You’ve designed the perfect tiny character.

There’s just one problem.

Your printer is considerably bigger than a minifigure.

You can’t exactly put a tiny plastic figure into your inkjet printer and ask it to add a football shirt, superhero costume or miniature company logo.

But you don’t need to.

With printable waterslide decal paper, you can print incredibly small designs onto a sheet first and then transfer them onto suitable miniature surfaces afterwards.

And once you realise what’s possible, creating custom minifigures is only the beginning.

Can You Really Make Your Own Minifigure Decals?

Yes.

In fact, waterslide decals have been used in the model-making world for years.

The principle is fairly simple.

Instead of printing directly onto the figure, you:

1. Create the design digitally.
2. Resize it to fit the miniature.
3. Print it onto waterslide decal paper.
4. Prepare the decal according to the paper instructions.
5. Cut it out.
6. Soak it in water as directed.
7. Slide the printed decal from its backing onto the suitable surface.

The result is a tiny printed design sitting on the figure.

That design could be almost anything.

What Can You Put on a Custom Minifigure?

This is where things get fun.

You’re not limited to simply putting someone’s name across the front.

You could create:

• Football shirts
• Uniforms
• Numbers
• Badges
• Jackets
• Ties
• Belts
• Pockets
• Fantasy costumes
• Facial details
• Tiny logos
• Symbols
• Decorative patterns

You could even create a miniature version of yourself.

Glasses.

Favourite T-shirt.

Terrible fashion choices.

All faithfully reproduced in miniature.

Why Waterslide Decal Paper Works So Well for Miniatures

The smaller an object becomes, the harder it is to decorate accurately by hand.

Painting a large number onto a wooden sign isn’t particularly difficult.

Painting a perfectly shaped number onto something that’s only a few millimetres wide?

That’s another matter.

This is where inkjet waterslide decal paper becomes useful.

The difficult detail is created digitally.

Your printer handles the tiny lines, lettering and shapes.

You then transfer the finished design onto the object.

That means you don’t necessarily need the steady hands of a professional miniature painter to produce very small details.

Step 1: Decide What You’re Creating

Don’t start by printing.

Start by deciding exactly what the finished figure is supposed to look like.

Perhaps you’re making a miniature footballer.

You might need:

• Shirt design
• Club-style colours
• Shirt number
• Player name
• Small badge

Or perhaps you’re creating a tiny employee for a model shop.

You could add:

• Company colours
• Name badge
• Tie
• Pocket
• Tiny logo

Sketch the idea first.

At this scale, simpler designs often work better than incredibly complicated ones.

Step 2: Measure the Area

This is probably the most important part.

When you’re working with miniature objects, being a few millimetres out can make a huge difference.

Measure the area where the decal will actually sit.

Then create your artwork to approximately those dimensions.

Don’t assume something that looks right on your computer screen will look right on the figure.

Your monitor may be displaying the design at 20 times its actual printed size.

Step 3: Create Your Artwork

You don’t necessarily need sophisticated graphic-design software.

The important thing is being able to:

• Set the dimensions
• Resize artwork
• Position elements
• Add text
• Export or print at good quality

Remember that extremely fine details may become difficult to distinguish once they’re reduced to miniature size.

A beautifully detailed logo might look fantastic at 10cm wide.

At 5mm?

It could become an unidentified colourful blob.

Sometimes you need to simplify the artwork rather than merely shrink it.

Step 4: Print a Test on Ordinary Paper

This step can save a surprising amount of wasted decal paper.

Print your designs onto ordinary printer paper first.

Cut one out.

Hold it against the figure.

Now ask:

Is it actually the right size?

You may discover the design is slightly too wide.

Or the neckline is in the wrong place.

Or the number that looked enormous on your monitor is practically invisible when printed.

Adjust it now.

Specialist paper doesn’t need to be involved until you’re happy.

Step 5: Fit Lots of Decals Onto One Sheet

One of the advantages of working in miniature is fairly obvious.

The decals are tiny.

Don’t print one minifigure shirt in the middle of an entire sheet.

Arrange multiple designs together.

You could create:

• Several sizes of the same decal
• Alternative colours
• Different facial features
• Shirt fronts and backs
• Numbers
• Badges
• Spare copies

Having duplicates is particularly useful when you’re learning.

If your first tiny decal folds itself into an infuriating microscopic ball, you’ve got another one waiting.

Step 6: Choose Between Clear and White Waterslide Paper

This is important.

Most standard home printers don’t print white ink.

So if you print white details onto clear waterslide paper, the printer generally leaves those areas unprinted.

The surface underneath shows through instead.

That’s not necessarily a problem.

If you’re putting black artwork onto a light-coloured figure, clear waterslide paper can be ideal because the surrounding carrier is transparent.

But if your design needs a white background or you’re applying pale colours to a dark surface, white waterslide paper may be more appropriate.

We’ve previously explored why white waterslide decal paper exists, and miniature projects are a perfect example of why the distinction matters.

At this scale, the background colour can dramatically affect the appearance of tiny printed details.

