Detail Painting One method for prevent- ing stray paint from damaging a surrounding surface is to cut a piece of paper and place it behind the item being painted, such as this MU hose cluster.
Sharp Edges A strip of decal film can assist in making a clean transition between paint colors when minimal paint bleed is present.
sembling the model — the num- ber board inserts. Factory print- ed with a black CSX number on a white background, these parts needed to be reworked to accom- modate their new color and CWE road number. The clear plastic number boards cannot be simply put into stripping solution such as was done for the locomotive body. Instead, I had to hand-strip the factory-applied graphics by gently sanding both the CSX num- ber and white background from each of the four surfaces using a series of fine-grit and polishing nail files. The now smooth, clean surface was brush-painted black and then given a light overspray of Testor’s Glosscote to prepare them for the new road numbers to be added after reassembly. With all the paintwork com- pleted, it was time to reassem- ble the model. I began by brush- painting the headlight housings silver. I added the detail parts that had been left off and painted sep- arately — the horn mounted atop the cab and the spark arrestors atop the dynamic brake blister. I reinstalled the blank black num- ber board inserts before reassem- bling the locomotive body, essen- tially following the reverse order of how it had come apart. I had now created the three- color locomotive I had envi- sioned, but would my ideas for graphics translate from design to finished product? Using a Burl- ington Northern bicentennial set (Microscale #459), I applied the years 1776 and 1976 to top and bottom of the large white area in the center of the hood, the top number flush left and the bot- tom number flush right. Next, I cut pieces from Microscale #MC- 4393 — a Missouri Pacific bicen- tennial GP7 decal set — to obtain the flag graphic. I carefully cut the flag from the adjacent eagle and banner graphics and applied it between the years, centered in the white rectangle.
Having completed the center- piece of the graphics, I moved out-
70 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
ward on the locomotive body. I ap- plied road number 2000 to the cab using the CWE standard locomo- tive decal, effectively placing this locomotive at the beginning of the CWE GP38 number series. I then added the large CWE lettering to the rear third of the long hood; however, the shorter hood doors dictated the use of a decal smaller than the typical CWE locomotive graphic. I found a freight car de- cal that fit perfectly in the smaller area, and soon the locomotive’s ownership had been established for all to see. I then added the
white sill stripe extending from front to rear using a four-inch white stripe (Microscale #91131). Decaling this thin surface was much easier than painting it. I then added two-inch step striping using (Microscale #91111) — an application that would be nearly impossible to paint evenly. Up to this point, my vision translated exactly as expected; that is, until I turned to the front of the short hood. Here, I had overreached, placing both the bi- centennial star and “CENTRAL BELT” slogan onto the small sur-
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