Greetings fellow procrastinators! Here is a description of my End of the Year Clearance Challenge.

I have started several steam locomotive projects in the past few years ranging from outright overhauls to simple detail upgrades. Two in particular stand out as candidates for this challenge. One is the Mantua Shifter project. It already has its own thread here:

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The other is more recent, but still a couple years old. It's the Mantua Classics 0-6-0T upgrade. This one has a video on Youtube, posted back in January 2009:

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Since the Shifter has its own thread, it's not really the focus of the challenge. What IS the focus will be finishing BOTH locomotives and painting/weathering them. I will also make a 'follow-up' video to the 0-6-0T vid.

Now there's also a Penn Line Atlantic basket case, an AHM 0-4-0 with slope back tender, a Bach. Spec. low-drivered 4-6-0, an IHC/Mehano Pacific, an IHC/Mehano Mike, and probably a few more I haven't thought about in a while that will ALL eventually become Ocali Creek Railway locomotives. Therefore I'm going to bite the bullet and order some custom lettering (rather than go letter by letter with dry transfers). That will be the first thing I do so that it'll be ready in time to complete the challenge. I've been working on the Shifter for so long that I think I'm fine to work on it up till Nov 1. I won't pick up the Tank engine (or order the decals) until after the start date.

Galen

Good luck! I like steam detailing projects. I'm going to wait at least a week to start (finish?) mine, though.

Oh, Galen, Galen Galen!

Edit: Two glaring, embarrassing typos corrected!

Two replies and I haven't even started! What have I done to deserve this!?!? Egads!

biL, you make a good point. If this contest is the turning point that moves me to get around the corner from procrastinator to sure and steady modeler, then so be it. It's a chance I'm willing to take.

To be honest, this contest is only part of the motivation (a large part, nonetheless). Last night I stayed up late at an op session on a monster N scale layout. Running trains sure gets the juices flowing. Then next Saturday is Oly-Ops, a chance to operate on two local layouts (Olympia is just down the road from here), one in the morning and one in the afternoon. This'll be my second year participating. And then there's the local NMRA monthly 'clinic' meeting. Always interesting and usually inspiring. There's a monthly deadline if I want to put something in the 'bring-n-brag' contest.

But part of overcoming procrastination is just getting off the dadgum computer and sitting down at the workbench. Overcoming inertia is most of the battle. Organization helps, to be sure.

Kevin - I'll be looking forward to your steam work as well.

Galen

Oh, and another thing...

I'll probably be ordering decals from Rail Graphics. Any other recommendations for custom decal work or is this pretty much it? A cursory google search didn't turn up anything else that seemed to compare.

Galen

Ooo, Ooo!

Let us know how the Rail Graphics thing goes! I recently found (I've been unpacking "flatwork") all my original hand-generated LS&W "camera-ready" art that I did back in the mid-seventies. Thanks to "flysheets" and careful packing of all my flatwork (my personal history of drawings I've done over my career as a product designer, both mechanical engineering drawings as well as marker presentation renderings) they look as good today as the day I pulled up the drafting tape, taped a sheet of vellum on the front and slid each of them them into a flat file drawer!

So I'll be looking to have decal sheets produced for the LS&W soon. Back then I had requested and received samples from both Donald B. Manlick and Rail Graphics, but had not made up my mind on which to use. I don't know if Manlick is still in business and the other alternative, Solidesign is so expensive it'd almost be cheaper to buy a used ALPS printer and produce them myself!

So please give us some feedback on how the Rail Graphics thing goes, O.K., Galen? Thanks!

What is the EOY Challenge? It sounds like fun to me, but I want to know what it is before I get involved.

There's more info here on the "End of Year Clearance Challenge".

Wayne

For the price I paid, I am EXTREMELY satisfied with the Rail Graphics decals I have bought. I have bought from him twice, and plan on doing a reorder of my Potomac Line decals fairly soon.

For what it's worth.

Dave

Thanks, Dave ... your thoughts do have worth!

Custom decals are a great help if done well and a total waste of funds if done poorly! I'd almost rather spend money on a high quality rubber stamp and experimemnt with white ink and white latex paint!

So, thanks, Dave! got any photos of decaled rolling stock?

Thanks, Dave. That's exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping to hear. Either that, or a good link or two to a variety of producers. Still, Rail Graphics prices seem very reasonable for as many copies as you get, with the flexibility to make color changes, etc. with each run.

I've been looking at various schemes to determine what color(s) to go with and I think it'll be Dulux Gold (yellow) for most engines with actual Gold for the early engines and passenger locos. I may add a set in white for cabooses & rolling stock, and purchase a few data sets for 1900's-20's-40's equipment. I lean on the early side of the transition period, really the 20's and 30's so I don't want to use a font that's too modern, but I don't want 'Old Timey' either. I like Deco-inspired motifs, but this is Appalachia we're talking about so fonts would have been fairly conservative...we'll see.

Tomorrow I place a decal order and resume work on the 0-6-0T. I'll take pictures first before beginning any new work.

Galen

Galen, I was browsing the Rail Graphics site, but never found prices. Since I may want some custom decals, about what does it cost?

Gary, for prices click on "Download Our Catalog".

Wayne

Thanks Wayne.

I will start a separate thread tonight with photos of his decals. I have free lanced decals in white, black, and yellow/gold. I purchased the minimum order, then just split the order up into 3 colors. Also, for those that saw my Nike GP15-1 build, those decals were made by RG from some artwork I prepared on my laptop computer.