About JBOT
JBOT Decals is a family owned and operated Canadian firm that was established
in 2000. Decals are available for military and civilian aircraft, police
vehicles, license plates, spacecraft (real & science fiction), heavy
trucks, and other specialty items. Every JBOT decal sheet comes with full
instructions which typically include color photos of the subject as well
as a written description of where each decal is placed. JBOT decals are
waterslide items just like those available in most plastic model kits.
These high-quality decals are created from all-new vector-based art using
Adobe Illustrator on a Dell PC. The artwork is then printed using either
an ALPS MD-1000 or MD-5000 printer on the widely-acclaimed Tango Papa
brand of decal paper.
The decals
Jim and Irene sent me three samples of their work for review, two for
over-the-road trucks and one featuring the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
Click on the thumbnails for full-size images which will each open in a
new browser window.
 This
first one is primarily intended for Peterbilt cabovers but can of course
be used on other trucks and so includes badges for not only Peterbilt
but also Mack, Kenworth, and Diamond Reo along with popular makes of trailers.
Although it doesn't show well in the scan the middle stripe is done in
an absolutely fantastic bright gold foil, a capability unique to the ALPS
MD-5000 printer and exploited here to its fullest advantage by JBOT.
 The
next heavy truck set sent is intended for Mack COEs but again can be adapted
for use on others as well and also includes all the badges featured on
the previous sheet. Please note that all these scans are intentionally
low-resolution to discourage piracy and enhance download speed, and that
the decals themselves are bright, precise and very crisp.
 The
final sheet sent for review covers various Chevrolet passenger cars used
by the Motor Vehicle Enforcement arm of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
Full striping, badges, lettering, license plates, and a complete set of
numbers are included along with other small detail items. Note that I've
darkened the scan so that the white numbers show up on your screen - the
decals actually look much better than this.
Conclusion
These are extremely high-quality decals, just about the best you'll
ever see created on an ALPS printer. Although I haven't used any of these
particular sheets I'm an experienced ALPS user myself who also prefers
Tango Papa's decal paper and I've never had a problem with any of the
decals I've made 'in-house'. JBOT's decals are thin and in perfect register
- no modeler with a few kits under his or her belt should have any trouble
whatsoever using them if they are treated with the care appropriate to
a first rate product.
All of JBOT's truck decals are available to order in many different
color combinations as shown on their website
, allowing the big rig modeler to truly customize his projects. The decals
sent for review are all 1/24 - 1/25 scale but can also be printed to order
in any scale as can all of JBOT's decals. Custom work is also available
- see JBOT's FAQ
for details. All in all a very highly recommended product, with something
for modelers of almost every stripe.
Many thanks to Jim and Irene Botaitis of JBOT
Decals for the review samples.
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