Champ closed up a number of years ago…
That should work.
Be careful with trying to use the Alco set on the angled EMD nose, Tom. In order to follow the rake-angle of the F (or E) nose the stripe would have to have a slightly obtuse angle. The Alco FA-PA nose being closer to perpendicular the striping would be 90°.
As an example…
The Alco stripes:
and the EMD stripes:
** note to my above reply regarding N scale decals. I found the sets that I thought were Champ or Herald King. Turns out they were from Northeast Decals, Box 324 Deerfield, MA. 01342. They were in packaging similar to Champ. [D)]
Regards, Ed
Tom,
just as an example, the following lettering schemes are done in layers, first the stripe, then the herald and lettering:
The decals are custom from Rail Graphics.
Sheldon
For hiding decal film, I’ve found a couple of methods which work well for me.
First, when cutting the items to be used from the decal sheet, do so without getting too close to the image. Cutting with a slicing motion, no matter how sharp the blade, raises the paper along both sides of the cut, and those edges will have a tendency to remain raised even when decal setting solution is applied.
To prepare the cut-out image for application, place it on a hard surface (I use a sheet of glass), and with a sharp blade, trim away the excess paper using a chopping motion: this pushes the cut edges down. For images with straight edges, cut as close to the image as possible, leaving no blank paper, and for letters or heralds with round shapes or rounded portions, chop off the excess paper in short bits, following the curve as closely as possible.
On small lettering, such as dimensional data, even trimming rounded digits, such as "0"s or '3’s, "6"s, etc., where they appear at the corner of a patch of decal film, will help to better hide the decal film. I’ve found that Microscale decals benefit from this treatment, too.
When applying the decal, in most cases it’s preferable to do so on a glossy surface. I usually don’t use any setting solution until the decal is right where I want it, but for some items, I do apply Microset, either to the surface prior to placing the decal or to the back of the decal before placing it. This will allow some re-positioning, but if necessary, use your fingertip to apply a little water to the area, which will dilute the effects of the of the setting agent and give you more working time.
Once all of the lettering is complete, allow it to dry, then apply another coat of gloss finish. This gives the entire area the same degree of glossiness, whereas decals often have a glossy finish which may not match that upon which they were applied. With a matte finished applied, all area
Yea, I see what you mean by the angle of the nose, Ed. [:(]
Although the red herald would be fine to use as is, the cat whisker stripes might be easier to accomplish by masking and spray painting. And, from what I can see from the pictures, the EH-69 pack does contain the correct numbers for the number boards, front nose, and side panels for the FTs. Should be a fun project.
Tom
For the lightning stripe nose, you might be able to take a little pie-shaped piece of of the right angle so as to cock it over.
Ah, but how much???
Maybe doing so test pieces and maybe making a cutting fixture so you can reproduce the cuts exactly.
Yikes. Maybe.
Ed
Sheldon & Ed -
Thanks for the photos and detailed explanations! [Y][:D] This is all VERY helpful information that I’ll be sure to digest (and re-digest) before taking on this project.
Tom
I was contemplating that very idea, Ed. The packet does come with a separate sheet of horizontal decal lines. My initial thought was that the horizontal lines of the “L” stripe decal could be removed and the decal applied to the painted shell. The separate horizontal lines could then be added to that decal with the proper angle to compensate for the slanted nose. As you stated, that may require some experimenting first in order to get the correct angle needed to mate with the vertical lines of the other decal.
A question for the experts: When mating two separate decals together, do vertical cut/gaps tend to be less visible than horizontal ones because of the way the eye moves?
Tom
See my previous reply: if the decal film is visible, chances are, you’ll see it.
Wayne
Thanks, Wayne.
Tom
Sometimes decals can be warped a little. Years ago I sucessfully did some SP Black Widow Geeps with decals for F units