully position and stick the whole lot on to the thing you're trying to stick things to, sticky side down. Then you peel off the - not quite as sticky - transfer tape and because the sticky stuff on the thing you're trying to stick is stickier, it stays stuck and the tape comes off without it.

I use transfer tape a lot for things I make, and after reading this sticky stick stickier sticker stick schtick I think I’ve forgotten what it is. Or maybe my mind just melted

Nice, cheers. That looks useful for handling delicate stickers (lady T is thinking about buying a cricut machine to make promotional stickers and things for her photography work)

The stickers I find hardest to apply (and I'm thinking about kids toys) are the ones that go on curved surfaces, or are angled and/or have to fit into a little 'recessed' part. Have you found transfer tape helps with those?

They can usually help with anything on curved surfaces if it’s curved along one plane. Essentially the sticker itself is flat, so the transfer tape won’t hinder that, but it probably wouldn’t add much help with larger vinyl stickers, which you can usually handle as-is. Recessed stickers are a little more tricky, and probably better done with needle nose tweezers if small.

There’s a lot of fiddly text on these plant pots I made, placed along a curved surface, and pretty much exactly the kind of thing transfer tape works well with.

Oh, and Cricut machines are great. It’s my favourite ‘thing’. I recently upgraded from my 8-9 year old machine to a new one that cuts fabric as well as all the other materials and I love it.

Thanks, that's helpful (Lady T may benefit from it more than me but that's still very much worthwhile knowing, so thanks). I'm still not 100% clear on exactly what she wants to use the cricut for but a. I love gadgets and b. it's coming out of payments made into her business account anyway.

Those plant pots look great labelled like that, what a lovely personalised gift - was that for kiddo's teachers?

Yeah, when he was at nursery. I always make the teachers gifts; things like pencil boxes, tote bags, pencil cases, plant pots, notebooks, etc.

If you’ve ever seen Richard Oscan’s House Of Games, pretty much all of the ‘prizes’ are made with a Cricut.

https://www.realitytitbit.com/bbc/richa ... the-prizes

Little Batmobiles

Cute!

And the Lego. Right!

That too!

This is one of the first sets I had as child. This was released in 1979. Gosh I feel old.

They are doing an updated version of 928 soon.

https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/gala ... orer-10497

It looks tooooo new and sleak for classic space Lego.

That second one looks a little bit "Homer's Spaceship".

It is funky, though - I had the original, must dig it out and put it together when I get back. The stuff of dreams, I was forever building a ship with a docking bay at the back for some smaller ship that came out, and imagining I'd build a huge version one day.

I do like the classic space stuff, it is very unfussy.

a thing

Woah!

A Lego version of Boris' tree house?

I went to Legoland recently and it was fun. My favourite bit was Miniland (the Lego cities and models) which we did right at the end.

Lots of people had fun Lego t shirts (like the space logo)

Almost finished the Land Rover I got for Christmas (probably the only 4WD I'll ever own). I have a nagging feeling that I missed out a small component deep in the engine that the bonnet's supposed to hook into but flicking through I can't quite see it and lack the patience to disassemble a lot of tricky bits so think I might fudge this with a bit of bluetack.

Oh, I already did that gag at the top of the page. Remains true, however.

Someone at my board game group suggested we perhaps spend a day playing that famous friendship-breaker Diplomacy one weekend.

Obviously, were we to do that, Lego Diplomacy would be the only way to go.