Hmmm... I think my body could use a new shell.
ROARING
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Hello All,
Listen to the Doctor!
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
It's not that difficult to draw an outline of a locomotive - lots of on-line photos from which to work - which can then be photocopied.
Try whatever style of separation lines, colour combinations, safety striping and road name and numeral styles you like, using something as simple as pencil crayons. Then, after you've sifted out all the chaff, perhaps you can try the better ones on body shells using paint. Until you get to the painting stage, this shouldn't cost more than a couple of bucks.
Wayne
gzygadloAnyone know a good place where I can pick up undecorated body shells?
Ebay
Jim
Your idea is a good one but assuming you are able to get to a swap meet my experience is that an entire "junker" locomotive might well be cheaper than a shell, whether decorated or undecorated. And often decorated shells are cheaper than undecorated; not sure why that is but it might be that the kinds of guys who like kit bashing hoard their undecorated shells.
This might be an opportunity to practice paint removal methods as well as various proposed paint schemes! Think of it as a bonus.
Dave Nelson
By body shells do you mean locomotives? And, what type and scale?
Train shows are a good source for body shells but most of the ones I've see are already decorated.
I recently attended a train show and most of the shells were selling for around $10.00. If you're going that route bring cash; small bills for bargaining. Most of the vendors are willing to haggle and buying in lots with cash gives you some leverage.
You could strip them and that would give you the blank canvas' your're looking for. There have been recent threads on the stripping of paint from shells.
For undecorated shells you can also look on eBay. These might be a little more than you were expecting to pay but contact the seller and see if you can get a quantity discount. Some sellers are willing to negotiate.
Another option, if you're not proficient with illustration software, would be to find some line drawings of the shells you want to decorate, print them out and with colored markers or pencils experiment with color schemes. This would probably be the least expensive and time consuming over painting and re-painting shells.
I guess it depends on what you'd consider "cheap"... you could try eBay of course, or any of the manufacturers' websites. Or you might get lucky and find an old junker at a yard sale or thrift shop.
Would it be helpful for you to do this on a computer instead? You can visit a site like http://trainiax.net/mescaleloco.php to find a line drawing of a loco, then use MS Paint or Photoshop or whatever to color it however you want. If you're really good with Photoshop, you could find a decent photo of an actual locomotive, then "repaint" it to your liking.
If you're after a tangible 3-d model, I'd suggest making a simple mock-up using wooden blocks, cardboard, or foam shapes. If you use something like foam, just make sure whatever paint you use is compatible with it, or seal it good with a coat of latex paint first.
Dan Stokes
My other car is a tunnel motor
I work in N scale, and have been able to get undecorated locomotive shells from both Atlas and Kato directly. Some of the newer releases, however, are not offered as undecorated.
I've also found undecorated body shells and parts on ebay.
- Mark
Train shows and swap meets. You can buy a whole car for a few dollars, and I've seen them offer discounts for 3 or more.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Anyone know a good place where I can pick up undecorated body shells? I want to get some blank ones that I can use as mock ups for my railroad to figure out the color scheme that I like.
I would think the shell is relatively cheap to buy by themselves.
Thanks