railtec-models

If you look at the theme of "Chevrons" on the page below, does one of these suit? https://www.railtec-models.com/themes.php Obviously when it comes to chevrons what's listed as a 4mm pack may give you what you need in another scale, and vice versa.

Really? I'm confused. I developed pack 4mm-3025 a few weeks ago based on the exact specific elements that you'd asked to see in a pack so as to avoid the need to have to buy 2 or more existing packs, or going down the custom route (which would have been more expensive). Diverting a very finite and niche resource to develop a new pack consisting of elements which may already be present across other packs is a concept I'm always at least open to as I like to try to help people get what they need and save them a few £, (a) because I enjoy trying to be helpful and (b) the appreciation that usually presents itself in return gives me a buzz. I'd simply asked if the pack you'd specifically asked me to make was now not quite right (and gave a link to another existing stock item which consists of 2" red lining which is what you'd asked for). So, yeah, a bit perplexed to be reading the above. Interesting to see the Micro-Buffet. Maybe one for another day.

If it's literally just the Cargo lettering you need in white then this would be a 3 minute job. PM sent.

Indeed. This link here should help: https://www.railtec-models.com/catalog.php?search_str=allocation+name If the allocation name needs to be slightly smaller to fit on the shunter's truck then that's no issue (though I'd need you to let me know).

I believe I've already done these. Do you mean such as in the example of 42508 in the image below? There are quite a few images around the web of what the ready-made 3d smokebox plates look like. Assuming you need these in 4mm and only the 3d plate, then this link will do it: 4mm-9080 https://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=4363 I normally have these out within 24-48hrs. Or, if it's literally just flat conventional 2d ready-made numbers that you need that can be applied to an existing smokebox plate, then I can do those too. Hope this helps, Steve

As long as you're drawing them up in true vector format then it should be ok. I do get a few "vector" files sent to me which are either a JPG simply saved as an EPS (so still a JPG and a bit like putting a Rolls Royce badge on a Volvo), or something poorly converted to vector in Photoshop. But if you're starting off in Illustrator like @Citadel then that's a very promising sign. Broadly speaking, Photoshop is great at manipulating raster images such as photographs, and Illustrator (or Inkscape which I believe is free) is best suited for creating proper artwork that graphic designers can work with.

I haven't tried this myself but I've heard of some modellers applying tape such as Tamiya or similar directly adjacent to where the lining is to be positioned, thereby acting as a straight line and a guide. Once they have the lining where they want it (and straight, naturally), they very carefully remove the guide tape. Obviously due to the delicate nature of lining, wait for it to completely dry, then spray the varnish from a good distance, gradually building up in light mists, so as not to flood it or lift it. May always be worth considering trying on a knackered old coach or something before trying it on your pride and joy.

It's Railtec. No such thing as "ill defined" 😀 I'm pretty sure the numbers will be legible albeit with a magnifying glass. Let me dig out the artwork I've already done when I have a minute as it could turn out to be a 6 minute job.

Not something I'd considered although (a) I've done them in larger scales and therefore (b) already have the artwork so potentially very easy to make it available as a customisable item on the web site. What scale? If 7mm then I'm pretty confident folks would want specific numbers. If 4mm then potentially not? Obviously specific numbers would be more expensive than a pack of realistic-ish numbers available as an off-the-shelf item.

If it's bouncing back with emails being sent from a specific domain but getting through from the likes of BT, then that may suggest there's a potential security loop which may need tightening up on your outgoing SMTP server, particularly if something like Gmail is now(?) rejecting them. I can't say I've noticed any drop in the volume of inbound comms (that isn't to say that some aren't getting through), but I'm still getting inundated. Whilst I'm here and on the topic, a number of folks with btinternet.com email addresses seem to have issues receiving email from Gmail. It appears to be a reasonably well reported issue but it would seem the entire gmail.com domain has been added to the blocked list of those with a btinternet.com email address without them knowing. It may not be related but the inbox does get hammered day and night with people sending huge attachments and consequently is constantly teetering either side of being full, which is a job in itself to manage.

