New brass Milwaukee Bipolar EP-2 clinic- part 2

[u18b]

Seems almost like since you are building several you should do something like this (9:30)...

Actually David,

Since I have two built and ready to go at the same time.... I thought about it.

But when you have to 100% disassemble the locos that have custom fitted parts...

I figured it was too many parts and too much room for confusion.

So one at a time!

[u18b]

This time I used the Tamiya tape again, but I got a “wax” covered paper plate from the kitchen.  Cut the raised part off.  And stuck the tape to that for cutting.

This seemed to work well as far as retaining the stickiness of the tape.


Using a steel ruler, I cut a VERY thin edge.



It applied better this time.



Curved surfaces are a problem when masking.  I just keep the mask flat and let it turn down naturally.


On the side, I followed the latches on the hatches.  Note how the straight line on the side intersects the turned down part from the front right at the corner.  And the excess of this piece now turns down because of the curve in the front.





On the side with the grabs, I decided to leave the grabs alone at first.  So I masked right up to them.



Now under.


Split a piece with scissors for the cab door area.



That piece fits under the railing.



And now a piece over the railing.


Over the TOP of the grab.



Over the nose platforms.


Filling in the crevices of the doorway.  Very tedious.


Notice the layering.


This last corner has a tough curve in it.


So I cut a piece of tape at an angle.


And install it.


Lot of masking, but I'm done with these pieces.  Time to try some painting.



Black is done.
I always hold my breath for the unpeeling.  Things can go wrong.  Paint peels, discover that tape did not lay down properly and allowed spray to get in the wrong place, etc.




OK.  Turned out pretty well.


That is much better.  Although I got some excess spray in the crevice of that door area.  I'll need to patch that later with orange paint.


And here is a VERY close shot of the front tricky area.


Now time to do the other cab.

[peteski]

Nice Job on the masking Ron!
I'm curious what paint are you using because the surface seems somewhat grainy. I'm not sure if a clear coat will be able to make the paint look smooth.

When I have a model or rolling stock or locomotives where I'll have to apply decals, I use paints like Scalecoat II, Accu Paint or Tru Color paints. They give me a smooth glossy or eggshell finish, ready for decals.  That way I don't have to worry about decals silvering.

[robert3985]

Nice Job on the masking Ron!
I'm curious what paint are you using because the surface seems somewhat grainy. I'm not sure if a clear coat will be able to make the paint look smooth.

When I have a model or rolling stock or locomotives where I'll have to apply decals, I use paints like Scalecoat II, Accu Paint or Tru Color paints. They give me a smooth glossy or eggshell finish, ready for decals.  That way I don't have to worry about decals silvering.

Looks like "orange-peel" which indicates the paint is going on nearly dry.  Usually caused by a combination of too much air pressure, too far away and/or the paint being not thinned enough.  Ideally, the paint should go on wet, then dry within a half second or two of hitting the model's surface.  This will yield a smooth coat that additionally will adhere well to a clean, oil and wax free surface.  Getting pressure, flow and distance "just right" will get you multiple coats of paint that aren't obviously thicker than the preceding coats, and a SMOOooooth surface which will not hide detail and look very prototypical.

I also use paints that are glossy for paint schemes. Scalecoat (both I and II) give excellent results (I prefer II) and Tru Color paints also give good results.  I use flat acrylics from my stash of no-longer-available brands for weathering over glossy finishes in my turbine fed Paasche AB's for both general and extremely precise applications, whereas I use my Paasche VL's for general paint.

Orange-peel is not uncommon, and I've had to strip paint I've applied and start over several times in my 55 years of airbrushing models both for myself and professionally.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[u18b]

Bob and Pete...

Yes, paint is not perfect.... but not as bad as these macro shots make it appear.

Having said that....

Using Tru-color.Pressure is ~25.

So far so good.

I did thin some with acetone since I understand that Tru-color is acetone base.   If there is something better, let me know.

But I think the real issue is that I'm using (and getting used to) a dual action airbrush from Harbor freight.
I really like this airbrush.   But the problem is not the brush-- it is the tip.

The price is so cheap that it is hard to not want to give it a try.
Cheap does not mean poor quality- it is great.

But apparently, the tip only comes in fine.

So it is hard to get any kind of coverage.

I've looked for a medium needle/tips/nozzle etc., but can't find any.

Anybody know of any???

I'll probably use my Pasche single action next time.

[peteski]

Ron, when I airbrush I seldom use more than 20 psi and I open the nozzle wide enough to give me heavy/wet spray. I also keep the airbrush around 5" from the model. That gives me nice wet coverage.  I first start a bit further away to cover the bare shell, then get closer for wet coats.  The end result is a very smooth coat of paint.

Here is an extreme closeup of N scale Atlas RS-3 I painted. No rough surface. I used Accu Paints.

[wazzou]

Here is an extreme closeup of N scale Atlas RS-3 I painted. No rough surface. I used Accu Paints.

Yeah, but can you read "Boston and Maine"?   

[peteski]

Yeah, but can you read "Boston and Maine"?   

I didn't print the decal - blame the Northeast Decal Co.! 

[u18b]

Time to do some decal analysis.

The first actual custom decals arrived.   They turned out really outstanding.  I am very pleased.

Here is a photo of four sets altogether.
Unfortunately, the Streamstyle Graphics decals no longer appear available.  But they are here for comparison.



