MODEL PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
A napkin from a fast food restaurant provided the material for these cab curtains (left and above). The napkins were given a wash of Engine Black paint diluted with thinner. After dry- ing they were cut to size and glued to the edge of the cab roof. When inclement weather ap- proaches, the well-worn cab curtain in this former D&RGW K28 will come in handy (below).
Cab curtains for the cost of beans Restaurant napkins supply both the inspiration and the material/Robert Townsend T
he oversized space between a model locomotive and tender has always irritated me, although it is obviously necessary given the practi- cal requirements of an electric motor and the issue of short circuits on a model. Recently, I found a way to deal with this problem which is effective, re- alistic and very inexpensive. While grabbing a quick lunch at a lo- cal taco restaurant, I noticed that the paper napkins provided were of a color, thickness and texture similar to weathered canvas in miniature. I took a couple of napkins for experimenta-
CHRIS D’AMATO: HERMOSA, CO; SEPT. 23, 1982
tion. As described below, a few steps are all that are needed to convert the napkins into “canvas.” First, place a ¹/₄″ dab of Floquil En- gine Black on a piece of scrap material to serve as a palette. With a soft, ¹/₄″− wide flat brush filled with thinner, mix the two and wipe the brush on an un- folded napkin. Use more thinner to streak the black into a random pattern. I recommend solvent-based paint and thinner because they don’t seem to cause the paper to disintegrate the way water-based paint does. I tried both types of materials to determine this.
Second, allow the wash of paint/thin- ner to dry. Notice that the black fades to a nice gray tone.
Measure the horizontal and vertical
space between the coupled locomotive and tender with a pair of dividers or a compass, and use scissors to cut a rec- tangle of the approximate size re- quired. Note that cab curtains usually extended below the cab deck. Since the paper curtains will be flexible you can make them a little long and they will look even better. Fold the paper rectangle vertically
into ¹/₈″ accordion folds. Next, use a pair of tweezers to fold the top of the curtain 90 degrees to create a top fold approximately ¹/₈″ wide. Glue the top fold to the inside edge of the cab roof with white glue. Hold it in place with the forceps. After the glue sets use a brush handle to bend the curtains in or out. Note that the texture of the nap- kin “smooths out” and disappears. When the cab curtains are fully dried and in place, fill the brush lightly with thinner and drag it gently down from mid-point to the bottom. When this is done carefully, the brush and thinner will fray and tear tiny pieces out of the bottom of the curtain; essen- tially weathering it. You can also use a No. 11 hobby knife to tear and punch holes in the dry curtain.
Two to three napkins will provide enough material for ten HOn3 locomo- tives or five or six On3 engines. Howev- er, be sure you don’t wear out your wel- come at your local taqueria!
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN 69
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