Well, I needed some road power for the AD&N. Nearly every locomotive that they had will require a kitbash since no one makes GP10's, CF7's, or GP28's in N scale. This is a prototype photo from the 1991 AD&N calendar with ADN 1816 in the lead. Since my painting skills are not yet up to the task of painting this scheme in N scale I decided to do it with decals. I made these decals using Testor's Sure Thing Decal Maker. I decided to use Atlas GP35's as standins for the GP28's until I can get aound to trying to kitbash some. This will let me run my railroad while I try to learn the art of kitbashing. Cutting out and individually applying those stripes and all of the other decals took a while, but this was the result. ADN 1812 leads a train of pulpwood past the plywood mill.
TAD - You nailed it! Looking good, and the results are worth it even if it did take all day & night to apply all those stripes! I did not know about the Testor's decal maker. The results are outstanding. How does that work?
Great looking units Tad! I happen to have an article on kitbashing a GP28 from a GP35. I need one or two for the San Joaquin Valley Railroad. E-mail me and I'll get a copy to you. Kel
Originally posted by Tad: Well apparently your decaling skills are up to the task. Those units look great.
Tad, you're truly gifted when it comes to modelling. Thanks for sharing your project. Your layout's one of my favorties on the forum. Do you like the Testor's program? I'd like to try my hand at some decal making as well.
What paint did you use for the green, there are fantastic looking models hence my request for a seperate topic
Thanks, gentlemen. Paul, I painted the units using Polly Scale BN green and Polly Scale ATSF silver with an Aztek airbrush. Tim, I printed them on white decal paper and cut them out. I guess you could call them "negative decals." My printer is a HP psc 750. I set it on "Best" quality and tell it I am using glossy photo paper. I have found these settings work best. Bob & Ron, I like the Testor's program. I have had good luck with it. I did have to experiment with it to figure it out.
If you are interested in how I make decals you can read this long post. The following I learned from my experience with this type of decals. You know how you get experience, right? Screwing up. I bought the little Testors decal kit at the LHS. You get a demo program, a can of Testor's Decal Bonder, and a sheet of white and a sheet of clear decal paper in the box. This is the decal kit that I bought: http://testors.com/catalog_item.asp?itemNbr=2255 It had the deal in the box that if you wanted the full Sure Thing Decal Maker program, you had to order it for $9.95. I did and I think it was worth it. It arrived in about a week. It's a pretty good program. You can scan images directly into it. The Sure Thing Custom Decal Maker program can be ordered here: http://www.decalgear.com/DG/ All usual disclaimers apply. You can use it to size images as you want and add text, too. I also use Paint Shop Pro to work on images and paste them back and forth between the two. I wish I had a better graphics program, but I work with what I have. I've used the Testors and the Micromark decal paper. I've had pretty good luck with both. The Testor's comes in half sheets and that is what the program is set up to use. You can cut full size decal paper, such as the Micromark, in half and use it. If I am not using a full sheet, I arrange all of my decals to print at the top of the page and cut off the portion with the decals and reuse the rest of the sheet for my next batch. As far as fonts go, I have found that most of the railroad ones you have to buy. I just experiment with fonts and sizes until I find something that is really close. If you have a specfic design, you can take the image into a paint program and work on it and then paste it as an object into the decal program. If you have a photo of what you need you can scan it in. I have an HP PSC750 printer/scanner/copier combo. I usually scan the car after I have painted it to get my background color as close as possile. If I am sizing a design such as the stripes on the locomotives, I will scan the shell and size the decal right over the full size image of the shell. This is a screen shot of where I have scanned an LBF woodchip car and am working on making decals to do an "overpaint." I set my printer to print on Best quality and glossy photo paper. I always print out a test run on regular paper until I am satisfied with my design. Since I work in N scale, I usually make two sets of decals for each project on the same sheet in case I screw up a decal. I learned that I should do this the hard way after screwing up a few and having to make new sets. I let the decal sheet dry for a couple of hours after I make it. Then I spray the decals with Testors Decal Bonder and let that dry overnight. Make sure that you cut the top portion of the sheet with your decals on it off from the rest of the sheet before that you spray