Caught on the horns of a dilemma

[Hod Carrier]

I'm at an advanced stage in with a MOC and have reached a point that I can put off no longer, and I wanted to ask the community for your thoughts/advice about how to proceed.

Basically I am building something historical which has markings that are fairly obvious features. Normally I would design and print my own stickers at home to apply to the model, but there is a complicating factor in this instance. The problem is that to get the shapes that I need I have had to use studded parts where some of the markings appear, specifically wedge plates, which are not going to be compatible with stickers. I had considered approaching a printer to see if it was possible to print onto studded parts, but I am presuming that it's not the sort of thing that they could do otherwise we would have seen it done already.

So, short of waiting for LEGO to introduce wedge tiles in the necessary shapes and colours (which I fear is going to be akin to waiting for hell to freeze over), I see only two options. I could keep the purity of the shape (which I would prefer) and ignore the markings altogether (which would leave the model looking incomplete) or I could compromise on the shape by replacing the studded parts with tiles so that I can apply stickers.

My question to you, therefore, is what would you do? Or is there some third way that is worth considering?

[Aanchir]

have you considered making your own stencils and spray painting/airbrushing the desired patterns? I feel like that could maybe be an option to apply patterns to studded parts, provided the patterns are not too complicated in shape/color. Not sure what kind of paints along those lines would stick best to bricks or match LEGO colors best, though.

[Mylenium]

There are industrial inkjet printers that can "spit on color from a distance", but I doubt you'd find one that can specifically handle UV printing on LEGO pieces. I'd therefore go with @Aanchir's advice and try to airbrush it. These days high precision stencils are easy enough to produce in a multitude of ways with mechanical plotters/ cutters, laser cutters or even 3D printers, including elastic materials if necessary, so it would not be that difficult beyond figuring out the actual patterns and how they may distort on uneven faces. For the colors I'm sure you could find matches in the scale modeling and warpainting world based on acrylics or enamels.

Mylenium

[MAB]

As above, but depending on your skills you might also consider drawing with permanent markers, possibly with stencils. I've found painting regular building parts that are going to touch others leads to scratching the paint. Even worse if you do it anywhere near a studed surface.

Edited May 8, 2024 by MAB

[Hod Carrier]

Thanks for the input so far. I'm unsure that any of the options so far are likely to be practical but I do appreciate your thoughts.

[Yoggington]

Not something I've ever done, but if the area is to be covered with a sticker, it might be possible to sand the studs down completely? Leaving a smooth surface for your sticker.