When I used to do dry transfer I used masking tape using it as the bottom line and marked where each letter (centered) went with a marker on the tape then started transferring, and yes you can screw up some letters in the process, but I found the problem to be excessive pressure on the sheet. Sometimes you have to get creative with missing letters like a R and become a K P’s the same way W with one leg removed is a, V imagine writing imagine doing Coquina Fall Railroad a bunch of times, keep trying with practice come perfection, Bill
I cut out my letters from the letter side of the sheet with a sharp Xacto knife. Cutting from the other side can cause them to inadvertently transfer onto your work surface. Then I stuck them to a strip of clear tape (Scotch tape) to get the spacing right. Of course with the tape laying on the work surface, sticky side up, and placing the letters onto it, everything is backward.
@Bill & David: Thanks. This will go into my “best practices for next time” file. If Little Thomas goes from project to functioning, I will “need” a string of can cars in appropriate company lettering (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)!
As for the project itself, I am not displeased with my first crack at dry transfer lettering. I free handed a plumeria blossom to fill the name plate on one side, and used a larger font on the other. All is well. There was another plate on the smoke box door that proved the devil to mark, so I put the company initials on it, touched it up with a bit of green and yellow paint, and declared pau (finished). Photos of Little Thomas (Komaka Iki in 'ololelo Hawai’i) posed are below:
Bow shot (straight lines are relative…):
Port aspect (This was my ego booster. I think the old boy looks pretty good!):
Starboard aspect (You can just make out my plumeria (pua malia) forward of his name):
I had started down the road of “If I just do this…” and “Maybe if I rip it apart one more time…” then I paused, rose up, and looked at the old fellow from 6’1". No. “He” looks fine among the flowers and succulents and free lanced buildings of the world in which he will soon operate. “He” served to bring me into the hobby in 1976. “He” served to open up higher expressions of the hobby in 2018/2019. It is time to install that Buehler when it gets here, shake down Rooster for those remaining detail parts, possibly add some light weathering, and let Little Thomas serve the next generation as a prime mover of their imaginations and common carrier of new memories.
As this project drifts to a close, I thought it would be interesting to show the spread of left-overs, not including paints, glues, brushes, X-acto blades, etc.:
All but the chassis and TAMIYA Motors are already installed in or slated for a new project. The battery pack, DPDT switch, and charger went to repower / repair our Christmas tree train, the girls have their eyes on the dry transfers, and the chassis and Bachmann 4-6-0 motor have already sparked a few Dad-can-we discussions. Unencumbered by the original LGB 2075 cab/boiler shell, who knows? Long story short, it would’ve been cheaper to get a used m2075 off e-Bay and give it the treatment, but there would’ve been less learning, and very little of what I purchased or cut out will go to waste in the long run. I thought that was an interesting observation from a hard data set like “dollars spent.”
With luck, the next update will include a photo of Little Thomas / Komaka Iki in revenue service. Thanks again for all the help to get to this point!
Aloha,
Eric
It looks pretty good amigo! Well done. (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
WOW … the only thing left to do is get rid of some of the shine on the drive gear/wheels …weathering ( a grimy black /brown wash )… Aloha
Eric, it looks great
Thanks everyone for your kind words.
Sean, I had been pondering weathering. The real dirt out in the cane fields is red-brown, and I am sure real locos would’ve been well dusted with the stuff. The Triple O lives on rocks, so the red dirt would, while “prototypical,” would look out of place on the trains that operate in my 1:24-ish PLAYMOBIL scale world. I think your suggestion of a “machine oil wash” on the wheels and rods is spot on, as it will take off the shine without looking somehow out of place. Quick question, though…I assume the wash would NOT go on the metal surfaces of the drivers. Would that not impede electrical pick-up? Or am I OK if I leave the contact surfaces that engage the rail clean?
Waiting on my annual “strategic parts order” to bring him to life!
