Stencils: A Potential Alternative to Decals


Colorado Midland Modeler

Well-Known Member
Hello, all. While this isn't viable for all road names, scales, and skill/ability levels etc, it's certainly something to think about. So, here we go. I had been struggling to locate suitable decals for a number of my locomotives and various other pieces of equipment in good condition and at reasonable prices, and I've had limited success with making my own decals with my inkjet printer, plus custom/ freelance road names, so I bought some small sized alphabet stencils and gave it a try. First I stencil the letters (and sometimes numbers, I usually freehand the numbers due to their small size) in with a super sharp No.2 pencil onto the piece of equipment, then paint them in with a toothpick. (Obviously this requires a fairly steady hand, but mistakes are usually easily corrected if caught early) Below, are the results. All pieces are HO scale.

CM, MT & SL 522, a Russian Decapod
PFM CM MT SL 522 (My model) (24).jpg


CM 101, 0-6-0
MEW Colorado Midland 101 (my model) (18).jpg



CM 39, a 4-6-0
Hallmark Colorado Midland 39 (My model) (23).jpg


CM, MT & SL 75, a former SP E-27 class 4-4-0
Continental Models CM MT & SL 75 (My model) (30).jpg


CM, MT & SL 111, a former AT&SF 825 class 0-8-0
Sunset CM MT & SL 111 (My model)  (13).jpg



CM, MT & SL 1701, an FM H-24-66 Train Master
RedBall CM MT & SL 1701 (My model) (1).jpg


And, last but not least, CM, MT & SL 930, an EMD BL2
Proto 1K CM MT & SL 930 (My model) (1).jpg

Since these photos were taken, I have also used this technique to letter two rotary snow plows, and I have some other projects in the works. Hope you've all enjoyed this post, and that it might just prove useful to someone out there.

P.S. These are the same type of stencils I used.
Stencils.png
 
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Nice work.

As I model in N scale, this probably won’t be a thing for me, but do you put some fort of seal coat over the transfers, and if so, what?

Also, do any of your models have stenciling on them that is old enough to see how it stands up over time? Or is that all fairly new work?
 
Nice work.

As I model in N scale, this probably won’t be a thing for me, but do you put some fort of seal coat over the transfers, and if so, what?

Also, do any of your models have stenciling on them that is old enough to see how it stands up over time? Or is that all fairly new work?
Thank you! This is all something new I've been trying, the oldest example is about 2 months old, (lettering on the Russian Decapod) but I haven't seen any signs of paint loss or chipping yet. I may yet look into clear coating it for extra durability.
 



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