I'll make a very quick diversion from multiple other projects to chip in and provide some insight. It basically bakes down to the quality of print that you want at such small scale. I could have a nice piece of artwork of, let's say, a crest. Looks epic on the screen. Prints pretty beautifully in 7mm and larger scales - although that in itself will depend on whether (a) you have a home desktop printer that will fit under one arm, or state-of-the-art tech that costs the same as a small house, and (b) you know how to manipulate the software so that the physical hardware actually outputs something exquisite (and there are no courses for that - it arises out of tedious and ever evolving tweaking). That crest in 4mm, well, passable for most people but the trained eye would look at it and probably tell you that it's obviously just had the shrink ray put on it and nothing else. That same artwork when printed at 3mm / TT, again, may be passable for some although it won't look anywhere as great as it could/should, as it will most likely resemble a dark blob maybe with a bit of colour, but as modellers of "niche" scales they're perhaps just thankful to have something that sort of looks like what they want. I don't do that. That same crest at 2mm, forget it. It'll look awful. So here's the crux: every time you jump down a scale, I re-engineer the print so that it looks right in the scale in which it is printed. I don't have to do that, but I want to do that because honestly - I want people to get a product where they see it and think "great" rather than "yeah it'll do", and also because I take pride in my craft. That's Railtec. It's easier to jump down incrementally from 4mm to 3mm, and to TT - even though that's a bit of a pain, but to 2mm scale - that is the hardest "commercial" scale in which to get things looking right. Assuming that you want it to look right. Crests are an extreme example but the same is true of simple text. I suppose I could always decimate the TT catalog to a shadow of what it is now if it helped ease the pain! So if you see something, or don't see something, then there's most probably a good reason why, even if it may not be obvious. Let's not forget that the hobby is supported by a great number of very niche specialists with very specific skillsets producing some pretty amazing stuff. All we often see (and care about) is the end product, but there's often a hugely complex and diverse world of ingenuity under the bonnet to bring us that at the quality we expect.

Just jaw dropping.

These all went out on Monday to Steve, so should hopefully be with you now.

Through the web site will be the quickest and cleanest way as it's specifically set up to automate everything. Once the order comes through, you'll get a message asking for specific details, which I then design and schedule in.

I've recently started making tender number and tender capacity plates to order. Assuming this is for 4mm, here's the link: https://www.railtec-models.com/catalog.php?search_str=3d+tender&gauge=4mm They're made in 3d so have just the right relief in all the right places. As things presently stand these will get turned around in about 2-3 days (maybe even sooner). Does this help?

When designing new packs where there's a good spread of applicable running numbers, it makes sense to include just a subset of those. The specific number will depend on how many of that vehicle type a modeller is likely to have on their layout on average. In my experience, when it comes to specific wagon numbers, modellers - on the whole - seem to be not overly fussed so long as it's a valid running number for the vehicle type (and some aren't even too fussed about that). If somebody absolutely wanted a specific running number that isn't on the off-the-shelf sheet then I'm set up to make those as an add-on custom job. You do sometimes get the odd one or two buy a stock item, i.e. already printed and priced as such, and then email in to say, "I need you to replace A with B and X with Y. Thanks." (which has to be responded to accordingly). If I were to include the full range of numbers, I'd get no end of ear ache about how there's too much waste on the pack. I try to design them such that they're specific, relevant and have minimum waste - and sometimes that guidance has to come from the modellers themselves.

Ahh c'mon, it can't be that bad. And there might just be a little something for you having presented itself on the Railtec page just now, as well as some 8t & 10t ballast wagons in both 4mm & 7mm that seemed to have somehow bubbled to the top of the to-do list.

That shot of 4820 is perhaps quite an unforgiving photo because of the differences in how they're made. It's interesting to see how varyingly these 3d plates photograph. I've even personally found it quite difficult to photograph them such that they look the same in a photo as they appear to the naked eye. Because of the way they're made, I've often found the light bounces off them on the lens in a rather displeasing way and consequently they tend to look brighter than they really are. It's not uncommon for people to stop by the Railtec stand at Warley, see the demo board and then say - "I hadn't thought much of them when I'd seen them on the web but in the flesh they look good. You've even got the mounting bolts in there!" James Wells has taken probably the closest photo I've seen yet as to what the Railtec 3d plates look like to the eye:

Hi Andy, it looks like you went for the sheet of just plain white alpha-nums (which some people use for some projects) rather than either: - the stock item sheet of the reverse-printed alpha-nums with accompanying semi-translucent black backing, or - the custom-made option where you get ready-made headcodes (either printed face-on or in reverse - your choice) with the realistic black / dark grey backing that can be applied in one easy hit. They let the light through perfectly on the alpha-nums whilst the interlocking black verticals between the blinds do not, giving the desired effect like this: I would imagine a clear translucent film may allow the light to shine through across the entire thing? If memory serves I tried it back in the early days but I wasn't convinced with the effect, hence I went for the above.

I think the Customs wait you just had was the longest I've heard about. I've had some folks in the likes of Canada and Aus and elsewhere in the EU have the transfers in hand within 5 days. Just depends I suppose. As for steam loco plates, I've already done a few (unadvertised) of the oblong variety. If I know the dimensions and assuming they're of a straight-forward text, i.e. no fancy embellishments, then they're as easy as diesel loco plates. I do have the Nameplates of the Big Four book which specifies a lot of dimensions though, so that's helpful. But when it comes to the curved variety, then yeah, the different radii of splashers causes an absolute headache. I have done the odd one or two curved plates before (for Irish steamers, randomly), but I'll perhaps look to begin with the oblong type.

