do you have a way for Bachmann owners to get replacement decal sheets? or at least an info sheet with the closest representation of your decals..... in my case... i have multiple shays and  would like to use the proper decals to renumber them...




thanks

Oldsmobile,

I have been doing the decal shuffle for about six months now.  My only luck has been with Champ so far.  Despite rumors, they are still in business.  They no longer make decals, but have many years worth of decals in stock, for almost any road you could think of.  Their shipping costs are reasonable and have online shopping available.

I've heard microscale makes nice decals... still waiting to find out.

Bachmann stamps on their markings.  They are removable.  Opinions vary on how to this.  I wouldn't recommend my method (fingernail polish remover).  It works, but it's scary.

Regards,

Jonathan

HELLO..
THANKS.... that's sort-of- kinda my situation also..... as most company's do stamp them on... i was just curious what the type of lettering they are useing... i guess what i'm looking for is  the font or style... i.e. roman or gothic... etc.etc... just to be as accurate as i can...... there are so many decals from those venders it's like looking for a needle in a hay stack....

thanks again

The beauty of it is, somebody has already thought that through.  It took me a long time to figure this out.

Let's say you have a steam locomotive that was built between 1923 and 1928.  There are decals available for that particular roadname, for steamers, from 1910 to 1948.  You don't have to worry about roman, gothic or size.  The manufacturers have figured it out and offer the decals how they looked for that era.  I'm not explaining this well, but perhaps you get my meaning.   

Hope someone else can explain it better.

Jonathan

You can also make decals with your printer, either laser or ink jet.  The decal material is very expensive compared to paper, but a pretty good bargain for decals considering you get a whole 8.5x11 sheet.  You will need to know the font for your models.  Railroad Roman or Railroad Roman Expanded are common ones.

The only problem with making your own decals is that most of what I need are white and that can't be done.

i would imagine if you are using shays decorated for a logging railroad that they'd use a standard railroad font like railroad roman. decals for this font are readily available in a variety of sizes.

microscale decals are much thinner than other brands and require extra care when applying them. they also tend to deteriorate alot faster than other brands when not applied. i would not hesitate to use, say, champ decals that i knew were 20 years old. but microscale decals have to be fresh when you use them or they will fall apart on you.

With regard to white letters, there is a company that makes white decal stock.  Soooo...while you can't do just white text, you can get white letters against a colored background, You could, for example, put the railroad name in white against a colored rectangle for the letterboard of a passenger car. 

Does anybody remember the legendary Alps printers that could print white and gold and other colors. I heard of them back in the early 90's but even then, apparently they were out of production

Robert

Yes, white stock is available but it won't necessaily resolve the issue of needing white.

I understand that at least some Kinkos will print decals on the customer's decal sheets on an ALPS printer.  I haven't tried this yet but it would be great if it's true.  I would certainly check at your local Kinko shop and see whether they want laser decal film or ink jet.