Steadfast Models - digitally designed waterslide decals

[Steadfast]

Hi everyone.

What better way to spend a summer Tuesday evening? Alice Cooper on the tunes, testing out decals from a new supplier. I've got to say, I'm well impressed. Those of you who are NGS members will have seen Duncan's review of my upcoming BBA decals, and that he mentions that in places the white isn't as crisp as I'd like.

Well, I don't think we have a problem here! Bear in mind this is N scale, so the 'Not in public use' text is teenier than tiny, and is legible, well, near enough legible. The down side (and isn't there always one?!) is, it's not a miracle cure as A) supply is more restricted and B) they need cutting out individually rather than just floating off the sheet. I definitely think it's the way to go for small white text (such as the BBAs) but will stick with the existing supplier for graffiti and larger decals. 
I'm also pondering 'hybrid' sets, where small white detail is printed like this, and the rest of the set is done with the other style of decal. Obviously if I go this way, I'll make it clear which sheet needs to you cut out individual decals, so you don't end up with a whole sheet stuck to the model!
 

Jo

[Steadfast]

Hi everyone,

In between staring at the computer screen still tweaking that BBA artwork (we're getting there as BR used to say) I've been testing a new concept this that I can roll out to other designs too. The IOA 'Mussel' wagons used on the bulk ballast services are very scratched from the body metal bending as the wagons are unloaded with 360 grab machines. Here's a bit of a before and after picture, or maybe after and before, of a test set of decals. Each panel between the ribs is a separate piece.

 

They're a touch flimsy so you need to go steady applying them, but slide them off the paper straight onto the model and they're fine. This is traced from a real wagon, all seem to vary slightly. The real wagon is a different one, but you get the idea hopefully.

 

Jo

 

[Steadfast]

Finished it! Here's the other side, with a complete set of scrape decals. I like the ones on this side, as it's noticeable how the scrapes run across multiple panels

Jo

[Stu from EGDL]

On 15/08/2021 at 00:15, Steadfast said:

Finished it! Here's the other side, with a complete set of scrape decals. I like the ones on this side, as it's noticeable how the scrapes run across multiple panels

Jo

Hi Jo;

 

Those look the absolute business....will be so much easier than trying to replicate with paint.

 

Later;

Stu from EGDL

[Revolution Ben]

 

Hi Jo,

 

What a neat idea, and nicely executed!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[Steadfast]

On 17/08/2021 at 08:32, Stu from EGDL said:

Hi Jo;

 

Those look the absolute business....will be so much easier than trying to replicate with paint.

 

Later;

Stu from EGDL

Thanks for the comments chaps.

 

That's the idea Stu, and faster too. Needs a few blobs of brown on the top rave and ends, then washes and dust as required. They're not too bad to draw up on the computer either, so a sheet shouldn't take too long to compile.

I'll try to have the scraped Mussel with me at Leamington.

 

Jo

[Ingleborough]

Hi Jo,

Any chance of a 4mm version to fit the Dapol IOA? It would help to tone down the 'plasticky' look of the model.

 

Thanks,

Jon

 

[Steadfast]

8 hours ago, Ingleborough said:

Hi Jo,

Any chance of a 4mm version to fit the Dapol IOA? It would help to tone down the 'plasticky' look of the model.

 

Thanks,

Jon

 

Hi Jon,

 

Yeah definitely possible. Once I have the N pack finalised I can look into scaling it up. I'll need to have a look (or confirm measurements) with a 4mm wagon too. The Dapol 4mm JNA Falcon has discrepancies on the panel sizes that don't match the N scale one...

 

Jo

[Steadfast]

Something else to come off the same batch of test bits as the Mussel scrapes are these small decals for the Kato class 800.

I'm surprised how much the little bit of colour really lifts the model, despite the tiny size.

I've developed destination display artwork for a pair of 5 car 800s (cars A-E and G-L) as well as doing the red fire pull signs for the underframe of the engine fitted vehicles.

Although the destinations are indeed on the Western region, they're barely legible in this tiny size so would suit the LNER model too.

What do people think, worth me making these available?

 

Jo

[Claude_Dreyfus]

You're right, it certainly does make a difference. I would certainly be interested if these were made available.

[Steadfast]

Thanks @Claude_Dreyfusand everyone who's liked and comments on the Kato 800 thread too. I'll let everyone know once I've got the packs ready then.

 

If you've been following the Road Vehicles section of the forum, you may well have seen I've done a pack for the Osborn's 3D printed modern trucks. These are in stock now, £2 a pack plus P&P.

 

 

All being well, I'll be attending The International N Gauge Show at Leamington on Sunday, demonstrating on the DEMU stand. There's a few lines that I have some stock of and if anyone would like anything, drop me a message by 19:00 Saturday (tomorrow) and I'll bring them along Sunday. If for for any reason I or you cannot attend, I'll post them next week, post free.