I'm constantly tweaking the process behind the 3d plates (and in my opinion they look quite different in the flesh than in photos). They're now on version 12 and have come a very long way since they were first introduced. If memory serves I think the process moved to its 12 iteration about 3 months ago. Typical turn-around time is a few days, sometimes even next day (can't say the same for Customs in every territory though!)

Just to update this tangent, I mentioned that I would run some tests for nuts and bolts. I've made a first test, photo below, which I think shows some promise (it was taken on a phone so excuse some areas of the image being out of focus). Using a magnifying glass for the majority, all but the final element on the very far right are distinguishable enough in my opinion from rivets. Even with magnification on the very last element, there just isn't enough of a distinction between a hex bolt with a "knob" and a rivet, but that last one is only 0.4mm diam across the flats and the knob is a mere 0.29mm diam. It really is microscopic and the laptop keyboard is shown for context. Element M is 0.48mm across the flats on the hex bolt, so anything that diam and above I think are worthwhile. I've Googled to some extent to see if I can get the correct terminology for these, and I'm still little the wiser. I understand the bolt (male) is threaded into the nut (female), but is there a better description for these other than "nuts and bolts"? Also: - I'll be releasing these both as hex bolts and square bolts; - These could be made such that the orientation of the nuts(?!) is different, but would that be more commonplace than all uniform? On a related note the catalog of 3d rivets has just been galvanised with another 135 new items in the shape of catalogs for 2mm, HO, 1:35 and 1:16 scales ( @Gopher you can maybe see where I'm going with this). https://www.railtec-models.com/rivets/ Disclaimer: I know there are a large number of people waiting on other projects to be progressed / receive a response on. Things do move in tandem as I typically have multiple projects on-the-go in parallel.

@The Fatadder hopefully you received the email notification to say they went out on Friday?

My apologies @adds-trains I hadn't seen your msg. It's an eye catching van and I must admit, one I hadn't seen before. Which, potentially leads me to believe that it could have been a one or two-off (and as soon as I say that somebody will chime in with photos of others no doubt!) In which case, as others have helpfully illustrated, the reality is that the amount of research that is often needed for literally one or two vehicles is such that (a) unless somebody is willing to pay accordingly and (b) whoever you ask has not just the resource to do it but do it properly, then it may just not be viable. It may be small scale model railways or "toy trains", but the reality is that it still needs somebody both with intimate knowledge of railway insignia who also happens to be a graphic designer, and with the professional kit to be able to make a worthy job of it - and that all takes time of one or more people who may have a specialist set of skills and need for time spent to be accountable. How much for example would it cost to approach a graphic design agency for a similar request (and that wouldn't even get you the print?) That isn't to put you off or to appear unhelpful, simply to give some context as to why some projects, whilst technically do-able, may not be realistically viable. That said, for these types of request where just a photo is given which doesn't show much of the detail that would need designing, immediate questions would be: - Is it a one-off; - Full list of markings on it; - Exact dimensions of all of those markings. I get a lot of "oh it's about 10mm", which I have to push back on because (a) Illustrator doesn't do "about" and (b) if something is made "about 10mm" then you can guarantee an email a few days later to say "it's too large, it won't fit, it needs to be no more than 7mm so you'll need to re-do it". - Close-up images of markings where possible so a graphic designer knows what to design; - If not a one-off, did the markings vary between similar vehicles? (In the case of freight vehicles, almost certainly). When I ask people for the above, much of the time, I never hear anything back. Experience has taught me that it's because people are often unwilling to put in the time to do the research (I've even seen people ask on FB the dimensions of a model they need transfers for when they even have the model in hand themselves...), or ultimately are not too fussed and choose another livery. As you might appreciate, working through the above can often take hours out of your day scouring the web and books. If somebody is able to research their chosen specific area of interest and present all of the above then a graphic designer potentially has something useful to work from and be able to do something, but even then it will depend on complexity. Or, if you already have the artwork (very different to a photo) which is ready-sized then that usually makes it more viable still. The key thing to remember is that there is often a very long way to go from seeing a 3/4 angle photo and receiving a tangible product that has been exquisitely designed with crisp, vibrant print.

The decal rivets are raised / 3d, like the real things. Once I know exactly what head diam and distance between centres (or I can just as easily work with distance between bolts), then I can make something. And yes - at this scale, I can make hexagonal bolts no problem. I've already successfully tested them in 7mm but just haven't had the chance to market them yet. Is someone able to confirm exactly what's needed?