I have had a rolling program of upgrading printed name plates with etched ones over the last few years. I put in two orders to Modelmasters just before Christmas to cover most of the remaining diesel and electric models I have, although a couple were not available for various reasons (either not made or out of stock). I showed off my green Hornby class 50, 50 007 Sir Edward Elgar, in a separate topic, recently. The following photos show the additional locomotives I have fitted etched plates to in the one evening session on Friday last. I'll have to dig out photos of previously done models. I cut all plates from their frets using a very sharp pair of nail scissors, then file any remaining tags off if necessary. For glues, I am currently using Micro Krystal Klear, which is a PVA-like glazing liquid that adheres well to most surface materials and dries with a little bit of resiliance, so can stand a few knocks and rough handling. It can be diluted with water, which means any excess that squeezes out can be wiped away with a damp cloth or tissue. Because it was intended for small glazing jobs, it dries clear, which means any excess you miss wiping off will barely show in any case. As an aside, I also use Krystal Klear to glue larger glazing jobs into place. In the past, I have used superglues, which work but tend to be a bit brittle so if the plates are knocked, they can drop off, resulting in much cursing and searching of carpets!! Heljan's London Transport (ex-Metropolitan Railway) Bo-Bo no. 8 Sherlock Holmes has benefitted from having its over-thick plastic plates replaced by the etched versions, although I have to say the Heljan version was not too bad at all. ViTrains class 37, 37 428 David Lloyd George needs a little more work to patch up the paintwork at either end of the new plates - that's where I had to scrape off the slightly longer printed versions. This locomotive had its yellow bits overpainted with a deeper (correct) colour, plus some black paint inside the noses to reduce light bleed. It has the TTS sound chip in it from a Hornby RailRoad class 37, with a home made speaker enclosure to house the speaker. I like my Lima class 73s for their liveries, but the running qualities were nothing to write home about. All of my operational ones except one now have Hornby mechanisms (the odd man out has a ModelTorque motor fitted). 73 125 Stewarts Lane 1860 - 1985 looks much better with the etched plates instead of the printed ones. It would benefit further if I weathered it lightly. Another hybrid locomotive is class 59, 59 005 Kenneth J. Painter, with Hornby chassis and Lima body. I experimentally fitted LED head and marker lights at one end only - something I would rate as entirely successful but I need to tidy up the internal wiring a bit. The plates are black, where I think they should be blue for the earlier condition. I may flood some blue paint into them at a later date, but they still look good now, as is. And finally, for the name plate fittings for this session, Hornby class 09, 09 012 Dick Hardy, now sports the etched plates. The printed ones were just a tiny bit longer, but I didn't modify them at all; you don't see it from normal viewing distance, and only notice if it is pointed out at closer viewing distances. Since placing the order for name plates, I have landed a few more models, two of which are named! I'll have to order plates for them next time I place an order. For the record, here they are; you can judge for yourselves how effective the printed nameplates are in comparison to the etched ones above. First up is Heljan BR blue class 47, 47 508 S.S. Great Britain, bought second-hand but almost unused. I spent yesterday evening gluing the buffer beam pipes and coupling hook in, then cut them all off at a level just below the bottom of the buffer beam to clear the model coupling swing. I still think this looks better than having a bare buffer beam. And finally, from eBay, sound-fitted Hornby 08, 08 844 Chris Wren 1955 - 2002 in EWS livery. I will post more as and when the plates arrive and I glue them into place. Please feel free to post pictures and descriptions here of any models you do too. I have not intended this thread to be purely my own efforts.
Thanks Gormo. I have a slight update on the ViTrains 37. I have touched up the BR blue at the ends of the nameplates using Humbrol's acrylic paint. This dries slightly more matte than the ViTrains finish, so I have added a few very light streaks vertically where water would run down from the corners of the various grilles and windows.
I missed one in the earlier post! I took the photos but forgot to include the Hornby class 60, 60 077 Canisp, in Mainline's adaptation of Railfreight livery.
