Kintetsu Urban Liner

[Super]

I was never much interested in this release of the Kintetsu Urban Liner mostly because I thought it to be too plain looking with no graphics. Because it is so plain I had thought this to be just a generic train made from the mold of the Virgin Express and not modeled after a real train. After receiving this one in a bulk purchase and a little research, it is modeled after a real train (see picture below). Might have to add just a couple of custom made decals to dress this up a bit.

Now, for something I thought I would ever have to admit to. Most of you here know that I am not a fan of the yellow wheels and always swap them out for gray or black when we receive a train with them. This Kintetsu Urban Liner was no different. After cleaning up the train I swapped all the wheels for the Plarail gray ones and........dare I say it.....I did not like the look of gray and put the yellow ones back on. Never thought this would happen. On this particular model, the yellow wheels look better than the gray. Ouch! Excuse me while I go wash my mouth out with soap.

I am aware that there are also a yellow one and a turquoise train using this same mold design. Does anyone know any information on those Plarail/Tomy releases if that is all of them and if the others are generic or modeled after real trains?

Virgin Express
Kintetsu Urban Line (orange stripe)
Turquoise color
Yellow Color

I'm with you Super on the yellow wheels as you know, but I have to say on this particular model the yellow wheels don't look out of place. Whether it is because of the overall white/yellow scheme or the plain nature I don't know, but it does in this instance work fine.

I recently scored a Virgin train along with 7 thomas types in a bit of a bulk purchase for all of about £40 ~ $60, seemed reasonable as it came with track and stuff too and that the Virgin train on its own seems to go for £20-30 over here in the UK

Finally for the graphics, did you know it is possible to buy sheets of water-slide decal material? It is available in transparent/white backing and in versions for both inkjet and laser printers. Apparently you just print the graphics as standard then apply a transparent coat of laquer (same as used on metallic car paint apparently) and lo-behold your own custom decals.

Now where do I get some 1:1 scans of the decals used on Thomas etc... trains so the old ones with tenders can be truly renovated - perhaps even made better lol!


Cheers, Nigel

[Super]

Hi Nigels

Congrats on scoring a Virgin Express in that bundle at a great price.

Yes I am quite familiar with the Printer, Waterslide Decal paper as I have used it and created many a custom decal. Another good product to use is clear label InkJet Printer stock like from the Avery company. The Glossy Clear Labels work the best. Both uses have their drawbacks and pluses. Here is my opinion on the use of both.

Waterslide Decal InkJet Printer Paper
Yes, you have to spray your creations with an Acrylic Crystal Clear High Gloss Spray as the ink from printers are not waterproof. I have not used the white paper for the simple reason that one would have to be so precise when cutting them out as the white will show through. For this reason I have only used the clear decal sheet stock as I don't want the white background. Here are what I think are the drawbacks. Computer printers don't print the color white. The results is wherever white is supposed to be it will show up as clear. Of course I guess using the white decal paper would solve this. I have found that the decals colors come out somewhat translucent like and do not show up very good on dark colored models. Colors aren't very vivid. Maybe this would also be cured with using the white paper. So I only make decals in dark colors and use them on light colored models. One other note is that this water slide paper is a tad bit thicker that professional decal stock so edges might show up a little more and doesn't easily form around embossed areas as the professional decals do even with decal solution.

Inkjet Glossy Clear Label Paper
Just like the Waterslide Decal paper white is not printed and becomes clear and the colors are somewhat transparent and not vivid. Once again dark colored printing on a light colored model shows up best. You don't have to spray a clear topcoat but....with Inkjet ink is not waterproof so if there is a little moisture on a finger when handling your model it could smear. These may be better used on buildings or things that aren't going to be handled a lot.

Of course in both methods you use an Xacto hobby knife to cut out your decal or sticker label. I think I will get some white Waterslide Inkjet Decal paper just to see what it comes out as.

Oh...sorry for being so long winded.

You pretty much summed up what I'd already learned about the waterslide paper including the need to use the white paper on dark backgrounds. I suspect the white paper will also give more vibrant colours, the main thing to remember would be to make sure there are no 'holes' in the decal as cutting out bits from the middle of a decal would be a tricky proposition lol!

The idea of transparent labels is a good one tho, hadn't thought of that, do you think the acrylic coating could be used to make those waterproof?

I guess the other option is a colour laser you can get decal paper and probably labels for them too, but don't try the inkjet paper in a laser or you'll likely wreck the printer.

[Super]

Wish I knew more about Laser Printers and whether they would print any better on clear decal stock or labels. Worth a try on spraying the labels to see if that helps with water proofing. I have found that using just the regular clear label stock does not work as well as the clear part doesn't disappear on the model as much as the Glossy Clear labels but the Glossy Clear is very limited. I did notice last night while searching for white decal paper on Ebay that there is some that state that you don't need to spray but wonder if that works very good. My thinking is that building and roadside signs could use the white waterslide decal paper where you just need to cut out using straight lines. Good discussion.

Laser printers are pretty cool and do produce very good colours at a very high resolution, the only thing that could be a problem is that laser toner is by nature matt in finish so if you want a gloss finish it would fall flat there. Although if using decal paper you would be spraying it with a lacquer anyway I guess, although there is probably no real necesity as laser prints are not subject to smudging when wet as the toner is 'fused' onto the paper/decal using heat - hence why the inkject paper would not work as that has a different type of coating on it that would melt onto the fuser unit wrecking it.

[Super]

Would be interesting to hear from someone who has tried a Laser Printer with this Decal paper and how it looks on the clear stock.

I'll see if I can find time to get the stuff and try it

[Super]

Nigels...you have a Laser printer?