Albion47509

Ghost are offering free shipping again for January 2023 using promo code free4u. I'd highly recommend trying their 7 micron blue backed waterslide clear decal foil (transfer paper) - especially with free shipping as the normal shipping fees are very expensive. No connection - just a satisfied customer. DECAL Foil, with blue background • Ghost Webshop (ghost-white-toner.com)

Thanks for clarifying on the bolster timbers Ben. I doubted it would be something that Revolution would overlook - just concerned when seeing the CADS. Just seen the options available and wow - you really have covered the variants well - decisions decisions!

Great News - I'll certainly be adding a number of variants to my fleet. One small detail question though - on the CAD images for the YLA Mullet, the bolsters all seem to have the same thickness of timber, whereas photographs seem to suggest that the outer bolsters had heavier timbers than those towards the center (at least when first converted in the early 80's). I've no idea why they were like this, and also note that BDA's seemed to be the opposite - answers on a postcard? Appreciate that tooling constraints may preclude this, and it may not be the case on all wagons though? It would be great if the bolsters were removable to make personalization easier.

Got an Email today from Ghost - They are currently offering free shipping on some items including Decal Foil using the discount code FREE21. Just successfully completed an order for 15 A4 sheets of there excellent blue backed decal sheet for £41. Certainly takes the sting out!!! https://www.ghost-white-toner.com/?goal=0_eea6303cc1-9b98112862-222006897&mc_cid=9b98112862&mc_eid=56042ba68a

Thanks Lantavian, I'll bear that in mind, although I'm using a very old version of Photoshop, so all of the functions may not be available.

Hi Meld, Sorry for late reply - not logged in for a while. I use various fonts found in word to get as close as possible to what I desire, then print them quite large on glossy paper. I then scan them back into Photoshop to enable gaps to be changed and everything to be shrunk down to to appropriate sizes - the important thing is to get all components to the correct size in relationship with each other. Obtaining the correct print out size can then be done in final scaling at the printing stage - I check everything first using normal black toner on normal paper. On the subject of fonts - I haven't found any way of replicating rail alphabet in word, but a PDF of New Rail Alphabet is available on line - I printed this off and scanned various letters / numbers into Photoshop to create a template from which the components can be cloned - it takes a bit more care ensuring everything is aligned, but it doesn't take as long as you'd imagine. As I'm working in such a small scale many of the small differences in font are lost, so I can get away with some degree of inaccuracy - might not work in 7mm though!!

Here's a few pics of some of my weathered N Gauge ones - I've also renumbered one to STS 10617 and moved the STS markings to the lower position as carried by many examples in the 80s. I've also added a B&B coupling to one wagon. For more images - visit tonybuckton.smugmug.com

Thanks Justin - I'll have to try that in the future - I just used Humbrol Decal fix which has performed fine on flat surfaces, but not so good on the planking.

Yes I imagine that the shading could be quite tricky - separate transfers may be an easier answer. Your results look great - can't see any shading in the planking - whereas the transfers applied the shark ballast plough I did didn't quite settle into the gaps.

Hi Justin1985, Yes I've used it a lot more in the last few months for an Eastern region weedkiller train (my reason for taking the plunge in the first place) and I'm more than impressed with the results - on the spray coach I wanted white on black for the Departmental running number, but I just printed the black patch and then added an extra white transfer over the top - the carrier film is so thin you can get away with it. However, it is something I've been meaning to try but suspect the the alignment will not be consistent enough - may be O.K for large transfers, but most of mine have been tiny so far as working in N. I've attached some photo's from my weedkiller train as examples - even the inspection dates on the sole-bar are just about legible Everything on the attached photo's is home printed apart from the electrification flashes which are from the Fox range. For further pics check out - https://tonybuckton.smugmug.com/NGaugeModels/BR-Eastern-Region-Weedkiller-Train/

RE Last Post, Horns - from memory, I may have even just turned the horn volume off on one loco - either way, if this isn't done, both horns sound together if given the same address.

Hi Graeme, I also use a NCE Powercab - mine is the wired version which has not had the software update from a few years back, so can't guarantee it will work as yours. I did have some issues when consisting my class 20's as well - I couldn't get the active braking to work on both loco's, so found one would be braking whilst the other was still running - at that point I decided to just give them the same address as I only wanted to run them as a pair anyway - this did mean I had to lower the horn volume to 0 on each loco for each direction, but I was O.K. with that. As for the sound synchronisation - the loco's only start at different times and run out of sync with each other if you have the decoders loaded with A & B unit sound files - this gives the best results, as the sounds are slightly out of sync when running and create a kind of reverberation between them. If you have just installed two decoders without specifying A or B units they will be in sync and won't sound as good - if this is the case, Digitrains can re-blow one of them to a B unit for a modest fee - I believe this can be done on the track without removing the decoder. Hope this helps, Tony

Yes, it is the blue backed transfer paper Ghost call Decal Foil - It's shown as 7 microns. I found the same with Crafty Computer papers transfer sheet - the carrier film was thick by comparison, and left an easily visible edge. It was O.K. for some applications, but not really much good on an open flat surface. This from Ghost is very thin - I'd say about the same as some that I have had from Railtec (before they went to blob printing) / Modelmaster / CCT etc. - you can just make out the edge on the 'Waste Oil....Botanic Gardens' lettering on the extreme close-up, but it isn't noticeable. I applied the transfers over a good gloss coat, and then over sprayed them with Humbrol Matt Coat mixed with 50% thinners. Because the carrier is so thin I did have some issues with the transfers folding on themselves etc whilst trying to slide them off the backing paper - so it's a good idea to print plenty of spares.

I have found the service they offer is superb, but when I questioned the shipping costs on 10 bits of A4 decal foil their response was that we (in the UK) are on an island and they are shipping from Germany! - It's expensive. However - I buy Vinyl records frequently from Europe and never pay more than ten Euro's - Still - if it works, it's worth it. In theory, the toner cartridge and my remaining 14 A4 sheets should last me a lifetime as long as there is no deterioration of either toner or decal sheet - unfortunately, only time will tell - trouble is we have no way of knowing if they will go down the route of Crafty Computer Paper and just vanish! - so is it one of those cases of get sorted while we can? Cheers, Tony.

Thanks for your kind comments, I was fortunate in that I was looking to replace an old ink jet printer at the time, so matched a reasonably priced HP LaserJet Pro M452nw to a toner cartridge type that was available from Ghost. I found the printers seemed to be at elevated prices direct from them, so purchased that from an online retailer in the UK (Printerland or Printerbase I think). I then purchased the white toner cartridge and 5 A4 sheets of decal foil (as they call it) from Ghost. For me it was a case of picking out the best combination as the toner cartridges vary considerably in price. The printer cost me about £140, and the toner cartridge around £240, so with postage the whole lot cost me around £400 - this seems a lot, but my old inkjet was costing me around £100 a year in ink that was mainly evaporating rather than actually ending up on any paper. One word of warning - Ghost do charge a very high flat shipping rate, so I would advise buying more decal foil with an initial purchase, as now I've seen how good the decal sheets are I've just ordered another 10 which came to £25, but with an eye-watering £28 shipping on top. Cheers, Tony.