Does anyone know where I can get some good quality decals for my Marx tenders? Reason I ask is because I tried some rather poor Robert Grossman dry transfers.
When I used dry transfers (from another company) for my AF Royal Blue, it was simply place it where you want and rub it on. With these, the entire transfer is covered in glue, so it requires pin-point accuracy to get only the lettering on, and the glue is very weak, so it also requires significant pressure before they'll come off the paper and stick to the model. Because of the weak glue, I would carefully rub over the lettering, and when I peeled the paper back, the lettering came with it. So I tried putting it back in place to get the rest of the lettering on, but it's very difficult to line things up after peeling the paper off once.
So again, does anyone know of any decals for these? I really want to finish my two tenders, but if these transfers are my only option, I'm just going to say "phooey" and leave them blank. The transfers rub off extremely easily without leaving anything behind, so I won't even have to sand and repaint before applying decals.
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Or maybe rubber stamps? I've been trying to google other options, and have come up with absolutely nothing so far.
I just found a seller on eBay who restores old Lionel, Marx, and other trains. He's used these same dry transfers to restore the 999 tenders, and he can't even get them on without all sorts of glue getting on and messing up how they look. One more thing I've noticed is that these aren't even the right color (white instead of the proper yellow).
Is this really my only option? Is there no-one in the world who makes proper lettering for Marx trains?
I followed the directions and have had great results with his products. I 'stole' one of my wife's cuticle push sticks and burnished only the letters being careful not to press on the surrounding translucent carrier. When I peeled the carrier off I folded practically back on itself and pulled slowly while touching up any elusive letters that tried to escape.
Patience is a virtue.
Well, I decided to go ahead and give it another try. I had purchased two sets since I have two tenders. This time I made a sharply pointed tool from some clear plastic, and it got the transfers on better. Everything looks pretty good now thankfully. It's still not up to the quality of decals, but at least it turned out fine this time.
One thing I forgot about clear coating dry transfers is that a light mist coat has to be done first, or the transfers will run a little bit. I'll have to remember this for the next tender, but I think this one can still be touched up and look fine.
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