lettering an lining pens - recommendations?

I'd really give some thought to computer lettering if I were you. An adequate colour printer can be bought for less than a good lining pen these days and the availability of different types of transfer paper makes lettering a far more simple and satisfying job than it used to be. Failing eyesight and an unsteady hand forced the change on me, but I wouldn't go back to hand lettering/lining again even if I had the choice. Take a look at the Craftyl Computer Paper website;

You'll find lots of useful hints and tips and even white lettering is no problem using their back sheet system.

Thanks - Perhaps it is time to change! The paper is certainly cheap enough!

Regards

Mike

Forgot to add re eyesight, check out your local library for 'reading glasses' - They can also now be found in 'pound shops' and the like - I got a pair of +4 which are a real help with fine work. I asked at the opticians and was advised that using them for detail work is not going to harm my eyesight. Cheaper and less clumsy than the optivisor, although with less magnification.

Regards

Mike

,

Thanks for the reading glasses tip, Mike - a kind thought. Actually my workmates bought me a retirement present of a large illuminated workdesk magnifier which does the trick marvellously!

merry christmas Jasper

Printing; chap I know uses decal film and computer printing. But he prints the base/body colour as well, and if white/cream is required, he leaves it transparent, painting the area of the body underneath. Does superb lettering/numbers for panelled coaches by making a transfer to fill an entire panel section (so you don't see the edge of the transfer). Takes a few experiments to match the base paint on the body with the base colour on the decal.

Pens; I've got on fine with the pens which Freestone Model Accessories sell. They are fairly expensive (think about £15 each). Only need a couple of sizes, and follow the instructions on keeping clean to the letter. Only need a few ink colours as I doubt most people can tell one colour from another when its a fraction of a mm wide, weathered, etc.

Brush letters 1mm high, sounds like my friend David.

- Nigel

Thanks for that - Transfers are probably better, but I still hanker for hand lettering, when it works it is very satisfying! I'll try the Freestone people for a pen and have another go, but I'll also get some decal paper and try that.

Thanks for the advice

Regards

Mike

Matching the background is the hardest part; covering an entire panel or bodyside is sometimes the answer.

I recently bought an HP Color Laserjet 1600 for C$300. I bought some laser decal sheets from Crafty Computer but have yet to try them. No seal coat is required before immersing in water.

They used to promote a way of producing opaque white or gold lettering on a clear decal using embossing powder applied to wet inkjet output, then fused with a heat gun. Perhaps it wasn't too successful.

Sounds tricky - I'll give it a go after the festivities.

Not too soon, hopefully? Let the shakes settle a bit first!

Regards, Merry Xmas etc. Greg.P. NZ.

Computer rub-down decals use an ultra-thin but dense white coating which you can apply behind the transparent areas of the design. It's tricky, but once you get the hang of it the results are excellent.

Incidentally, a way of economising on expensive decal paper is to transfer the design onto a Microsoft Word page which you have already divided up into labels. Word allows you to print off a single label from the A4 sheet, leaving the rest of the sheet for future use. [16 labels/sheet gives you a useful area approximately the size of an

00 gauge wagon] >

"Mike Smith" wrote

I use these as modelling glasses, as for 99p you can't go wrong! Two points: 1) they can be quite physically disorienting if worn for any length of time, as away from the plane of close focus everything turns into a blur, so your eyes are always readjusting every time you take them off, 2) they have the annoying characteristic of making flat things look curved, so not ideal if doing detail work with file or sandpaper. Great for checking soldering work and loco frame edges, though. Think I'll buy a proper Optovisor in due course when I get round to sending off a mail order to Proops.

Tony Clarke

"Tony Clarke" wrote in news:emk90m$bb$ snipped-for-privacy@gemini.csx.cam.ac.uk:

Expo tools do a sort of half way house between reading glasses and optovisors of various sorts, they're like glasses but come in (IIRC) x2, x4 and x8 magnification. I have a pair of the x2 sort and are pretty good for what they are.

Optivisors are rubbish (IMHO), save your money for something else !

The cheap magnification reading glasses you mention above are fine if they work for you. I know several modellers who use them (usually picking a slightly stronger magnification than they'd need for reading).

I use a set of clip-on magnifiers which fit over normal spectacles (because I need them for other stuff). By using big framed specs (now out of fashion), I get magnification in the centre of the field of view, and normal vision around the edges.

The bees-knees are binocular magnifiers, as used by surgeons and dentists. The simpliest forms come up on Ebay for £50 regularly, often from a Russian supplier. I've known medical professionals pay £1500+ for some types which are rather more sophisticated than the £50 models. Do some research before heading off into these; they need proper adjustment to match your eyes (including distance apart in your head!). If you are lucky and have a friendly optician, they may be able to advise on setting them up.

- Nigel