Pendle Princess Steam Traction Engine

[Ian T]

14 hours ago, dnl42 said:

 

This is looking fine!

Thanks @dnl42, I appreciate your comment, despite my whinging throughout the build (sorry!!) I am really pleased with how it’s working out. Especially when the kits history is considered, it has travelled extensively through Australia from quite cold to very hot and humid over many years before my friend gave it to me.

[Ian T]

9 hours ago, Cooper645 said:

@Ian T just a suggestion, if when you try the decals next they do go wrong, you may be able to save them with a light coat of clear coat over the decal sheet. It’s only a suggestion, as that’s how you seal the ink on homemade decal sheets, so it may add a bit of strength to them.  I believe it’s a fine art as a thick layer will make your decals thick and hard to conform.  Hopefully others will comment and advise for or against this to help but it’s something I would try if the decals started going weak. 

Thanks @Cooper645 for the great advice, this is why I love this forum, I would never have thought of trying that, but if the decals are already stuffed then I’ve got nothing to lose have I?

[Cooper645]

Not really. I have the kit in the stash, but the road roller version, maybe different decals I imagine. 

It may be worth seeing if you can get a high quality scan of the decals, then you always have the option of making your own 👌🏼 - I may do this myself now I be mentioned it 😏

[cmatthewbacon]

26 minutes ago, Cooper645 said:

It may be worth seeing if you can get a high quality scan of the decals, then you always have the option of making your own 👌🏼 - I may do this myself now I be mentioned it 😏

Here you go:

 

 

Download hi-res here:

https://cmatthewbacon.smugmug.com/Pendle-Princess/i-CshVWtg/A

 

 

Download hi-res here:

https://cmatthewbacon.smugmug.com/Pendle-Princess/i-462Z44c/A

 

best,

M.

 

[Ian T]

Hi @Cooper645 and @cmatthewbacon, thanks for your brilliant assistance and help. I’ve never tried my own decals before, mainly because I’ve not looked into suitable drawing software yet. But I’m certainly happy to try from these scans (are they scans?).

 

Sorry for a dumb question, do I need to get white or clear decal paper? I’m assuming that it would be white due to the white of the “Museum if Steam” text. If yes, do I need to trim the decal to separate the text from the background? Actually, thinking about it, if I use white paper then all of the space inside the pinstriping will be white ... won’t it? Maybe I only print the text on white background and the rest on clear, aaaagh!!

 

Thanks and regards

Ian

[Tankerman]

Ian,

 

I have had good success with old decals using this:

 

https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/product/28ml-micro-liquid-decal-film-microscale?gclid=Cj0KCQjwyLDpBRCxARIsAEENsrKYhTkX8JeStCbZD4LUnioDCqD98W9NQdZvx7W49xWBc04OxpOZ1nwaAljpEALw_wcB

 

It works best if you use your airbrush and leave it to dry for a couple of days.

If you do decide to print your own decals as suggested by Matthew, you will need to use clear decal sheet for the bulk of the image but the "Museum of Steam etc." section will need to be on white decal film.

 

Good luck whichever way you choose,

 

Chris

[Ian T]

Hi Chris, thanks for your input. I’ve not seen the “Decal Film” before, it looks interesting, I’ll have a search around the internet and see if I can get it in Australia. I think that I’m going to try the decal printing this time, it is a good chance to try this out, since I knew that the decals were already stuffed before my latest brain fade that stuffed them even more!!

 

Keep watching for the results .....

 

Thanks and regards

Ian

[Ian T]

I should have looked before posting my last entry, so far there are at least two places in Australia that stock the Microscale Liquid Film, thanks Chris.

[Ian T]

This is a slow old build, but getting there now. The Princess is taking shape with the water tank now being fitted and a couple of other bits of metalwork (in the plastic sense, of course).

 

I’m pleased to be able to report that the gear wheel that partly covers the steering shaft in the pictures below, will turn the crank shaft and that the pistons still work OK. Also the steering wheel happily turns the steering drum on the bottom of the water tank (see earlier pictures, if you want to see the detail on the bottom of the water tank). The front boiler, smoke stack and front axle assembly (which is complete) get fitted soon, then there are quite a few fiddly bits such as the control panel, the roof with the associated decorative lamps and the rear wheels. So still a way to go, but I have to say that I’m pleased with progress.

 

 

 

 

 

[spoly]

that is so, so, so nice. love it.

[Ian T]

3 hours ago, spoly said:

that is so, so, so nice. love it.

Thanks @spoly I appreciate your comment.

[Brandy]

Beautiful! I had the chance to drive, no, stear, a steam roller at a local show many years ago. It scared me senseless. People were wandering around, crossing in front of us no more than a couple of feet in front. They didn't seem to have the faintest clue that we couldn't stop instantly if they did, and couldn't stear away (the chain had to take up slack the other way before we even started to change direction!). I'm still astonished that there haven't been people run over by these wonderful machines. It says a lot for the skill of their owners/drivers.

 

Ian

[Ian T]

4 hours ago, limeypilot said:

Beautiful! I had the chance to drive, no, stear, a steam roller at a local show many years ago. It scared me senseless. People were wandering around, crossing in front of us no more than a couple of feet in front. They didn't seem to have the faintest clue that we couldn't stop instantly if they did, and couldn't stear away (the chain had to take up slack the other way before we even started to change direction!). I'm still astonished that there haven't been people run over by these wonderful machines. It says a lot for the skill of their owners/drivers.

