I need a source for G scale decals or dry transfer Railroad Car Markings....

[emjayw]

Hello, I am fairly new to G scale modeling and wondered where I can purchase either wet decals or dry transfer numbers and letters to finish off a 1:20.3 boxcar?  I will appreciate any help along these lines.  Thanks,  Mike in TX

[Kevin Strong]

For decals, you'll do well with either Stan Cedarleaf or Jeff Damerst.

Stan - http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/StanCedarleaf/WebPageDecals/CustomDecalsx.html

Jeff - http://www.shawmutcarshops.com

I've dealt with both, and they do great work. They both do custom work, and also have artwork for many common railroads.

Dry transfers are a bit harder to come by, since so few (literally one or two) printers in the US still produce them. Ozark Miniatures just bought the rigths to the old CDS and Larry Larsen product lines, and will hopefully begin producing dry transfers from those lines in short order. That doesn't exactly help you in the here and now, though. There's a printer in Vancouver (All-Out Graphics) that I work with for custom dry transfers. They ain't cheap--you're looking at probably $60 for a 9" x 12" sheet including the charge for the negative, so my advice would be if you want to go that route, cram as much as you can onto a sheet so you get the biggest bang for your buck. I suppose the same could be said for decals, though you generally want to make sure with those you've got ample room around the artwork to cut them out and work with them.

Later,

K

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Rail Graphics also does custom decals.  I use both Stan and Rail Graphics and love them both.  The main problem is that Stan uses an Alps printer which is perfect for most colors, but does not do a very opaque white or lite yellow.  If a sharp opaque white is very important to you you may want to check out Rail Graphics.  They use the silk screen process which produces a perfect white.  Stan Cederleaf Decals are initially lower in cost, and great for very small quantities.  Rail Graphics Decals a a lot lower in cost if you need a much larger quantity.  Both do a great job.  I have been buying Rail Graphics decals for over 30 years.  Check them out as well.

http://www.railgraphicsdecals.com/

Mike, If you only do one boxcar, Stan would be the way to go. For the white you may have to use two layers of decals, putting one on, then a second layer perfectly positioned over the other.  Fred Tennyson, a great custom painter for Large scale prints his decals on an Alps like Stan. He always doubles the white light blue, or light yellow to make them opaque.  You might not need to double up if you are going to weather the car. 

[emjayw]

Thanks Kevin and Bill, those are some useful links.  Mike

[Don Gilham]

Stan is a very good source of custom decals (below an example of a RR logo he made for me to my "design"................




http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/StanCedarleaf/WebPageDecals/CustomDecalsx.html

Highly recommended !

[bob kaplan]

i understand that decals must be applied to a very smooth surface finish for them to adhere.  Are Bachmann boxcars and engines painted this way?....how about those from Accucraft?....if not, how do you achieve the "smooth enough" surface?

[Sleeping Bear]

 Water slide decals will adhere to most any clean surface, if you are concerned, try a setting solution. "smooth enough" is a matter of opinion and revolves around how you want the decal to look after....a metal sign or painted on old wood. My home made water slides settel down into grooves and "wood grain" nicely with the usual help and proding and Testors setting solution keeps them there. If you wish to smooth the area, fine grit sand paper in the 600 to 800 range will smooth things out but may discolor the area as well. Hope this is some help....Later All.....S.B.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

I couldn't find this photo at the time, but it illustrates the difference in the white from a screen printed decal (Missouri Western)and a white decal printed on an Alps printer(Trailer on Flat car).  The difference in the photo colors is more dramatic in real life than the photo shows.



Some when using the lighter color Alps printed decals use two decals one on top of the other to get a better opaque look.  In the picture I used only one layer as I felt my green background was light enough.  If using Alps printed decals I would definitely plan on using two layers using white or yellow on a black or very dark surface.

[Seaboard Air Line Fan]

While I'm just getting my feet wet in G scale I've been in O scale for 12 years or so and have made some decent decals on my home printer, an Epson Workforce 500.

I use white and clear paper from BelDecal:

http://www.beldecal.com/inkjet_decals.cfm

Then spray the sheet with a good coating of Testors Clear Gloss.

Like Bill said, lighter colors like yellow are almost transparent.  If you know your printer you can sometimes adjust the opacity (is that a word?) of the color, but I couldn't seem to get it the way I wanted.  I had an O-scale N&W blue caboose and when I put the yellow decals on it they looked green!

The next thing is to find a decent font to use.  If you're free-lancing it's not much of a problem unless you choose something weird.  Multiple colors or emblems needing white and a clear area between them can be a PITA and often not doable with anything else other than a printer that prints white (ALPS, no longer in production).

Choose solid colors and a font that is easy to acquire and give it a try.