the sheet with the Decal Bonder. If you do this you can use the rest of the sheet for your next batch. If you do not do this you will ruin the rest of the sheet. With the Decal Bonder on it, the sheet will not absorb the ink when you print on it. I learned this the hard way, too. A light even coat of the Decal Bonder is all that is necessary. If you spray the Decal Bonder on too thick, it makes the decal too thick and stiff, then it won't let details show through. It's easy to spray on too much with a spray bomb. I shake it really well. I spray one pass each way while keeping the can moving. That is what I have found to work best. I dip the decal in warm water for 2-3 seconds and set it on a paper towel. I used the Badger's Decal Setting Solution on the car, Microset works well, too. After the decal has set for about 20-30 seconds I pick it up with a pair of tweezers and slide it off the backing onto the location where I want it with a soft brush. I usually use the soft brush or a quilting pin to position it exactly where I want it. Sometimes you may have to use the soft brush very gently to work out any tiny air bubbles that may be trapped underneath a large decal. The colors are delicate on this type of decal. You have to be very gentle with the lettered or design portions. Ask me how I know. If you need to use a decal softener on this type of decals, I have found that the Walther's Solvaset is too strong for them. It makes the decal shrivel up and the colors run. I have had much better results with the Badger's Decal Softening Solution and with Microsol. I usually let the decals dry overnight and then seal them with Dullcote. Sometimes you have to work on the edges a little when you are using white decal paper. You can use the base coat color of the car or the decal and drybrush the edge to blend it in. I'm not a pro at this by any means and I am sure that there are others that have some more or better tips.
Ted, I think the decals look great, i was just thinking how your scheme is probably the only one of its kind in N scale modelling. A great railroad to model and great schemes almost enough to make me repaint all my MOPACS hmmmm second thoughts I'll just admire yours.
Fantastic work! I like the locos, plus the info on how to create the decals... I don't think I have ever photographed a GP28 Harold
That's not suprising. There were only 31 of them ever made. Only 16 stayed in the States. There is some info on them here: http://users.inna.net/~jaydeet/gp28.htm ADN 1812 was built as IC #9429. Purchased by AD&N 12/83. It remained in ICG colors until 5/84. #1812 was one of the last of four units in service with AD&N and took the last train from Crossett to Monticello and back on June 29 1996. Sold to Georgia Pacific's Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi when AD&N shut down in 1996, keeping it's number. ADN 1815 was built as KO&G #700, then KO&G #570, then MP #570, then MP #850, then MP #2000. Worked for UP as #2386, then went to Helm as #2000. It was then rebuilt at VMV and purchased by AD&N 1/90. Sold to Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi after that line was purchased by Georgia Pacific in 1991. ADN 1816 was built as Mississippi Central #211, then went to IC as #9441, then to West Tennessee as #9441. It was then rebuilt at VMV and purchased by AD&N 5/90. Sold to Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi after that line was purchased by Georgia Pacific in 1991. The Fordyce & Princeton is a sister road and owns FP 1805 which was built as IC 9436. It was sold to the F&P on 5/29/84. I took this picture of FP 1805 in Bastrop, Louisiana on 2 August 2005. Out of 16 GP28s built for domestic use, the former Georgia-Pacific shortlines own 4 of them.
Or you could model ADN 1815 as MP 2000 and model its sister MP 2001, as well.. They were two unique units and were the only two GP28s that MoPac ever owned. The two GP28s that the MoPac owned were numbered 2000 & 2001. MP 2000 = KOG 700, TP 570,TP 850, TP 2000, MP 2000 Retired June 1989 to Helm 2000 to VMV 2000 to AD&N 1815 MP 2001 = KOG 701, TP 571, TP 851, TP 2001, MP 2001 Retired January 1987 to Helm to KYLE 1829 MP2000 can be seen here: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=50901 http://mopac.org/photos_diesel/mp2000.MOKansasCity.tstoltecoll.jpg http://www.trainweb.org/screamingeagle/other/jct/MP2000-78.jpg MP 2001 can be seen here: http://www.trainweb.org/screamingeagle/other/g_elwood/mp2001.jpg Some more info on them can be found here if you scroll down to the bottom of the page: http://www.trainweb.org/screamingeagle/loco_2gen_gp35.html [ September 21, 2005, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: Tad ]
Kyle 1829 has run around Bakersfield in San Joaquin paint for awhile. We have 2 GP28's out here, so they are engines I want to model. Kel
Scratchbuilding and kitbashing everything! That's real dedictaion to your favorite company! Please keep those pictures and progress reports coming! Boxcab E50
