Roadways

I have added a few roadways to my layout and now have the task of adding the stripes. Does anyone have a good method?
Thanks,
Ed

Hey Ed, for the striping on my roads, i found that a Stattler-Mars repido graph pen to work very well. These pens are the ones architect's used to use before verything went to CAD design. The pens come in different line thicknesses, and must be loaded with ink.

Instead of ink, i loaded mine with either white or yellow diluted Floquil paint. I used a straight edge with a raised ink-edge on it to keep the paint from flowing under the ruler and making a mess. for curves i used a french curve, also a drafting a tool.

Tony B...
Wasatch Z Club

PS: I also tried fine point sharpies but i found that the ink from then absorbed into my road material and did not show up well.

Hey Tony,

Thanks for letting me know. Do you know where I would pick one of those pens up at? Thanks.

Ed

I've found that colored pencils work quite well. Yellow tends to be a bit transparent, so I start with white and apply yellow over top.

eit27 wrote:

Hey Tony,

Thanks for letting me know. Do you know where I would pick one of those pens up at? Thanks.

Ed

Ed, you should be able to find them at a drafting or art supply type store. Mine are very old and bought when i was a design student in Cornell. If you know any older (40's and older) you may see if one of them has an old set and is willing to part with them. No one uses these in professional practice anylonger due to CAD.

Tony B...
Wasatch Z ClubB)

Thanks for the insight Tony.

David,

Not questioning your technique, your works speaks for itself. But with my limited modeling skills in the scale I would be lucky to get the lines correct the very first time. No less twice in a row.

Ed

Ed, A famous SAS quote comes to mind: "Who Dares, Wins". This is from the British Special Air Service and has always been a guide for me through the years. Cheers, Jim CCRR:)

eit27 wrote:

Thanks for the insight Tony.

David,

Not questioning your technique, your works speaks for itself. But with my limited modeling skills in the scale I would be lucky to get the lines correct the very first time. No less twice in a row.

Ed

Ed, the trick is to make the lines in segments. I will put down the white line, then, without moving the straightedge, follow immediately with the yellow before moving on to another section. If you look very closely at the photo, you can see I was off by just a smidge.

I find it's less nerve-wracking than using ink in a pen, or any other form of painting: I can erase the line if I mess up. With ink, well... if it's off, you'll have to repaint the road.