Yes, the decals are always on the inside of the SDSV shells. They are transparent as well.
If you hasitate to paint them: Probably you have heard about coloured foils which can be brought on by heat (for example of a hair dryer). I have not worked with that but probably it's worth asking a specialits. I know in Germany Taxi cabs are being "painted" with this foil. If you bring those cabs back to "civil use", you can remove the foil and the laquer underneath appears as new and you wouldn't expect the car having been a Taxi before. You know what I mean?
On the other hand: If I had original but never painted SDSV shells, I would paint them in a rather unique burst tone (of course from the indise). You can butcher an empty plastic Coke bottle to experiment with
--- In Simmons_Drums@yahoogroups.com, "jimstew37" <jimstew37@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, Wolfgang:
>
> I don't think they've been painted, either. One thing I realize is that there are no "Simmons" decals on the tom/snare pads, but there is a decal on the kick pad. I didn't know that the decals on SDSV pads were on the INSIDE of the shell; I'd never seen SDSV pads in person until I got these. Are the tom/snare pad decals on the inside of your pads? I've certainly seen many examples on your website, but can't tell very well from the photos. I'm just wondering, assuming that these pads had been painted, whether the decals were removed along with the paint. Doesn't explain the kick pad, though.
>
> The real question is whether I should paint these pads to my liking (and I would like to), but, if they are "factory original," I'm reluctant to mess with them. Maybe I should just paint them and not worry about it, because they are kind of ugly this way.
> Still, your aquarium comment gives me the idea of putting some plastic fish inside, or maybe some fish decals on the shells! Well, maybe not...
>
> Jim Stewart
>
>
> --- In Simmons_Drums@yahoogroups.com, "superwolle70" <superwolle70@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Jim,
> > all SDSV pads had been assembled and painted by hand. Even the acrylic shells had been formed by Simmons. So it would be no wonder if someone had ordered his kit with transparent shells (although it looks strange, just like an aquarium). But the pads on the photo do not look like having been painted before
> > Best regards
>