 

Items in stock are:

 

The truck decals illustrated above (6 sets)

 

All Cemex HOA blanking and graffiti sets (1 x bulk pack, 2 x pack 001, 2 x pack 003, 9 x graffiti)

 

EWS HOA graffiti packs (4 sets)

 

HTA graffiti pack (2 sets)

 

Engineers wagon markings (N-Misc001) (6 sets)

 

JNA Falcon graffiti pack (4 sets)

 

Details of the pack contents here: https://steadfastmodels.wordpress.com/about/

 

I was hoping to have some more things, but sadly it looks like delivery will be the beginning of next week...

 

I'll have some bits and pieces with me (including development bits) so do drop by the DEMU stand on Sunday for a chat if you're about.

 

All the best

 

Jo

 

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by Steadfast

[Steadfast]

 Thanks to everyone who stopped for a chat earlier at TINGS, nice to have some positive feedback on the decals and also some interesting product ideas to develop. It was great to catch up with friends, met some new faces and have a little bit of normality with a thoroughly enjoyable day. Tea from Gloucester services farm shop on the way home to cap it off.

 

Time for an unwind with a Rattler and some Revolution Trains reading material

 

Jo

[Steadfast]

A quick one tonight, I've added the class 800 page to the website, including instructions.

https://steadfastmodels.wordpress.com/n-1148-class-800-decals/

A heads up - these are not currently available to purchase, but will be going for print as soon as I have IOA Mussel decals ready to send off at the same time.

Here's the pack contents and the instructions, any questions fire away and I'll do my best to help.

 

All the best,

 

Jo

[Steadfast]

Mussel-ing in? Dapol's IOA Mussel wagons are nice models, but the real things don't stay pristine for long.

The scratching seen on the real things where the diggers scrape the sides during offload are a distinctive feature of the weathering on these wagons. Coming soon is a pack of decals to add these marks to your wagons.

Each pack covers six models, and because each side is unique that's a train of 12 different wagons before they start repeating. All traced from photos of the real thing, each wagon side is rather like a finger print or zebra stripes, no two are alike.

 

They're with the printers at the moment, so initial stock should be with me in a few weeks.

 

Jo

Edited October 18, 2021 by Steadfast

[Steadfast]

Things have been a little crazy here in BS30 the last few months. Time has been tight and the time I have had needed to be spent on other things. Class 800 displays to enhance the Kato model are now in stock though! I've added the destination displays to the side of this unit. They might be small, but the orange text stands out on the model, even from a distance. £2.50 for a 5 car set, available as cars A-E and G-L so a five car set can accurately be modelled. Also includes the small red labels for the underframe of the three centre vehicles.

Drop me a PM, email to steadfastmodels@outlook.com or a WhatsApp to order.

In dribs and drabs I've also managed to do some detail painting on the 800, that really lifts the model, seen emerging from Middle Hill tunnel on @Rods_of_Revolution's under development modular layout.

 

They're not on the website yet as I only have a limited stock for now, but the IOA 'Mussel' wagon scrapes are in stock too. £12 for one pack, £22 for two. One pack does six wagons. Each side is unique, so by having the opposite sides visible, two packs will do 12 unique wagons, and in a longer set I doubt you spot the repetition too easily.

 

All prices exclude P&P. 

The chaos that is 'real life' doesn't show much sign of easing for a few months, but I'm trying to keep stock up and a few new bits trickling through.

 

Cheers!

 

Jo

 

[Steadfast]

Slowing for a yellow...

Things are being put on the back burner for the next few months as 'real life' takes priority. I've got a wedding this weekend that has taken lots of my time, well, because it's my wedding! Two more days and I'll be calling her Mrs A. Wow, scary! Then, later on in the spring I've got an intensive training course coming up in the day job. In at the deep end! 

Sales of items that are in stock will continue, and I'm aiming to get a few new bits to market (including those darned BBAs!) as and when I can, however messages may take longer to reply to than normal. New custom projects will be paused until early summer when I've finished my classroom training. Existing custom work will be finished as I can get them done.

 

Many thanks for the support thus far and your understanding.

 

All the best,

 

Jo

Edited March 10, 2022 by Steadfast

[njee20]

Congrats Jo. I missed your having the IOA decals in stock, have to order some of those!

[Steadfast]

New product available for preorder!

Unusually, this is one the 4mm modellers first. Here's a pack to update the Dapol JHA in later Foster Yeoman livery. Perfect to go on some weathered wagons,  these decals also allow you to respray the grey sections the silver colour they should be. 

 

To pre order send me a message on here or by email to steadfastmodels@outlook.com 

Price is £8.00 for 5 wagons in 4mm/OO, UK P&P £1.50

 

 

N to follow when Dapol release the model.

 

Also included are optional blue maintenance labels and correctly sized overhead wire warning stickers.

 

The pack is in the very final stages of development,  so contents may vary slightly.

 

Decals for the second batch of five wagons released by Dapol will be produced in due course. 

 

Finally some close ups showing just how much variety there is on the real things.

