what does it take

[gandy dancer#1]

HI: I want a locomotive katy line, but budget wont go there as we all know So was wondering if find same loco of another line, but need to paint it katy colors red and white, how hard, to do and what kind of paint recommended?? Also canyou get decals and logos, like he decals of the old model car days??

[ACY]

Either way your budget will be prohibitive, because a quality air brush can set you back just the same as a quality loco. Unless you are fine with a non-realistic/sub-par paint job, you'll have to spend money one way or the other. Nobody ever said this hobby was cheap. Ultimately, you can decide for yourself what an adequate paint job is, what is a good paint job for one person may be considered great by another.

[r0bert]

That's just not the case, you don't have to have a high dollar airbrush to get a high quality paint project, it helps, but it's not a requirement, especially for someone just starting out.
Of these following  models;
one painted with professional airbrush, one with inexpensive (under $25 with can of propellent) testors/aztec airbrush, two were painted with krylon fusion spraycans, and just to throw in a curveball, one is factory painted.





Good tools can make the job easier, but, practice , patience, practice, techinque, practice, properly prepared model, practice, clean masking job, practice and good quality paint all equal great job.
Did I mention practice?

[ACY]

Of those photos you posted, there are minor imperfections that can be seen, for example the yellow turtle creek central can't possibly be factory paint (just watch you'll say it's factory paint). It is pretty good, but appears to have a few imperfections, which may be alright for some people, and would be good enough for me, but those who are sticklers for detail may want to get a little better results, but again I do not know what our friend's preferences are.

[jonathan]

Gandy Dancer,

To your original questions:

Microscale does offer, in both HO and N scale, decals for Katy Diesels and a few types of freight cars.

As far as painting goes, spray bombs can provide a decent looking finish.  It does take practice (good to hear from r0bert again).

A homemade spray paint finish will never be as perfect as a factory, or airbrush paint job.  However, it can be very good, especially for providing you the stable of locos and rolling stock you want to have.  I believe a finish can be "good enough" to enjoy watching your homemade projects running on the layout.

A little close and slow with the can, and you get a thick, runny finish.  A little too fast and far away with the can, and you get the dreaded orange peel finish.  Practice will get you there.  I don't think r0bert said practice enough.

I have posted enough photos on this forum to give you an idea of what is possible.  Do a search with my name (jonathan) and B&O.  That should get you enough photos to ponder.  If it doesn't work the first time, strip off the paint and try again.  My paint jobs are far from perfect.  I won't win any contests, but I enjoy my homemade projects as much as watching the factory perfect pieces running around the loop.

I understand the desire to build a roster of your particular roadname.

If I could afford it, I would invest in an airbrush system.  Besides the monetary investment, that would take a great deal of practice as well; not to mention the maintenance on the airbrush, pump and paint booth.

Remember, this is for fun and to satisfy your desire to create.  You can do it.

Regards,

Jonathan

Addendum:

I usually paint a piece like this:

1. With a clean and dry piece,  spray a primer coat with some sort of dark gray primer:  lately I like the Floquil brand.  Let dry for 24-48 hours in a dust free environmnet (like a china cabinet).

2.  Paint the primary color with a gloss paint.  Gloss paints are thicker and the piece will look a little rough, no matter much I PRACTICE.  Let dry for 24-48 hours.

3.  Apply decals.  Let dry for an hour or so.

4.  Apply microsol, or some sort of decal setting solution.  One or two applications should do the trick.  You may have to poke holes in the decal bubbles for the microsol to work its way in.

5.  Apply a light mist of dullcote, or some dull lacquer.  This will hide the decal lines and smooth out the strange appearance of the glossy paint.  Usually one coat is all I need.

Others may have a better method, but it works well enough for me.

jev

Addendum II:

Performing a search of the Walthers Catalog I see, in the past, there has been an assortment of KATY equipment available:  2 Diesels, several types of box cars, hoppers, and even a couple of cabeese.  I mention this because I know I have seen KATY equipment at the larger train shows. 

Many times, even though equipment is no longer in production, the equipment can be had if you look in the right place.  Just a thought.

jv

[Jim Banner]

ACY,
I find it interesting that you can see imperfections that lead you to believe the Turtle Creek Central locomotive could not be factory painted.  Could you please point them out for the rest of us who see this as a great paint job?

Jim

[ACY]

I find it interesting that you can see imperfections that lead you to believe the Turtle Creek Central locomotive could not be factory painted.  Could you please point them out for the rest of us who see this as a great paint job?

