Good idea George on steel weight before I glue in a floor. That’s a very nice car PRRK4. How did you do the foam insulation. I’d like to do a few cars with the foam, but hadn’t wrapped my head around a technique yet. Lots of tests and experimentation down the road no doubt. Speaking of experimentation - while working on the part designs for the end details, I am also playing around with the idea of using stencils for the lettering as opposed to decals. I primed and sprayed the latest test body black, and then used laser cut stencils to test spraying the lettering via an airbrush, just like the real railroads.
The results were not as good as I’d hoped, but there is a lot of room for improvement in the stencil/lettering design and the masking/spray technique. I also, in a rush, grabbed the crappiest 0 brush on my bench to paint out the stencil lines, making things worse than they should have. If I can tighten things up a bit I think this is a viable method. To be sure, printed decals would be crisper, however I apply 5-10 layers of filter weathering, along with oil paint, and chalks, which would mute most of the deficiencies of the stencil method. On the plus/pro side of the equation - no decal film to attempt to make invisible - quicker application of lettering - lower cost - super accurate alignment of lettering, without touching a ruler.
For a multiple car run like I am doing, having decals made would be economical, but if refined, this method would really be useful in one-off car builds. And again, this is just a test car - sloppy glue up, rushed paint job, etc.
I just guessed, but does anyone know the correct PRR or PC lettering sizes? I did 12” for the PC, 8” for the numbers, and 4” for the car data.
