Station Signage

[Cransford]

Can I bother the assembled throng with a question, which I haven't as yet answered.

I'm building a P4 layout based on Garelochead around 1960, and need to find transfers/etched Scottish blue signage for station buildings such as 'Private', 'Parcels', etc. I'll also need running in boards and appreciate these may need to be DIY. I'm sure I've seen what I'm after but will be darned if I can find now I need!

I've 3D printed the signal box already and am progressing on station building, which I'll document when I get the chance.

All help gratefully received.

Paul

[40C]

https://www.sankeyscenics.com/oo-4mm-cu ... h-railways

[John Palmer]

The Sankey Scenics solution certainly looks like a feasible way forward, using their bespoke service, but a possible alternative would be to create your own artwork oversize, re-scale it to 4mm : 1' scale then print to photographic paper. From what I can see, that seems to be the process Sankey are following.

I've produced acceptable representations of green enamelled Southern Region signage from my own artwork, the original of which looks like this:

Burnham signage blue green.png

This artwork was prepared in the free Paint.net software and simply involved getting an acceptable green background colour over which the required legends were applied in white Gill Sans lettering. The attached .png file measures 37.28 cm X 19.05 cm, which obviously is vastly overscale. I've never yet had success re-scaling such images using dedicated graphic software applications, but instead obtained satisfactory results by pasting the oversize image into a word processor document (in my case OpenOffice Writer) and reducing it in size by means of the word processor's graphics handling facilities. In this case the final image was reduced to a size of 5 cm X 2.55 cm, at which scale I estimate the small 'Burnham on Sea' legends are about .75mm in height and sit comfortably (and legibly!) on the backrest planks of platform seats.

I've seen your WHR platform cabin photographs on WT and think you have captured very well its character, though I think I would have gone for custom etchings of the window frames in preference to the 3D print. The island platform design of WHR station building is going to be a more massive edifice altogether. Depending on how finely you find yourself able to represent them in 4mm scale, the 3D printing approach may well afford the best way of representing those characteristic shingles with which such buildings' walls were covered above waist height - look forward to seeing your progress on this front!

[Lindsay G]

The Sankey items look good but they are printed onto "quality card" which may be well over-thick and not suited to adding to doors or whatever.

I'd agree with John that these items can be done via a DIY approach and via a number of different software products - just a matter of using initiative/imagination with what might be available, and then printing onto paper, self-adhesive label sheets, white decal paper, etc., depending on need. For my own use I used the Silhouette Cutter software to produce my items that were printed onto plain paper which was just folded over and tacked into place in etched brass holders - and once the canopy is added they'll probably never be seen in any case, so why did I bother!!

Lindsay

Sign boards.jpg

[Cransford]

Gentlemen,

Many thanks, I knew I'd seen it somehwere!

I'd agree that card might be too thick for use on doors, especially when I can allow for he sign itself when printing. I think I might explore using decal paper to see how it finishes up.

Thanks again for the help.

Paul

[John Palmer]

One point I didn't mention is that I have had only limited success using a laser printer to produce the scaled down image prints, and had much better results from an inkjet printer. In my case that happens to be a Canon Pixma, but I would expect any half-way decent printer aimed at those wanting to print photographs would yield acceptable results. I printed onto high gloss photographic paper, the better to simulate an enamelled sign, and it is possible to abrade away some of the thickness of this paper stock once the image has been printed, but at risk that if you pursue this path too far you end up abrading away part of the image substrate as well! Must try the printing to decal paper option sometime, too; please let us know how you get on with that.

[stephenfreeman]

I find printing to decal paper extremely easy, you really just have to remember two things.

Spray the transfers with UV protection before applying them

White print can be a problem so best to apply to a prepared white surface