Numbers !

[eja]

I recently failed miserably at adding "bug board" numbers to a custom road Kato SD-40 I am working on.

Does anyone have a Microscale decal sheet that has white bug board numbers on a black background that the want to get rid of ?   I hate to buy a whole new decal sheet when all I need is these numbers,

Please send a PM if you can help me out.   Of course I reimburse postage and a nominal fee for the partial decal sheet.


Thanks for looking....

eja

[LIRR]

Believe it or not, I get convincing results by printing number boards on paper with a laser printer. They look just fine from a normal viewing distance, 12 to 18 inches. The beauty of it is you can print dozens, and they are disposable. If I don't cut it the right size, or mess it up, I toss it and cut another one. I don't have a photo handy, ...on the first page of my layout thread (L&N is Eastern Kentucky) theres a photo of an RS 11 i did this way.

[robert3985]

just paint the numberboards black, then hand letter the white numbers with a small spotting brush.  It looks okay from about six feet away, and even better from ten feet.  By the time you get to 15 feet away, it looks positively REAL!!   

Kidding aside, if I had any suitable number decals I'd get in touch with you.  Good luck.  I'm sure there's somebody here who's got what you need!

[Scottl]

I do the same with a laser printer on clear film.  Works like a charm.

[eja]

I get convincing results by printing number boards on paper with a laser printer. The beauty of it is you can print dozens, and they are disposable. If I don't cut it the right size, or mess it up, I toss it and cut another one.

Yea, I forgot about this approach, but I don't have a laser printer.   Out of curiosity, what do you use font do you use and what size ?     How do you attach them ?


eja

[bman]

There's a tutorial  here on using address label paper and a  printer     

http://home.comcast.net/~atsf_arizona_2/Easy_N_Scale_Locomotive_Numberboards.html

I do the same with laser decal paper.  I take that file on a thumb drive(I don't own a laser printer) to my local Staples along with my full sheet of decal paper and they print the file on their printer for less than a dollar. Print plenty of numbers as they only print on full sheets, so your bound to waste some paper.  I have heard that some do not do this, I've not experienced that though.  Might call ahead to verify and save yourself a trip.   Here's an example on a Kato SD40 I used it on. The font size is 3.5 which I had to manually insert into the font size box.  While it's not perfect, I see now I needed to work a little more on it, it was much easier (for me anyways) then doing the individual numbers.  I may try the method from the link again as I tried it with an ink jet and failed, and failed well.   would not see why Staples would not print a file on address label paper, especially right after you purchased the paper there. 

"http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/gunnar_61/media/HPIM7845.jpg.html"

[eja]

Bman,


Thanks for the link to John SIng's tutorial.   Once I saw it, I remembered reading it years ago, but forgot about.

I have successfully applied individual numbers several times in the past, but after my last attempt, I think I will try John's method on this one.  I'ts got to be less frustrating than what I did last weekend!

eja

[TiVoPrince]

Personal
preference is to use ALPS black on white stock because it provides a deeper more opaque black than a laser printer.  Trap print your white numbers on a black background.  Fonts are mostly a choice of what is available that prints correctly on a given printer (to your eye) at 4 points or less.  Kato SD40 number boards are not completely accurate for shape so I use another template, like those found on many decal sheets...

[LIRR]

I print them in EXCEL, I think it's size 4 font, maybe size 3. I attach them with white glue

[bman]

I've got plenty more opportunities to use number boards here in the near future.  I'll try John's method again but using a laser printer this time.  Never thought of using white glue,  thanks for the tip.

[peteski]

THis type of application is where using programs such as Corel Draw or AI is invaluable and takes all the guesswork about font sizes out of the equation.

For a task like this, I take the item I'm working with (the number board insert or even the end of loco shell itself) and I scan it on a flat bed scanner.  I usually do it at 600dpi.  That scanned image (without being manipulated) has the exact dimensions of the model.

Then I usually crop the scan in Corel Photo Paint (their bitmap editing program) and save it as in its native .cpt format.  Without going through all the details, I take that image and import it into a separate layer on Corel Draw, which I then lock. Then, I simply draw the number board artwork over the scanned image, using it as a reference.  That easily allows me to make the artwork the exact size it needs to be. I adjust the font size to whatever it needs to be simply by dragging the sizing handles around the text object, until it is the correct size.  It can easily end up being odd size (like 3.4 points), which is perfectly ok.

If scanning is not possible, I take a caliper and measure the size of the number board. Then I just create a rounded corners rectangle of the exact size.

Programs like Corel Draw allow you to easily specify or modify the exact dimensions of any object. That makes the design process so much easier than using programs where you have to guess or use trial and error while designing the artwork.