galaxyg

Thanks for all the comments and the various methods. Here's the one I've successfully tested then used to secure the decals for a great finish and any amount of rough handling. I guess everyone has found something that works for them, this is mine - if it's useful to anyone else coming new to this. 1) Use Zero Paints model car polish to polish up the area the decal is going on to a mirror finish. There's no point wasting polish or effort so only the area I want to decal is polished. The Railmatch Enamel is hard wearing paint and will stand up to this polishing no problem. 2) Apply the decal and leave overnight to dry. Press hard on the decal after appication to squeeze out air, water, etc. After it's dry, spray over several mist coats of Mr Hobby Flat matt, then a heavier coat - all from about 20cm away. This returns all the paintwork to a uniform matt, whether it was polished or not. No decal crinkling. Job done.

I've tried that with this , but to no avail. Yet. I will test this again also once I have a very glossy surface to atach decals to.

That has occurred to me yes, and after the effort to remove one axle, I might well do masking for the rest.

I'm going to run a few more experiments to scientifically (I hope) figure out what is the best solution - focusing now on several types of surface preparation. I will post back with pictures once I have a conclusive working result.

The are two piece wheels and I've got one partially off now. Doesn't half require a lot of force!

Overnight at least.

Thanks for all the comments. User error is likely, I'm more used to glossy 1/24 cars and tamiya decals. Anyway I'll do a few more experiments and post photos taken in daylight.

Hi, I've bought some Railtec decals and they're great except one thing - adherence to the model. Anyone used these and got any advice? The loco body looks great but will never stand up to any kind of repeated handling. Here are the approaches I've tried and discarded: 1) Mr Hobby Decal Setter - not strong enough. 2) Make sure the surface is nice and glossy to give good adhesion. Great if you like a glossy train. Overlaying later with matt or satin varnish to make it look realistic crinkles/destroys the decal. 3) Overlay with Tamiya Gloss / Satin / Matt Varnish - crinkles and/or destroys the decal 4) Overlay with Testors Dullcoat lacquer brushed on - crinkles decal 5) Overlay with Mr Hobby Flat Matt water based varnish - crinkles decal. I'm out of ideas at this point. Thanks, Michael.

I'm planning to spray paint and weather these trucks, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to remove the wheels/axles. The only trucks I'd come across before have metal axles and enough play in the plastic body of the trucks to be able to poop them out, but it's not the case here. Unless I need to really really force the mountings apart to pop them out? They look like some kind of mini-press would be needed. Any ideas appreciated.

It does! Thanks for quick reply.

Hi - I'm new to this forum. Usually I build 1/24 cars and the odd 1/72 plane, but I'm helping my dad out with his model railway. It's still modeling and I do like trains but mostly new to me. He's given me a load of non-running locomotives to practice weathering and detailing on, and they're somewhat lacking in details. I've been trying to search on detailing parts to buy but with no idea of what terms to actually search for. Could anyone help me out with both identifying any of the lettered items below, and even better, where to buy such parts from in OO scale. I could also do with a source for generic oval buffers as on the photos below, as most of the locomotives I've got are missing theirs. Thanks in advance. I have at least found where to get decals - fox and railtec.