One reason I have these extra sheets is that I always look for a back-up plan.

So, obviously, MicroScale makes a black stripes set.  And actually, there is an advantage to using their decals stripes because of the way they are constructed.  MicroScale prints a black line on top of a THIN clear strip of decal.  So when you CUT the piece out.... you are only cutting PAPER.

But the custom decals are solid clear sheets.  So when you cut the decal out, you are cutting the clear film itself which sometimes crinkles and may crack the decal.  Using a fresh sharp knife helps, but I like the Microscale stripes a lot.


They also make a set for E units.  Most of that I can't use, but what IS helpful is the curved black stripe for the nose, and the red Milwaukee Road box herald- which I don't need now, but there are other EP-2 schemes that use it.

Now I can compare all sets.

This cut and pasted photo shows me a couple of things.

I discovered that the Alps printer can print a MUCH finer line than I was expecting.  My test prints with my inkjet on regular paper (which is more porous) produced lines that were fatter.  When we print more, I need to make the lines fatter.

Second, I notice the radius of the curves are different.

The streamstyle is probably the tightest, mine is a close second, and the Microscale is wider.

We'll hold that thought for now.




Pete included a fabulous bonus which was VERY helpful.
It is a guide of sample line thicknesses.



And so by using this guide when compared to the MicroScale stripes, it looks like  .0051 is a good match.   That's what I'll be going with for the next print.


Now to the curves.  Masking that EP-2 nose is going to be quite a chore.  The straight parts are tough enough- working around all the details present.
But what about the curves.

I could make a photocopy of the decals, lay it over masking material, and then try to trace-cut with an Xacto knife.
But I already know- however good I am, I'm not that good.
Cutting curves is a challenge.  Draftsman/drawing folks have special templates that might be helpful if it came to that.

And then I had a brainstorm..........

Sometimes sticky office labels have curves.
I went looking through my stuff and found nothing helpful.

Then a trip to my office supply store produced these.  Cost me about 7 bucks.



Now, I don't care about the label--- I want the TRASH!  The refuse (waste) from this sheet is what I want.

So when I peel off the labels and toss them, I have these nice sticky curves to work with.



So I colored some (so I could see better) and applied them to decal photo copies.

First to mine.

You can see from this shot that the curves on mine are too tight for these labels.

These labels are 1/2 inch.  I did an internet search and could not find any labels smaller than that size which ALSO has the refuse.




So then I try this on the MicroScale decal sheet.

Hmmmmm.  Looks like a perfect fit.




I think this will be helpful.

So, Time to go back to Corel Draw.
I need to change my line thickness to  .0051 and then broaden my curves some more to more closely match the labels mask.

[u18b]

Since I had these test decals, I thought....

Why not do a test.

So I got my Kumata painted EP-2 out.
I then scraped off the herald with my thumbnail (might have been a dry transfer).




For comparison purposes, here is a before picture.




And here is an after picture.




The builder's plate turned out pretty well.




It is actually kind of hard to see with the naked eye, but here is the F (front) and road number in gold at the botton near the walkway.




And the A end.  The number boards turned out well too.




And you can actually read the warning sign.




Pete and I debated what was the best method for these plate.

On this one, a black rectangle was printed with clear empty spots where the letters went.  Then all those spots get filled in with gold leaf.




And then this one was printed as two separate decals with black as the base, and gold placed on top.
It definitely printed better to my eyes.

[peteski]

Looking good Ron!

I might have an idea on how to make the fully printed builder's plate look better.  I'll have to experiment an bit.

As far as the masks for those rounded corners go, it is too bad you down own one of those computer-controlled craft cutters.  If you had one of those you could design the decal in Corel Draw and you could also use the same curve for cutting a mask (from masking tape placed on a cutting mat in the cutter).  But I think that you would need a newer version of Corel Draw to be able to use the cutting plug-in.

Funny thing about those original Kumata EP-2s: without your modifications they look really funny - like the loco body was on stilts.

[u18b]

Funny thing about those original Kumata EP-2s: without your modifications they look really funny - like the loco body was on stilts.

It's a classic example of   "the way we always did it."

The old NJ EP-2 had to be higher because the flanges were bigger back then.   But this new EP-2 could possibly run on code 40 rail.
But even though Kumata used fine scale wheels on this one, no one thought to lower the new version of the loco.

I lowered mine a little and added a frame to the cabs and the boiler room.   It does make a huge difference.

It's kind of funny, but I've been looking at mine so long I forgot how high they were.

[u18b]

Hey Pete,

Check your email.  Need to make a small revision.

I see I made the word ROAD too spread out for an EP-2.  Just now discovered it.

[peteski]

Hey Pete,
Check your email.  Need to make a small revision.

Roger that!

[u18b]

OK.  Corrections are done and emailed.

Yikes.  Can't believe I almost missed this.
Actually, I know it is partially because I cannot find a good side shot of an EP-2 in this scheme.
Y'all will remember that when I was designing my own font, I used a side on shot from one of the boxcabs.

So here is what I needed to change.   The word ROAD is just a bit too spread out.

On the B end, it is not a problem.


But I needed the whole lettering to fall within the edge of the cab with a little extra on each side.
Like this photo shop.



Anyway, that's done.

Now that the decals are designed and I figured out how to perfect the masking, then now I can safely move on to masking and painting the maroon.
Hopefully in the next day or two.