Here is a set of Indiana RR loco & caboose that I painted for a friend. They live in Indiana and I've already done 2 Z scale locos and a Z scale caboose that they enjoy running at train shows. They recently returned to T scale after seeing how well the newer equipment runs.
Very cool! Especially since at that scale, rail spacing is about 1/8 inch! Not a scale for clumsy fingers!
Thom, Just came across your thread. Excellent build, paint, and decaling! They make a nice set. Scott
OH NO!!! Look at what happened! I accidentally left my Z scale BN GP9 outside during the eclipse. It shrunk down to a BN T scale GP7/8/9....
Oh no! Now it's only good for model railroading. Working on the diesel engines is really going to be a challenge now. I love the lettering and other details you've added.
It could be worse. You could have forgotten it in your pocket and run it through the laundry. Not only would it have shrunk but it would be all wrinkly too...
I decided to decorate the black GP8 that I have not done anything with yet. I had to do the decals for this one from scratch. I see spacing issues with the lines on the side but they're not noticeable without the close-up camera.
Thanks, everybody. Vern, I looked at a bunch of photos of NW/NS GP7/9s to decide what scheme I wanted to use. The big NW on the side was just too plain for me. The orange and black scheme is nice. This is T scale, however, and I'm not sure you'd be able to see it without getting up really close. People will recognize this, and it will draw them in to look at more of the detail. Besides, I really like the horsey! Send me your black shell and I'll be happy to do it in the orange and black scheme for you.
Thank you, James. I use Printshop to do my decals. The NS with stripes on the side was fairly simple. I found an appropriate font for the NS. I had to put them on the page separately so that I could get them to touch. Then I just drew straight lines and adjusted the thickness until they seemed right. I printed that design and scanned it so I could shrink it as a whole to the correct size. I opened it in a photo program and copied it to Printshop. Then I used calipers to determine the size I needed to shrink it to. Printshop allows us to shrink or enlarge an image to actual decimal inch dimensions. The nose decal was a little more involved. I used Printshop to draw the center polygon/slanted rectangle. I drew the stripes on the sides using the same method that I used for the NS with stripes. The horse gave me a little trouble. I had to scan a picture of the nose of a locomotive. I used the photo program to change the color of the horse to white. Then I shrunk the horse image until it fit on the polygon/rectangle. I printed the image and then cut out the horse. I glued the horse into position on the polygon/rectangle ... actual, physical cut and paste. I scanned the image and copied it from my photo program to the Printshop program. I used my calipers again to determine the correct size. Getting everything to the correct size is done by printing it at the size I think it needs to be until I get it right. Sometimes it takes several tries. Then I used the "duplicate" function in Printshop to make more copies than I should need of each decal. I usually print the same decals all the way across the top of the paper. Everything that I printed, except the horse, is done in black. Having the horse in white will leave a blank spot when I print the decal. I used my ALPS printer with a white color cartridge to print on blue-background laser decal paper. I set the printer to use the single white cartridge. That way, everything that is black will print in white. I usually overlay 3 layers of white to insure good color consistency. Then it's just a matter of cutting the decal out of the paper and applying it to the model. I needed to trim really close to the printed part of the decal because the shell doesn't leave much room for extra decal film. I used MICRO SOL to settle the decals onto the model. I sprayed a light coat of Krylon Satin Crystal Clear to seal everything. It really helps to have an ALPS printer and an old computer with an old Printshop program and a photo program on it. The photo program comes from software that came with a scanner that I bought many years ago when you had to buy printers and scanners separately. It's the easiest-to-use photo program I've found. I only use this computer for making decals. It won't connect to the internet (think dial-up) .... which is a good thing. I always need to use my Windows 10 desktop, old computer, new Epson printer, a flash drive and the ALPS printer to create any decal I do. I hope all of that makes sense. Thanks for asking, Thom
Wow, thank you for the fine detail, it's very helpful. I want do do something with my green GP7 and just didn't know how I wanted to proceed. I have a lot of work to do yet, I still need three more switch tracks and their controllers, but I basically have all the other track pieces I need to start building my layout.
