Evening group... just spent a few minutes tweaking the headcode on my farish
25...Anyone else do stuff with their ink jet or am I well behind the times? (most likely... getting old you see :o)
Evening group... just spent a few minutes tweaking the headcode on my farish
25...Anyone else do stuff with their ink jet or am I well behind the times? (most likely... getting old you see :o)
I think you're onto a rather good trick, they look pretty good to me (a few questions over detailed font, but you've raised those on the webpage yourself). One suggestion; you're using Paintshop Pro for the letters, yet you say that some are not quite right. You could use Paintshop Pro to tweak the pixels on each letter, reducing the serif tails, if you select the curve of the D, you can shove it left a pixel or two, and see if that looks better. Also, you've swapped to a pale tan for the letters, might be worth experimenting with a dark grey rather than black for the background.
I've just had a colleague pass me photocopied private owner wagon sides; stick them onto a box of card and you have a wagon. If ambitious add some thin coloured paper for the strapping. Sounds daft in the days of mouldings, resin, multi-layered etched metal...... the man responsible made a rake for Copenhagen Fields, made the tram which trundles up and down the front of CF, painted the teak coaches which trundle round CF, etc... Maybe not so daft.
I've started collecting images of old advertising posters for commodities, cinema and the like to print up in minature for my station and building walls.
I expect I'll need to improve the printing and paper quality before I do a final print.
I like using PSP and its quite an enjoyable task looking for new ways to use my printer.
I saw some images once printed onto silvered paper. They were just stuning and gave a slight inner luminance effect.
I want to try stained glass effects soon using print on clear plastic sheets for churches and old victorian and 20s style house doors. I guess also might be good for shop window print as well.
I like the way you have offset the numerals and letters. Its a nice touch.
Pete
Check out
I print white-on-black signs (e.g. bus destinations) with a Laserjet 5L on clear decal paper, and apply them over a white background (decal or paint). This avoids the white edge problem. I apply a matt varnish (e.g. Testors Dullcote) to the decal paper before and after laser printing.
never thought of that... I applied the headcode as all 4 characters in one go, so I couldn't select one of them to tweak -I'll have another go putting them on individually and try that - thanks!
I have seen other scratch building bits done like this (can't remeber where now) - 158 dmu sides etc... windows look naff but I reckon something smaller like a coal truck... I'd like to see the results coz I think that could work.
yep - tried that too.. old phots and this time I am looking for posters on station walls. tried a few, correcting any perspective errors with "the gimp" but mixed results. As just "noise" on the station models they are ok, some don't stand up to close inspection... it is just a case of having good examples to start with. Some folks have sites just with old posters etc and when you take those as a starting point, the results are great.
heh... never saw a "straight" one so I have no prototype :o) put a number 4 on, slid it up so almost out of view then chucked the 3 down so it isn't quite in.
just a thought... this could be the answer to really weathered wagons.. I have tried detailing in N and it is so tiresome with mostly disappointing results. If you ever want to be put off, take a look at Martin Welch's "The Art of Weathering". He is soooo good at it and my attempts are sooo pathetic, now I don't really bother. OK he does a lot in 4 & 7 mm but even so, the detail is astounding and the results are, well, just perfect.
I must experiment to see what looks good etc. I wonder if this would work on wagons with really heavy relief like 16T steel mineral etc... It's all about perception I know, but I wonder how much you can get away with. ...find some pix of really grubby ones, put a rake together on spare 10ft Peco chassis... haven't scratchbuilt-ish for years. hmmmm "Sorry dear, won't be able to make it to your mothers' on Staurday...erm... busy..." :o)
Take a look at the Electra Railway Graphics web-site - a whole range of N Gauge conversion kits, all home produced...
Adam Warr
Not behind the times at all - see my earlier posts on making early BR station signs, coach destination boards, brickpaper, etc. on the PC. My longer-term project is a 3-coach ex-LMS suburban rake made from photographic paper sides on a superstructure of balsa, clear plastic sheet, metal truss rodding, MJT cast battery boxes, buffers & bogies, etc. - Grafar OO-gauge suburbans scanned into the PC are the basis of the sides, so livery and lettering are automatically taken care of (might need a bit of tinkering so as not to duplicate coach nos., though).
David E. Belcher
"UncleWobbly" wrote Evening group... just spent a few minutes tweaking the headcode on my farish
25...Hmm, In my previous job I used to do this with the EFE and Corgi buses. I thought it looked really good (The box made up of shades of grey and black) the numbers sometimes ofsett (Never the destination I remember?) but not that many made it on to the models as the "boss" didn't like it.
I still have these drawings if anyone interested (For the Trent buses\East Midlands regions)
Andy
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