Aloha,
Eric
Just take some acrylic paint ( in the color you choose)
add some to a little water…to make a wash ( you could do two a blackish and brownish)…
keep reapplying it until you get the right look. when all dry just clean the wheels as you normally would do…
Cleaning the wheels this way is how nature shows wear …
For my rolling stock I use that kind of paint, although I prefer Ceramcote if I can find it. I mix a a few drops of Ceramcote brush cleaner with the paint, thin with water and airbrush my stock. For steam locomotives, I place them up on a block of wood, put power to them so the wheels rotate, and then airbrush them. That way I don’t get that mask line on the drivers from the side rods.
Eric,
My suggestion is to get a nice sized dirt clod of that red dirt. Use a round smooth rock to crush it into powder. Dust the oil wash with the dust until the color stops the oil bleed. Gently blow off the excess. Let dry (coagulate) then seal with a mist of clear coat.
Don’t worry about lack of dirt on the pike, there’s a branch line off the layout that does!
That’s my story …
Gents,
OK, since I am using this as a rediscover / explore skills project, I might as well add weathering to the list. The red dirt clod is intriguing… Naturally, I live on coral sand fill, but, hey, it’ll give me an excuse for a road trip to the leeward coast…and the last of the OR&L…to collect a sample!
Eric
I use Krylon matt modern white which is like a ivory color but flat and I also run the engine while painting, I start by painting the wheels with red oxide color primer and then spray the matt modern white, I bounce the paint off a area in front of the car at about a 90 degree angle, seems to work well for me
Update:
I showed Oldest Daughter how to do the washes…
…and the next day, I did something I’ve never done before. I gave her the paints and brushes, explained the goal, and walked away. The color she mixed looked wrong in the mixing cup, but it looked just like dry red dirt on the model. She had based the color on the soil in her grandparents’ yard (which is actually in pineapple country, but OK) and intuited how to mix the acrylics so that they would look good on the model. No part of me could’ve done that.
The pictures didn’t come out right, but the washes toned down the shiny metal and plastic, helped to blend in the dry transfers, and put the details in much better relief. We may apply some light dry brushing, but I think her “dirt” was good enough. I’ll try to get some photos up later. Thanks for encouraging me to take this next step on the project.
Still waiting for that motor. I am regretting mixing it with a bunch of other less common repair parts, as we are all anxious to see Little Thomas back in service!
Aloha,
Eric
P.S. With no means to keep the wheels spinning, we ended up just applying washes, spinning the wheels, and applying more washes. Not great, but it does look better!
OK,
I culled the best of the photos. As always, it looks better in person:
Oldest Daughter did a great job, I think, and the effort really did kick Little Thomas one notch further from broken toy to functioning model. While we wait for the motor and odds and ends to arrive, I have been working with Rooster on the odd bits and pieces to help fit Little Thomas out and maybe Americanize “him” (Little Thomas, not Rooster!) a bit more.
Updates as dictated by parts arrival and installation! In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Eric
Tell O.D. great job on the weathering. Your family has taken ‘Little Thomas’ from scrap heap to family heirloom. Really nice seeing that your wife’s mandate has given your family so much quality time. Cheers to you and the kids for each ones contribution on this build.
By the way when will SWMBO join in on this family hobby?(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
might have to send her some of my engines to do, great job, Bill
Great Job…
Cool project!
I would have a hardd time americanizing that…embrace the German heritage!
Oldest Daughter should be as proud as her poppa. Nice job!
Gents,
@all. Thanks to all around. I have passed along your compliments to Oldest Daughter. She really caught the “bug,” and we are discussing letting her loose after the “Mik” on a project of her own (we have decided the “Mik” will remain a family effort). We’ll let you know!
@Eric: As for letting the German heritage shine through, yes, that is the plan. I always wanted the original to peer through whatever the end product became given the family heritage of the model. Crazier ideas I had for this project fell before parts availability and realistic skill assessments, all things worked out via this string before saw met plastic. We’re only talking a few detail parts, I promise!
Oh, and SWMBO (“CINCHOUSE” in local parlance) is involved in two ways:
- Funds authorization.
- Plant trimmings to food conversion.
Weather permitting, we are off to the Ewa Railroad this weekend to get some measurements on a sugar cane car. It’ll give us something to do as we await the motor.
Have a great weekend!
Eric
Still waiting for that motorr,