Undecorated rolling stock / Engines

Both Atlas and Weaver previously have offered underacted freight car pieces. I remember ordering 4 or 6 underacted 8000gal tank cars from Atlas quite some years ago, and made them into GATX steam era cars. I don't believe Atlas offers underacted rolling stock any longer, since both Champ Decal Co and Microscale O-Scale decals are a thing of the past. 

We have a number of undecorated steamers on sale right now,

 

http://www.nassauhobby.com/Tra...l-Pilot-Locomotives/

Like any other hobby niche, decorating your own rolling stock and locomotives requires an infrastructure or ecosystem to supply the necessary products, and there is a critical mass of customers below which it doesn't pay a manufacturer to be in the game. Without the availability of decals, it's hard for a manufacturer to sell undecorated items, and without undecorated rolling stock, there's less market for decals. I think the rise of better quality scale-size rolling stock and the parallel decline of kit-building has pretty much taken the market in 0 below critical mass. One exception is LBR, a Forum sponsor that has recently expanded its line of S scale decals into 0. I bought some decals from them a few weeks ago and they were good quality and reasonably priced. 

 

I've managed to accumulate a few factory undecorated cars that are awaiting decals and I've also made my own by stripping painted models or just taking off the lettering and touching up the paint. That's pretty easy on a 6464 boxcar or a gondola or flatcar body; not so easy if you're talking about a detailed scale woodside reefer!

I have done a number of "re-decorating" jobs on tolling stock, and it has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby for me.
My home road was very obscure and not very likely to be depicted in O gauge.

The undecorated items are out there just harder to find.

Thanks for the feedback.

I guess with O gauge being smaller markets compared to N and HO from the Model railroading point of view, it is a little fragmented.

 

Thanks for the input guys!

Ben

 

MTH and Lionel have what would be called Pilot Locomotives or Engineering Samples I own one from MTH which is an 0-8-0 When I bought it from Just Trains in Delaware many Years ago it was Bare Metal with all the interior working  it ran smoked and sounded with the Proto Sound 1.0 set up with a DCRU in it. 

one of the other posters chimed in and said they are hard to find and yes they are I would like to find a couple of more in a different set of Wheel Configurations to do custom paints on like i did with this 0-8-0

 

 

I would consider buying an undecorated engine if I could find the decals i want as well.

Also applying the decals can be tricky for some people.

 

Bachmann/Williams is not going to make any undecorated items for the Williams O gauge line-up as they claim the sales of undecorated items don't equal the monetary return for the items, in other words the undecorated just don't sell good!

 

Lee Fritz

I can see that being the case?

I just buy some unwanted decorated items and take them to the bead blaster, presto I have undecorated cars.   I have at least 20 MTH Premier cars that I got for $10/ea, why pay three-four times that for undecorated cars?

 

I like your idea about buying some low priced cars and repainting them. Only I don't have a bead blaster or sand blaster and paint gun.

 

I have asked somebody to do a custom paint job for me and he told it's $100.00 just to get his airbrush out, and I told him I can't afford $100.00. So I don't have any custom paint jobs on any cars or engines.

 

Lee Fritz

Mine have to suffice with rattle cans, but if I sweet talk Harry Henning III, maybe he'll paint a bunch of them for me, he an expert with the airbrush.

 

Maybe I can ask a friend of mine, Mr. D. Curtis, who works at an auto shop if he can sandblast a freight car or two for me and see what he charges. I don't want many done maybe 2 or 3 gondolas that are not worth much.

 

Lee Fritz

I have the undecorated version of Atlas' USRA 0-6-0 from the last decade.  Now that the GG1 is finished this might be the next victim

 

Bruce

Not quite fitting the bill, but Weaver has two boxes of various rolling stock that don't make it past the print station. They are shells with some print with errors or maybe defective bodies. Those going down for the final sale may want to inquire about these. They'd be great for kit bashing or weathering. There are no trucks on these pieces.

Don

Well, I just do rattle can painting, not fooling with an airbrush, which I would have to

look for, and CLEAN.  I collected, over time, a number of decal sets from assorted makers, in shows, so have a stash.  I just put some on this gas electric today, which included using an ancient set of "post office" wording out of an Enhorning S acale decal set.  Heard of "Enhorning"??  I hadn't.  Decals were good...no clue how old they are.

(some old ones will fall apart)  They were the right size for this application.  I also have custom decals, for a fictitious road, and for a prototype short line for which they ain't never gonna build model rolling stock.  I feel lucky to have gotten a Weaver unlettered 2-8-0. 

Look up at the heading!  People are making decals.  You want 'em, you can get 'em.

I have to agree that some of the fun is taking a car and converting it to the roadway I want. I change color and just get decals to match my paint scheme. I have used birthdays as car numbers and wait to see if the family members notice.

It is amazing what a magic eraser sponge can do- I picked up some older cars at a show for $5 & in 20 minutes had some almost ready for paint undecorated cars...

I have quite a few Atlas O undecorated and am slowly painting them up.  ACF Hoppers, 40 boxcars.  Mostly painting Florida East Coast stuff.

 

Mark

A couple of comments, not trying to derail the thread:

 

1.  I'd be careful about sand blasting plastic rolling stock.  Media blasting is a completely different material.  I'll leave it at that...

 

2.  Many years ago I did custom, professional grade, plastic model airplanes for people. There is much more to quality paint/finishing then people realize.  The more complex paint schemes (ie, time) often surprised customers when they got the bill, even after warning them prior to the job about the cost.  

 

Every customer wanted a flawless paint job.  Few wanted to pay for the labor involved. The ones that did, got the end product they desired and then some.  However, those customers were the exception and I loved working for them.  Many I gave 'discounts' too because I enjoyed the painting.   But, the majority wanted it for d##n near nothing though, which is why I will no longer do custom work for anyone.  

 

Personally, I like the undecorated stuff, lots of fun to finish as you wish.  A few hours with an airbrush can really set a model apart from the rest.  I'd gladly purchase undecorated models.

We use glass bead media, and the plastic I've done has come out really nice.  I don't know about sand, but I suspect that might eat the plastic unless you were very careful.  There's something satisfying about watching the old paint evaporate as you work.