 

 

 

 

Jo
 

[37114]

For anyone who hasn't purchased transfers off Jo, I have to say they rank amongst the easiest to apply I have ever worked with. Although I have known Jo for years I am unbiased in my assessment and he has been a great help doing some custom transfers for my 1:43 road vehicles, particularly with his attention to detail on getting the transfers right for my Leyland National built using an SBT kit as a base and semi scratchbuilt Sunblest van.

 

[Steadfast]

On 01/06/2022 at 12:26, 37114 said:

For anyone who hasn't purchased transfers off Jo, I have to say they rank amongst the easiest to apply I have ever worked with. Although I have known Jo for years I am unbiased in my assessment and he has been a great help doing some custom transfers for my 1:43 road vehicles, particularly with his attention to detail on getting the transfers right for my Leyland National built using an SBT kit as a base and semi scratchbuilt Sunblest van.

Hi Rob, Thank you for the kind words, the models have come out really well! It's great to have played a part in these unique projects. 

 

Update for the 4mm crowd,  the Yeoman JHA pack is in production, I have a small quantity of these on their way to me that should be in stock in a few weeks, please send me a message if you're interested. They will be £8.50 plus £1.50 UK P&P.

Handy for weathered models or repaints. The decals are designed to cover the Dapol printing, but some factory printing is in the wrong place so for ultimate accuracy some removal is needed. All explained in the instructions - there's plenty of prototype photos on the web.

 

I've got a pack for the second five Dapol wagons in the works, plus graffiti in due course, all of which will also appear in N.

 

Jo

[Steadfast]

The JHA decals have been printed, so should be here in the next week or so.

 

In addition to these, to test the water I also have a small stock of 4mm / OO scale graffiti designed to go on buildings, walls, electrical boxes etc in the same print run. You get 137 tags for £8.50. If they're successful,  I'll shrink them to N and add to the range.

 

 

I thought I'd mentioned the Mendip graffiti pack for Revolution's HOAs before, looks like I didn't! So £10 gets you five wagons worth of graffiti, one wagon of which is double sided.

Graffiti galore!

The EWS pack is also £10.

As well as the base EWS pack, I've also done a pack for the I love eggs graffiti, a common sight in the London area and seen on wagons nationwide. This includes numbers to renumber to the correct wagon number, should you wish.

 

More details on all the above on the website at steadfastmodels.wordpress.com. 

 

Both packs for the JNA 'Falcon' wagons are in stock too, along with 60 cabs,  800 destinations and IOA Mussel scrapes.

 

Visit the website for more or drop me a line at steadfastmodels@outlook.com 

 

Jo

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by Steadfast

[Devonbelle]

Jo - these look tremendous. I was exhibiting Ozujsko yesterday at Larkrail (Croatian o gauge); and a lovely guy Rob (37114 on this forum) suggested contacting you to see if you could do some Croatian railway lettering in o gauge - is that something you could do. Best wishes and well done on the launch of your business. Paul 

[Steadfast]

Hi Paul @Devonbelle,

Thabks for the kind comment. Yes I'm sure there's something I can look into. As mentioned upthread I'm in the middle of a course for work at the moment, so I'm away most of each week, until the end of August. After that I'll have the time to look at custom projects again.

Feel free to drop me an email to steadfastmodels@outlook.com in the interim and we can have a chat about what you're after, and I can log it on my to do list. 

 

All the best

 

Jo

[Steadfast]

After a quiet summer due to well, life, it's that time of year again! I'll be attending The International N Gauge Show at Leamington on both the 10th and 11th of September, demonstrating some modelmaking on the DEMU stand. 

 

 

Take a look at the website at 

https://steadfastmodels.wordpress.com and if there's anything you like the look of, send me a PM or an email to steadfastmodels@outlook.com and I'll bring it along if it's in stock.

 

Whilst not relevant for Leamington, I have got a few 4mm packs in development, that will get reduced to N if and when the models get produced.

 

Cheers

 

Jo

Edited September 1, 2022 by Steadfast

[Steadfast]

It's been a busy few months away from the world of little trains, but a few new products have slipped out recently.

First up, the BBA and BAA decals are available from stock. These take a slightly different approach and need cutting out individually from the sheet, but this different print process has given a nice crisp white for the numbering, stencilling etc.

6 packs for the BBAs (3 brown, 3 Railfreight) plus another for brown BAAs. 

 

BBA £5 per pack, BAA £7.50. £1.50 UK P&P

 

More info at https://steadfastmodels.wordpress.com/n-1148-baa-bba-wagon-decals/

 

A new line I've introduced as a trial, self adhesive vinyl layout stickers. Trying to keep prying fingers at bay at exhibitions?

 

Approximately 125 x 80 mm.

Sticker shown applied to Wheal Imogen by @The_fatadder

 

£2 per sticker, £1.50 UK P&P per order.

 

Not yet on the website as they made their debut at yesterday's DEMU Showcase show.

 

Orders for both items to steadfastmodels@outlook.com please.

 

The 4mm HYAs aren't far behind, I'll stick a bigger post up once they're packaged for sale.

 

All the best

 

Jo