I never said it wasn't great, I even said the quality was more than sufficient for me. But that does not mean that it is perfect, even factory paint can have imperfections.

[r0bert]

katy diesel (red) decals
http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=87-278&Category_Code=MKT&Product_Count=2

http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=87-277&Category_Code=MKT&Product_Count=3

the yellow turtle creek is not the factory paint, the Model Railroader project layout road name is only available as a decal set, it's a krylon fusion spaycan paint job.
one down, four to go.

[ACY]

I took a closer look at the UP unit, it does not appear to be factory paint either, because of a small issue with the top red stripe. I'll see if I can identify the factory paint...
The caboose does not appear to be factory paint by a few small issues with the white paint.
The other TCC loco is also not factory because of what you said and a small issue with the yellow stripe on the front above the coupler. It looks like the MOPAC is factory paint...

[r0bert]

Athearn Dash 9 "what if" in Mopac 1950's Eagle scheme.
The mopac loco was painted with the $ 25 testors airbrush,  badger modelflex paint, and I pieced together GP7 decals for this one.
The Kato UP SD70 was painted with the pro airbrush and floquil paint.
The caboose is the other krylon painted model, and the white trim is actually brush painted.
So that leaves the FT A-B set as the factory paint job that has been re-lettered only.

[Jim Banner]

rObert,
Thanks for showing us what can be achieved and for demonstrating once again that it is not the tools themselves but the master's hand that guides them.

Jim

[ACY]

Athearn Dash 9 "what if" in Mopac 1950's Eagle scheme.
The mopac loco was painted with the $ 25 testors airbrush,  badger modelflex paint, and I pieced together GP7 decals for this one.
The Kato UP SD70 was painted with the pro airbrush and floquil paint.
The caboose is the other krylon painted model, and the white trim is actually brush painted.
So that leaves the FT A-B set as the factory paint job that has been re-lettered only.

Had I seen that other view, I could have seen that there was no issue with the FT set, as it was just glare from the flash or something. Also, the MOPAC was missing a few detail parts on the trucks which really made me think it was not factory paint, but with the image provided I could not view a larger image to look. I feel tricked, because you made me rule out the TCC loco because of the statement you made. Is that TCC using great northern paint? Anyways had I been able to see them in person there would not be glare from a flash, and I could have got a better view of the MOPAC. But they all are fine paint jobs, ones I would be proud of if they were mine. They are better than I could do, that is for sure.

[Doneldon]

ACY-

It's okay if you couldn't tell which was the
factory paint job. In fact, I think that was
the point of the post!
                                    -- D

[ACY]

It's okay if you couldn't tell which was the
factory paint job. In fact, I think that was
the point of the post!

I understand what he was trying to communicate, but I thought he told me the TCC locos were not factory paint, so I thought a glare was a flaw, because due to process of elimination, I found minor issues with all the other pics, except for I could not tell with the MOPAC because I could not view a larger image like I could for the other photos. DOn't get me wrong, these are all outstanding paint jobs, but in person you can usually easily tell the difference between factory paint and something custom painted. However if something is professionally painted with a professional grade airbrush, versus the same guy with a can of spray paint, there is going to be a sizable difference, because a can of spray paint can only look so good. However, I can't speculate what is good enough GD#1, all I know is what is good enough for me, who just so happens to have no talent, which is why I would just buy the unit in the first place. I have custom painted one loco for Erie in two-tone green, one for W&LE in black w/ DRG&W style orange letters, and one Ohio Central in red, but I had the help of a good friend, namely the owner of one of my local hobby shop's, without his help it would have been disastrous.

[r0bert]

It's a MILW painted loco with TCC lettering decals added.
what appears as a dot after the "TCC" is actually the "EE"
from Milwaukee that wasn't covered by the decal.
the paint is unaltered from the factory other than dusting of clear to seal decals.


The point if this entire exercise,
That a budget busting airbrush rig is required
" Unless you are fine with a non-realistic/sub-par paint job", is just not the case.
The OP could buy a good bargin loco, say the new Bachmann RS or GP,
a set of decals. a bottle of alcohol from the drugstore for stripping,
and a quality paint, like the Fusion or Floquil in a spray can.
With good techique, they can achieve the quality finished loco they wanted,
that might otherwise be too expensive, if they can find one.
(Katy locos in red are rare birds to begin with and command top dollar)
Plus the DIY satisfaction.