Pavement Markings (ready made tape system)

[bill937ca]

One of the Japanese language hobby blogs is showing a pavement marking system using tape that I have never seen before. According to this small hobby shop web site there are about four hundred varieties available.  There are package of five sheets or single sheets.

 

No brand name is given as far as I can see, so this product may only be available at that hobby shop. That isn't the first time I've heard of a Japanese hobby shop having its own unique product line.

 

http://homepage3.nifty.com/mokei-ya/sub42.html

 

http://homepage3.nifty.com/mokei-ya/sub34.html

 

http://homepage3.nifty.com/mokei-ya/sub35.html

 

http://homepage3.nifty.com/mokei-ya/sub38.html

 

http://homepage3.nifty.com/mokei-ya/sub44.html

 

For tram line trackage.

 

http://homepage3.nifty.com/mokei-ya/sub46.html

 

http://homepage3.nifty.com/mokei-ya/sub47.html

[Bernard]

Pavement markings is something that's been a problem for me. I found this from Hobby Search:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021994

 

And I know Kato also makes markings too.

What you found Bill is the best I've seen so far, it's too bad the Hobby Shop don't do online orders.

[disturbman]

I did order some of these (the one from Bernard's post) last week. I can keep you updated when I received them.

[bill937ca]

Pavement markings is something that's been a problem for me.

What you found Bill is the best I've seen so far, it's too bad the Hobby Shop don't do online orders.

 

I agree this is by far the best I have seen.  Kato road plates are good, but they don't have a single lane road. If you read those pages carefully you can start to see what the road colors are for.  May be one of the English language dealers will be able to stock these items.

[quinntopia]

Good topic!  I'm still debating how to do this myself.  Interesting stuff that he's selling...which makes me think, its always a bit of shocker to me that you've got companies that produce the most niche type of products for model trains, but some of the most obvious things are completely overlooked (like road markings, or modern buildings  )!

 

I asked the captain how he planned to do his parking spaces at Akihabara station, and he's going to mask and air brush the lines.  That seems like a lot of work, but since he has a nice photo overlay of the parking lots, he's already got a template to work with.  I expect this method will also give the nicest results.  I just don't know if I want to cover my layout and mask out all the streets....that seems pretty ambitious (but then, I learned not to rush my layout projects, cause when I 'finish' I tend to want to start over with something new).

 

One other option is something called 'chart tape'....it will definitely be a more 'free form' method, but it seems like an easy compromise...and you can't beat the price ($1.50) and easy ordering from Amazon too!

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&search-alias=office-products&field-manufacturer=Grafstick%20Tape%20%26%20Label

[CaptOblivious]

I've used chart tape for other things, and it's pretty cool. Be warned, though, it doesn't stick the best (a spray of DullCote should fix that), and it is surprisingly thick (about as thick as electrical tape—which is a lot if you're using it for street markings). But it is very flexible without being overly delicate, making it incredibly easy to work with. I'll be curious to know how it works for you!

[cteno4]

you use to be able to get all sorts of thicknesses in chart/pin tape, but its a dying thing with computers these days! they had stuff that was the thickness of regular transparent tape in matte or glossy. usually the only stuff i see around is the crepe tape style that is thicker and sometimes does not have a really smooth surface. i use to use loads of the stuff doing 3/4" scale exhibit models.

 

you can find a few thin pin tapes for detailing, problem is they dont have much variety in widths in the small stuff you need for n scale.

 

i have been experimenting with printing out my streets and pasting the whole thing down. you can paint in drains, manholes, cracks, oil stains etc as well as fine lines. you can even add texture to your road surface. its fun to try out your street patterns until you have the one you want then just stick it down and hit with dullcoat to seal it all up.

 

these sheets bill found were great for me a i can use them as templates. should be able to auto trace them to make eps and enlarge them to the correct side and then mix and match parts! i have experimented with printing on some drawing papers to give the road surface just a tad of texture. problem is when i inkjet print them the solid road color soaks in a bit too much, but the color laser printer fuser roller smooches out most of the texture! there are some techniques for preparing very absorbent papers for inkjet printing i want to look up.

 

cheers

 

jeff