Phoooooey!!!

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swampsavage

Member
Just noticed Champ decals (Champion Decal Co.) went out of business last year. This affects me directly as, to my limited knowledge, they were the only decal mfg. to offer Milwaukee Road steam loco decals. There are plenty of sources for Milw heralds with "The Milwaukee Road" on them. Trouble is, the steam, and very early diesel locos, Had "Chicago Milwaukee StPaul & Pacific on them. Since that's the era I'm modeling it don't look good.

I was at the local hobby shop today and found 1 set so that's all I need for now. Any additions to the roster and I don't know where to go.:mad::mad::mad:
 
John, I'll check locally at the hobby shops I go to. Also I'll keep an eye out for any this weekend at the big show in Springfield, MA. Never know what might turn up.
 


jayl1 said:
It may be a long shot but try Caboose Hobbies in Denver, CO - www.caboosehobbies.com. . Also www.modeltrainstuff.com is MBKlein just north of Baltimore, Maryland. They have/had Champ decals.
Jay
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Thanks Jay,

I had already checked Modeltrainstuff and they didn't carry it. I went to Caboosehobbies and they were "out of stock" on the one I needed.

What really surprised me is that Walthers doesn't have any as they're based in Milwaukee. Maybe, when the demise of Champ decals settles in, some other decal company will pick up the fallen flag. If not I may have to the custom route.
 
Say John,
Did you think about photographing the decal image/s and printing your own on decal paper?

This is what you may have to do if no one else has them.

It would bed like Custom making your own and you could even add something too?
Guess I should have asked if your handy with Desk Top Publishing in one form or another?
 
Yeah, stuff pops up on Ebay often, just keep watching. Get them even if you don't need them now! Just store them in a air tight container, to keep moisture out.
 
All is well...

... one of our members is sending me 3 sets of the decals and another may come up with some as a recent show he's attending. This will keep me in shape for the life of my layout.:):):)

I am truly thankful for the responses but still mourn the demise of the Champion Decal Co. (Champ decals). They sure provided a lot of graphics, over the years, for the early days of railroading. They will be missed.:(
 


swampsavage said:
... one of our members is sending me 3 sets of the decals and another may come up with some as a recent show he's attending. This will keep me in shape for the life of my layout.:):):)

I am truly thankful for the responses but still mourn the demise of the Champion Decal Co. (Champ decals). They sure provided a lot of graphics, over the years, for the early days of railroading. They will be missed.:(
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Changing times I suppose John. Any number of business reasons like a merger or sell out or nobody willing to continue the business. Also the trends in the hobby change and create a lesser market for certain things. A lot of the old sources have gone or been sold: Dyna Models, Suydam, E&B Valley, Hobbytown, and of course Champ to name a few.
 
NH Mike said:
Changing times I suppose John. Any number of business reasons like a merger or sell out or nobody willing to continue the business. Also the trends in the hobby change and create a lesser market for certain things. A lot of the old sources have gone or been sold: Dyna Models, Suydam, E&B Valley, Hobbytown, and of course Champ to name a few.
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In the case of Champ, the owner had a fatal heart attack several years ago, and the wife and daughter, IIRC, carried on trying to sell the business and as much stock as possible. After a couple of years of no buyers, they announced in January of 2010 that they would close sometime that year. They finally did on Oct 1. Any orders that were in house were being processed and then that was it.

I believe that in that time period of Jan 2010-Sept 2010 I bought over $200 worth of Southern decals as they were the only company to produce the steam engine decals and the "standard" SRR car decals as well. Why Microscale, or one of the other companies didn't buy at least the art work, most of which was already computerized, seems strange to me.
 
Why Microscale, or one of the other companies didn't buy at least the art work, most of which was already computerized, seems strange to me.
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I think Microscale is just about doing modern and recent stuff. I was too slow to order some GM&O stuff, and no one seems to have what I want. Herald King isn't making new decals (or backfilling the out of stock lines) either.
 
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