Step 7: Print and Prepare Your Waterslide Decal

Once you’re happy with your test print, print the artwork onto the correct printable side of your chosen waterslide paper.

Follow the instructions supplied with the particular product carefully.

Depending on the waterslide product and printing method, your printed decal may require additional preparation or sealing before being placed in water.

Don’t assume all waterslide papers work identically.

Give the print the required drying time and follow the instructions before moving on to application.

Step 8: Cut Out the Tiny Decal

Now things get fiddly.

You’re potentially working with something only a few millimetres across.

Use suitable precision cutting tools and work slowly.

With clear waterslide paper, you may not need to follow every edge of the artwork perfectly because the surrounding carrier is transparent.

With white waterslide paper, trimming can become more important because any white area left around the design may remain visible.

And if you’re cutting extremely small pieces, good lighting suddenly becomes your best friend.

Step 9: Apply the Decal

Follow the soaking instructions for your chosen paper.

Once the decal is ready to move from its backing, position it close to where you want it on the figure.

Then carefully slide the backing away while keeping the decal in position.

This is one situation where patience really does matter.

A decal that’s 50mm wide is relatively easy to reposition.

One that’s 5mm wide has other ideas.

Carefully remove excess water, smooth the decal and allow it to dry as instructed.

Could You Make a Minifigure of a Real Person?

This is probably one of the most entertaining uses.

Imagine creating a tiny version of:

• Yourself
• Your partner
• Your children
• A friend
• A colleague
• A football teammate
• A wedding couple

You don’t necessarily need to recreate every physical detail.

Sometimes the clothing is enough.

If your friend always wears the same ridiculous Hawaiian shirt, recreate it.

If Dad is permanently wearing his favourite football shirt, make that.

Add a recognisable hairstyle and suddenly your tiny plastic character starts looking suspiciously familiar.

It could make a brilliantly unusual personalised gift.

Create an Entire Miniature Football Team

Here’s another project we’d love to see.

Make an entire team.

Create matching shirt designs and then change:

• Player numbers
• Names
• Captain’s armband
• Goalkeeper colours

You could reproduce your Sunday league team, children’s football club or fantasy team in miniature.

Because the basic shirt design is created digitally, you don’t have to start again for every player.

Duplicate it.

Change the number.

Change the name.

Print.

Waterslide Decals Aren’t Just for Minifigures

This is where the rabbit hole gets considerably deeper.

Once you learn how to create tiny printable decals, you’ve effectively gained a technique that can be used across all sorts of model-making projects.

For example:

Model Railways

Create tiny:

• Station signs
• Shop names
• Warning notices
• Numbers
• Advertising posters
• Vehicle markings

Model Cars

Add:

• Racing numbers
• Stripes
• Sponsor-style graphics
• Registration details
• Custom logos

Model Aircraft

Create appropriate decorative markings, identification numbers and other tiny graphical details for hobby projects.

Dolls’ Houses

This could become an entire hobby by itself.

Think:

• Miniature shop signs
• Food packaging
• House numbers
• Decorative tiles
• Tiny labels
• Wall graphics

Dioramas

A miniature world needs miniature graphics.

Road signs, advertisements, warning labels and shopfronts can all help turn a basic model into something that feels far more convincing.

Tiny Details Make Models Look More Real

There’s an interesting reason this works so well.

Our brains notice detail.

A miniature shop might already have windows, doors and shelves.

But add a tiny opening-hours sign to the door and suddenly it feels more like a real shop that’s been shrunk down.

The same thing happens with model vehicles.

A plain miniature van looks like a toy.

Add a tiny company logo, registration detail and warning label and it starts to resemble a scaled-down real vehicle.

It’s often the smallest details that sell the illusion.

Don’t Try to Include Too Much Detail

There is a limit.

Your printer might technically reproduce incredibly small elements, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be readable.

If you’re creating something at miniature scale, ask yourself:

Does this detail actually need to be there?

A logo might need simplifying.

Tiny lettering may need enlarging.

Thin lines might need making slightly heavier.

What works on your computer screen isn’t necessarily what works at 1:20, 1:48 or even smaller scale.

Design for the final size.

Not the screen.

One Sheet Could Create a Lot of Tiny Decals

This is another reason waterslide paper and model making make such a natural combination.

Miniature decals don’t take up much room.

A carefully arranged sheet could contain dozens — potentially far more depending on their size — of individual designs.

That means you can experiment.

Make several versions.

Print backups.

Try slightly different sizes.

Build up a collection of graphics for future models.

Instead of thinking of the sheet as one project, think of it as your own miniature decal library.

Your Home Printer Can Become a Tiny Detail Factory

That’s ultimately what makes this so interesting.

You’re taking something designed on a full-size computer screen and shrinking it down into the miniature world.

A football shirt.

A shop sign.

A vehicle number.

A tiny warning label.

A character’s clothing.

Using Gecko Paper inkjet waterslide decal paper, those digital designs can be printed and transferred onto suitable miniature surfaces.

And once you’ve successfully created your first custom minifigure decal, you’ll probably start looking around your model collection and thinking:

“What else could I customise?”

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group. Gecko Paper is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the LEGO Group.