Did anyone ever do a decal for the below-door kick plates on SP’s Black Widow F units?
Thanks, Ed. Yes, HO. And, yes, that’s them. But I’m thinking that, thin as they might be, they’d stand out (relief-wise) on a Stewart shell. I’m trying to match the appearance of them on my Genesis and Intermountain units.
Perhaps there’s a dull silver decal material for something else that’s large enough that it could be cut out to size. Then again, folks will begin to ask why I just don’t paint them on! The reason is that a decal mistake is easier to fix immediately (moving it around, etc.) than a painting mistake. Ah, me.
John
Aah, I see.
Microscale has “trim film” and I’m pretty sure they have silver/aluminum. [edit] They do, TF-27 is stainless steel:
How about bare metal foil?
https://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal-foil.html
I used this stuff to represent Pullman fluted stainless on some passenger cars a while back. I’d say you probably don’t want the bright chrome look but the Matte Aluminum might be nice.
Good Luck, Ed
Thanks, again, Ed. Do you ever go by “Santa”? [;)]
I was going to suggest some aluminum tape (it is real aluminum with a very aggressive adhesive backing), but it’s probably too shiney also.
I used it on this scratchbuilt boxcar…
If you think it might be useable, send me a PM with your mailing address and I’ll send you a few pieces (I won’t be able to reply, though, due to Forum glitches).
Wayne
Wayne,
Can you measure the thickness of the tape? I’d like to reduce as much as possible the relief above the adjacent surface.
John
John, the tape with its paper backing is just slightly over .006", while the aluminum tape itself a tad over .002".
This tape is used by insulators (I have two sons-in-law in that profession) and I’m told that once the tape is in place, burnishing it, either manually or with a suitable tool, will increase the holding power of the tape’s adhesive.
My guess is that it would be easiest to cut-out the needed shape using either scissors or a sharp hobby knife, and not remove the backing paper until you’re ready to apply it to the model.
The adhesive is quite agressive, so a slightly off-centre or crooked application might require a new cut-out, as a stuck-on wrinkle won’t look all that prototypical.
If you’re still interested, I’ll send you enough to do at least a couple dozen diesels, as the tape won’t take up a lot of room in an envelope.
Wayne
Thanks, Wayne. I’ll be in touch.
There are several varieties of foil tapes at the home improvement stores:
We used to use a similar product, which I saved many “scraps” of when applying heat-trace lines to piping where I used to work.
If you browse the aisles you can find several thin-film foil tapes to examine. Some are listed as heavy-duty or extreme service, yet others are general purpose, etc. which I believe would indicate different thickness and adhesive strength.
I find it useful for applying to the underside of lighted structures and passenger cars to both block light and to reflect it.
Food Luck, Ed
Thanks, Ed. That’s a great idea.
As for “food luck”, sounds like a holiday concept. One with varying levels of success, depending on which relative or friend you’re visiting. [(-D]
John
You could put some silver paint on blank decal film and cut out whatever shape is needed.
Ha! My fingers have gotten fat and lazy these days AND the spell checker just can’t keep up with my spelling foibles [:-^]
Food Luck almost sounds like something you could order at a Chinese restaurant [dinner]
Cheers, Ed
Which would care for concerns of thickness and provide the slideability in installation that jittery fingers appreciate! Thanks for that tip.
I suspect that the adhesive on Wayne’s .002" tape is water-resistant, so it might be practical to use a small quantity of water to ‘float’ the fabricated piece into position and then push it down with toothpicks from the center out.