Looking good Gary. Good tip on the black decals for the seals! Instead of silver decals for the rods, I've had success 'painting' them with the point of a pin, wetted w/ paint and then 'brushed' down the rod...I use Harbor Mist grey, as it seems like most of the ones I see in real life are weathered/dulled down. Great work on all the details, they really make the models 'pop'!
Thanks for the comments Dave. I know what you mean about the grey vs. silver; I think that's especially true for the highway trailers. In one of my earlier trials I used a dark grey extra fine Sharpie on a Pines trailer with pretty good results - but that pen was much closer to black than grey. I think I tried "pin painting" too, but IIRC the paint I used was a Testors aluminum which had very poor coverage. I should try it again with UP grey -- good tip. Do you use any guide or just go freehand? FWIW, I just did some containers with HO 1" stripes for the seals (instead of N 3") and I think it's the way to go. Closer to scale (but still bold enough to see...) and they're cheaper per inch. Cheers, Gary P.S. I love models that "pop" -- and snap and crackle too! When I saw James' shot of his container doors in the Stack thread I just said WOW, I've got to do that too. Now if only there were more hours in a day... BTW, I'd love to see a Modesto update when you have a chance.
