Catastophic Failure with the Mini Rail Decals

Last week, I attempted to put the decals on the two yellow and red Baldwin S-12 diesels, but a major disaster took place.  The decals disintegrated right after I took them out of the water!  My heart sunk and I was in shock.  I did not know what I was going to do once I saw the Sierra Railroad herald break up before my eyes.  I had purchased the only two sets of Sierra Railroad decals from Mini Rail that were on eBay.  (I have not found anyone selling them since.)

Mini Rail Decal Set (Two Missing Heralds Were Destroyed)

I know Mini Rail is not in business and there are no other companies making Sierra Railroad decals for the steam locomotives or the original paint scheme of the diesels when they were delivered in 1955.  I figured the decal sets were so old that the protective coating for the decals had worn away.

I turned to the internet and found a few different "do it yourself" decal kits out there on the market.  Each one allows the user to print decals from an inkjet or laser printer.  When I came across the kit from Testors I knew I could purchase one at at my local hobby store. Off to the store I went and purchased the kit.  This particular kit is for inkjet printers as I do not have a laser printer at home.

I was going to have to make decals to letter the steam locomotives that I intend to use on the layout, so I knew that I could use this kit to make those decals as well.  I went back to the internet and looked up links for "free railroad roman font" and came across a website that provided a suitable Railroad Roman font.  I downloaded it and it showed up in my list of fonts for Microsoft Word.

Decal Creation Using Word and "Railroad Roman" Font

Decals for #40 and #42 on Word

I proceeded to type out different font sizes, printed out test sheets and placed them on the tenders and locomotive cab to see which font size fit best.  The other thing I discovered about the Railroad Roman font is that capital letters print out no matter if caps lock is on or off.  The difference is that with caps lock on, the letters are a little bigger and more stretched out then with caps lock off.

Testing Font Size and Letter Spacing on the Tenders

In order for the letters to  come out white on an inkjet printer, you have to use the Testors "white" decal paper.  If you use the "clear" paper, the white letters will just be clear because an inkjet printer can not print white ink.  I also had to use the highlight tool in Word.  I typed out "SIERRA RAILROAD" and then highlighted it in black.  I did this for the locomotive cab and tender numbers too.

When it came to printing out the decals on the decal paper, I made sure that I used up as much of the decal paper as possible, because I did not want to waste any of it.  The paper is pretty expensive, so get as many decals on one sheet as you can.

Use as Much of the Decal Paper Space as Possible

After printing the decals, be careful removing the sheet from the printer.  The ink is still wet and the oils on your fingers can ruin some of the decals you just printed.  After the sheet is dry you have to spray light coats of the Testors protective spray.  This will seal the printer ink prior to dipping the decals into the water prior to applying them on the model.

I am pleased with my efforts to make my own decals using my home computer and the Testors decal making kit.  Now I just have to apply the decals to the models and hope that everything works out as I hope.