# How To? Steam Engine Number Plates.



## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

What are some easy ways to produce front number plates for steam locomotives. In particular Aristo Pacific. I have used Stan's decals with great success, but it seems inefficient just to order one single number for the number plate. Any other suggestions???

She looks a little naked without the numbers. 2609 if it matters.


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## Larry Green (Jan 2, 2008)

Trackside Details sells a set of 3/16" cast brass numbers 0-9, that would make what you want, if they are large enough.

Larrt


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## jgallaway81 (Jan 5, 2009)

When I originally redid my pacific, I used the original number #3411, using those numbers but placed on a rectangle plate from ozark. 

Since I've updated my designs & standards, I'm thinking of having custom number plates made up similar, but different from the plates used by Canadian National.


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## David Fletcher (Jan 2, 2008)

I used to make a lot of plates for my home made engines before I got into decals. 
I used to draw/write the plate on my PC, photocopy it at its full size in reverse format on the photocopier onto clear melemine sheets. This would essentially make black plates with clear lettering. 
Then apply it to the model over a gold painted plate, such that the gold would show through the clear lettering. Finished product was gold lettering on black background. 

David.


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## W3NZL (Jan 2, 2008)

There used to be a guy up in Conn. that custom made that type of thing in etched metal.. 
I believe his name was Robert Dustin, no idea if he is still around doing his thing or not these days..
I used to deal with him years ago, and his stuff was pretty good, might be worth Ur while to try to 
track him down...
Paul R...


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

his name was Robert Dustin 
His name still is Robert Dustin and, while he gave up the decal business (shame) he still makes number plates. I think he has an email address but I can't put my hands on it. His phone number somes up on a google search.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Just a note to add about painting a number or name plate.

I built one of the plastic models of "The General" several years ago and the instructions were to paint the background of the two side name-plates red, and the background of the boiler front number-plate red around the center number and green around the name of the RR in the circular lettering around edges. The parts were a gold metalized plastic with raised letters and bead-border, which were to remain unpainted (stay the gold color of the plastic).

I trimmed an artist's paintbrush down to just a few bristles and shortened them considerably and could not get small enough blobs of paint to fit inside the centers of the letters and around the letters inside the raised border. I kept trimming the bristles to fewer and fewer and shorter and shorter until I was down to one bristle about 1/16 inch long and still a drop of paint was a dozen times the size of the opening in the letters "e" and "a".

I worked and worked at it for several hours over several days, and it was the sloppiest paint-job ever. TERRIBLE. The edges of the letters and the raised border were all squiggly and the surface of the background was mottled and full of blobs.

In trying to clean-up the edges of the letters I hit upon a simple and very easy way to do it right.

I just slopped the paint all over the piece, making sure it got into all the deep recesses of the letters and various parts of the background and I smoothed it ALL as best as I could, all just using an unmodified paint brush. I paid no attention to the parts that were supposed to be left unpainted. I did have to be somewhat careful to keep the red and green seperate on the boiler front number-plate and not get slop of one color into the other area.

Then I put a piece of cloth (thick but NOT Terry cloth) on a flat surface and put a few drops of paint thinner on the cloth (enough to make it damp, but not dripping wet) and put the number/name-plate face down on the cloth and rubbed it back and forth, wiping the paint off the surface of the raised letters and border. This left the background full of paint and the letters the gold color of the plastic.

Perked Worfectly! And took less than 15 minutes total for all three plates, including getting the paint bottles open and cleaning the brushes when I was done!


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

wiping the paint off the surface of the raised letters and border. 
Charles, 
That's the standard way of dealing with brass name and number plates in the UK. They etch the brass away around he numbers/letters, so you paint over the whle thing then sand & polish off the paint when it has dried. (Your removal with paint hinner before it dries is required for that plastic - I wouldn't sand that!)


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Trackside Details sells a set of 3/16" cast brass numbers 0-9, that would make what you want 
They also sell the round number plate to go with the numbers. My #7 has one, with the number silver-soldered to it. Here it is on my old #7


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## Bill4373 (Jan 3, 2008)

Hobby Lobby sells round numbers 0-9, 2 sets per pack. They were inexpensive, can't remember the price. 

.


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