Weekend Update 9/25/16

[thomasjmdavis]

and the finished coach:

Doug- Congrats on a great job- it would be hard to guess what you started with if you hadn't shown the "in progress" photos. 

I am wondering what you used for interior- the seats through the windows do not look like the original MP/Lima interior. (sorry if I missed it in my admittedly quick read of the thread)

I am working on a variety of modified passenger cars, I can only hope mine turn out half as nice as yours.

Tom D

[dougnelson]

Doug- Congrats on a great job- it would be hard to guess what you started with if you hadn't shown the "in progress" photos. 

I am wondering what you used for interior- the seats through the windows do not look like the original MP/Lima interior. (sorry if I missed it in my admittedly quick read of the thread)

I am working on a variety of modified passenger cars, I can only hope mine turn out half as nice as yours.

Tom D

Tom- I used the Lima interior insert.  There may be better interior's available??  The Lima insert has facing seats, which is possible with the rotating seats, but it would be more accurate to have seats mostly facing the same direction.

[robert3985]

Tom- I used the Lima interior insert.  There may be better interior's available??  The Lima insert has facing seats, which is possible with the rotating seats, but it would be more accurate to have seats mostly facing the same direction.

The "better interior" that's available is the one you make yourself.  It's easy to make passenger car seats of different styles and types by extruding them from Sculpey or Fimo polymer clay.

I started doing this decades ago before the commercial "extruders" were readily available, so I made my extruder from a kitchen garlic press.

I mix up a golf-ball sized batch of Sculpey or Fimo that's the color of the seats in the passenger car I'm super detailing so I don't have to paint 'em.

On contest models, I add armrests and carve in extra details.

I've also done tables of various styles as most UP passenger cars with tables had tables with table clothes, so the legs would have been mostly covered up anyway.

After I extrude the seats, or tables or whatever, I bake 'em so they're solid, but not brittle-solid, and cut them uniformly to length using one of my NWSL Choppers, then smooth 'em up with some NWSL mini sanding sticks, carve in whatever details I want, and add 'em to floor I'm gonna put in the car I'm working on.

Photo (1) - Garlic press Sculpey "extruder" with sample extrusions:


Photo (2) - Sculpey sample extrusions, and extruded seats in finished model coach:


Anyways...this works really well for me, and with extruders cheaply available down at your local Michael's or Hobby Lobby, it's easy to make your own N-scale passenger car interiors.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[OldEastRR]

I created them on the computer, and printed on translucent vellum paper to simulate the etched glass. Here is the file which includes plain windows and windows with car numbers that were used on some Pullman cars. I cut them out and paste on the inside of windows with white glue that dries clear.

Nice! Where do I get vellum paper and does it work with an inkjet printer?

[dougnelson]

Nice! Where do I get vellum paper and does it work with an inkjet printer?

It's drafting paper - you should find it at an art supply store or stores like Staples:
http://www.staples.com/Staedtler-25-Vellum-Tracing-Paper-8-1-2-x-11-/product_484830

8.5x11 sheets should work in an inkjet printer.

[peteski]

It's drafting paper - you should find it at an art supply store or stores like Staples:
http://www.staples.com/Staedtler-25-Vellum-Tracing-Paper-8-1-2-x-11-/product_484830

8.5x11 sheets should work in an inkjet printer.

But it will likely  not absorb ink as well as regular paper does, so the lines could smudge if not handled carefully.

[Angus Shops]

You could also try printing it onto Mylar drafting film (a plastic drawing material that has nice even frosted quality, and also available at drafting supply or printers). The advantage might be that it's tough as nails and and the frosted look is very even. It is plastic so you'll need to know that your printer won't melt the plastic. So try it on the copier at work  . You can also try fixing it to the window material with the thin double sided clear tape that crafters use. My wife uses a brand called 'sook wang'; it's very thin, very clear, and sticks well.

Geoff

[eja]

I would not be surprised if you could take the jpg file to Staples or Office Depot and have them print it for you...

...unless you want a lifetime supply of vellum or Mylar

[OldEastRR]

I would not be surprised if you could take the jpg file to Staples or Office Depot and have them print it for you...

...unless you want a lifetime supply of vellum or Mylar

Excellent! And they can melt their printer. Actually, if the guy with the windows is willing to part with (a possible life-time supply of) some windows, he can PM me and I'll send a SASE he can mail some to me.

[nkalanaga]

They won't melt their printer.  If they have even the slightest doubt, they'll refuse to print the file.  I tried to get one of those companies to print a decal sheet for me, and they said that decal paper will melt in a laser printer, so they won't do it.  I'm sure plastic would be even less durable, but the vellum should work fine.

[peteski]

They won't melt their printer.  If they have even the slightest doubt, they'll refuse to print the file.  I tried to get one of those companies to print a decal sheet for me, and they said that decal paper will melt in a laser printer, so they won't do it.  I'm sure plastic would be even less durable, but the vellum should work fine.

Decal paper (with clear or white film) sold by companies such as Bare Metal Foil is made either for ink jet or for laser printers. The laser printer decal paper (as the name implies) should be safe for laser printers.  That is the printer I safely use for Alps (another thermal-transfer printer).  I realize that Alps only heats up the specific small area at a time where the printing occurs while laser printer heats up the entire width of the paper at a time, but the paper is designed for laser printers.

However not all laser printers are the same. Some might have internal temperatures higher than others. Some laser printers also have a special setting for printing transparencies - that should be safe for laser decal paper for sure.

[C855B]

They won't melt their printer. ...

Absolutely. It's not about parsing what the printers technically can or can't do. I've run a few "service bureaus", or on-demand laser printing services. I can tell you firsthand that the service staff is not expert on their printers or on media. However, as the manager and hopefully slightly more knowledgeable about the equipment, I directed staff to never accept unusual media for printing. At one shop, the policy was strictly no outside paper, period. I would rather turn down one client than risk a printer being down for two or three days waiting for the tech (and parts) to get the profit center back in service. And if it was determined (...I'll never tell!...) that the service call was due to unapproved media, the service call at $100+ an hour was not covered by the contract, and therefore on my dime.

It's more than just decal paper or transparency film. We were occasionally asked to print on deckled-edge stock and even handmade papers, and I had to be firm with my "No, it will jam, ruin the paper and damage the equipment," explaining that the laser printers and xerographic duplicators depend on engineered paper consistency. I had to even declare "no recycled paper" with my suppliers because the early recycled stock was very dusty and would foul the optics.

In short, decal papers are strictly for consumer-grade home printers. A service shop like Staples, FedEx Office, etc., will usually not assume the risk unless the printer operator is a short-timer, or is about to be.

[nkalanaga]

Peteski and Mike:  You're both right, and I never showed the print shop the paper I wanted to use, just asked if they COULD print on decal paper.  So, their refusal was policy, not based on  the particular paper, which makes sense. 

The only reason I asked them in the first place was that I had done the same thing on our production copiers and printers at work - 20 years ago.  Printers have almost certainly changed since then.

[dougnelson]

FYI - I printed the lavatory windows on vellum with a laser printer.  Inkjet would probably work, but as mentioned, allow ink to dry before handling.