 

Ian

Thanks @limeypilot, one of the nice things about this build has been the reminiscing that it has brought out in people, the reaction has been similar to the nostalgia that a “real” steam locomotive and train generate. I’m hoping that the steering will work when complete, the chain has to get wrapped around the drum on the bottom of the water tank, both the steering wheel/steering column/drum assembly and the front axle assembly rotate quite freely at the moment so I think it should be OK. If you watch the YouTube link that was included in a much earlier post in this thread you can see the driver wildly turning the steering wheel to take up the slack in the chain.

Regards Ian

[Ian T]

An update from my earlier (July) post and the fact that I had messed up the decals that had yet to be applied. I had stored them without any tissue paper between each piece of decal and they all stuck together.

 

I had some great support and suggestions, and today I tried to apply a few decals and they are completely stuffed, they just broke into lots of very small pieces in the water, with no hope of me being able to join them up on the model. I didn’t really expect very much different, but it is disappointing. Anyway, looking to be positive, @cmatthewbacon gave me a link to a scan of his decal sheets for this kit. And as luck will have it, there is a model expo here in Brisbane in a couple of weeks so I’m hoping to get some decal printing paper and try my own decals for the first time. Onwards and upwards!!

[Brandy]

Good luck, and don't forget that decal fixative spray can save those old decals. Just remember to spray it on before you try to add them!

 

Ian

[Ian T]

Thanks @limeypilot, I’ve just had a look on the internet for this fixative spray available in Australia and it seems to be quite common in “craft” shops. There is a brand called “Mirador” that have a few sprays with one specifically recommended for decals, so I’ll have a look for this.

 

Do you know if this type of spray is OK to use with newly printed (but dry) decals using an inkjet printer??

 

Thanks once again, Regards Ian

[Brandy]

It should be, as it is specifically designed to seal the ink so it won't run. Which is why a coat over old decals should provide a thin protective coat to stop them falling apart. I use it for my home printed inkjet decals, or did before I relocated to the UAE and had to leave all my aerosol products behind. Now I'm trying to find replacements!

 

Ian

[Ian T]

That sounds good, I’ll see about getting some. I’m an expat pommie and I sometimes struggle to find things here in Australia, they’re usually available, it’s just where?? Was it just shipping aerosols that was a problem or was it the chemicals that made you leave them behind?

[Brandy]

The shipping company wouldn't accept aerosols. Not surprising as they're classed as hazardous goods and the container with my belongings was likely to sit in the sun in 40+ degrees for a few weeks. That could be messy!

 

Ian

[Ian T]

Progress, of sorts .... I’ve now printing my first attempt at home made decals, with many thanks to @cmatthewbacon for the scans of his originals. These need to be sealed yet, but I’m looking forward to moving on with this build now. I’ve got quite a few painted bits that require decals which will be much easier applied off the build.

 

These are printed on clear film but I will need to print the “Museum of Steam” ones on white film, which I got at the same time as the clear. I haven’t got my head around what this means yet in terms of what the completed decal will look like when printed and cut off the sheet, but I’ve got a stuffed up sheet that I printed incorrectly that I can play with.

 

Anyway, onwards and upwards.

 

 

[dnl42]

Sorry to hear about your decal problems!

 

I've made my own and built kits with printed decals. While I typically airbrush Microscale Industries Liquid Decal Film, one of the decal producers strongly suggested airbrushing Tamiya X-22 clear gloss as a fixative. Both work fine, but the Tamiya may be easier for you to get.

[Ian T]

Thanks for your comments @dnl42, the supplier of the decal paper recommends using, White Knight acrylic gloss, which I think is an Australian product, but I may be wrong. I already have a rattle can of something called “Crystal Clear” which I got from a local model shop, which I think I’ll try on the sheet that I stuffed up to see how it goes. But I also have some X-22 which I think I’ll try as my second option.

 

Once again thanks for your comments.

[Ian T]

Several decal experiments later and we’ve made some progress. I purchased some clear and some white decal printing paper and got going. I knew that it wouldn’t be easy having read quite a bit about decal printing on this forum and on the internet in general. But I needed to try for myself as I couldn’t get my head around what would happen if I wanted white printing on a mostly clear decal, should I paint background, would I apply enough clear coat to seal the colours etc. etc.

 

The first attempt was to do a trial print on plain paper and compare the size to the original decals. After a fair amount of trial and error this was achieved reasonably accurately. So I then printed the two sheets on clear film. First problem, using the same scale on my printer (a commercial Epsom ink jet) didn’t give the same size product using the film, so more adjusting took place and we got the right(ish) size. The application worked fine, the decal slid off the paper well, I was able to position them well and they generally looked. But the colours were just too pale. The yellow pinstriping was hardly visible on the brown paint and the silver number on the number plate disappeared and came out as a brown number.

 

So I moved on to the white paper, went through the same issues with scale etc. Once again the decal went on well, but with the white paper everything had to be trimmed extra close to the decal and with the number plate wasn’t an issue, except for maybe a trace of white at some places. But the yellow pinstriping had to be trimmed on both the external and internal edges which was very difficult to achieve well.

 

Anyway, here is the result of my first “successful” home printed decals. I am actually very pleased with them, the close up camera highlights every blemish and to the naked eye, they do seem a bit better than this picture.

 

 

Some things I need to bear in mind and to improve on, the accuracy of the cutting and a way to consistently and easily trim the internal edges of the pinstriping. It is important to only make one cut with the modelling knife, it is important to cut into and for the cuts to meet at the corners. The scale is very slightly too large and the decals do go over the moulded lines a bit.

 

I would welcome any comments on how to trim accurately and any other helpful comments. Thanks for reading to the end of a long story.

 

[Bigdave22014]

Outstanding decals Sir. You've done well trimming them.

The only recommendation I can make is to put a background colour border around the item you're printing, which won't show up as much as the  original white when you cut it out.

[Ian T]

Thanks @Bigdave22014 that’s exactly the sort of suggestion that I was after.