Decorating an HO Scale Steam Locomotive

Here's the roof painting video: • Painting an HO Scale C...
This is a long overdue how-to. I first started using the paint pen technique for whitewalls several years ago, but I never got around to making a video about it until now. It helps that I've had a lot of practice, and I can now do it pretty reliably and make it look good. You don't want to see my first few attempts.

[@BlaxlandRidge3]

Looks great! I've been using the paint pen whitewall method for years now. Glad to see someone else is too.

[@halfofacouch2397]

It’s so cool that you are making this custom railroad along with a custom railroad. It’s this kind of creativity that lacks in the world today. What you’re doing is not only very cool, but it’s also the type of thing that will help bring many more in our community for generations to come. Keep up the great work!

[@lackawannarailfan]

Awesome job! The engine turned out great! The white wall method was very clever. Keep up the great work!

[@NJEsperantist]

I used your technique of putting the 'white walls' on a Lackawanna-ish 4-8-4 that I just finished. Thank you for sharing this information!

[@michaelramsey81]

Glad it was helpful!

[@johncrowley3722]

Well done. The decal with the gloss looks better than expected. Almost appears to be name plate which is plausible.

[@ShootFirstSev]

That white-wall trick is the bee's knees! I tried it after watching this on my Bachmann 2-8-0 Durango and Silverton, which already has white trim, and it just made everything pop!

[@SouRwy4501Productions]

I used that exact same technique on many of my Bachmann steamers, including my Russian decapod and Southern Railway 630 models.

[@switchbladeslaydn6468]

Dear Michael, thank you a thousand times for making and sharing this awesome tutorial! I don't have a H0 train, but I am fully in Lego/Bricks and got a few steamies in planning. This will look great, you really make it look easy! Thanks again and greetings from Germany!

[@jonathangreenlees4772]

That is so cool that you do that for your trains. Definitely an idea to use for the locomotives of my Cateye & Southwestern layout.

[@kents.2866]

Watching NPK 765 come through for Steam in the valley tourist run, it has white tires as well, and man all the oil and grease splattered all over that white paint was great to get a picture of for weathering in the future.

[@LukeLovesTrains-Mr.RailYard]

Pretty awesome locomotive. Thanks for sharing.

[@lonewolfe31619]

Now that is really good to know i just bought a blue goose bli locomotive in the santa fe early paint scheme and im seeing some paint chip issues with the cab and the white wall tires which i was trying to figure out how to fix. This info is great.

[@johndillon8130]

She looks great, thanks for sharing!

[@JSHORKEND]

Awesome video man! I really enjoy your channel.

[@rickdee67]

Dekuls? Dee kals* lol. Neat watching the white transfer to the rolling wheels. I’m going to do this on a couple of steamers of mine! Good tip!

[@michaelramsey81]

"Dekuls" is the Canadian pronounciation, lol. Took me a while to get used to when I moved here from the States.

[@rickdee67]

@@michaelramsey81 they also say “oatside” so 🤷🏻‍♂️…

[@michaelramsey81]

@@rickdee67 Weirdly, I haven't noticed nearly as much of a difference in accent as I expected. Granted, I'm very close to the border.

[@rickdee67]

@@michaelramsey81 I’m just teasing bro, I love my neighbors to the north!

[@toddcogswell9470]

Love the video. Can't wait to try it for myself.

[@markwilliams2620]

Thank you for the insight. I'll use it soon.

[@samshunt5715]

Fantastic thanks

[@Minutemman]

Man I have watched ALL of your videos since I discovered you yesterday and let me tell you, you are GREAT!!!! Also you should really make a discord server or a Facebook group. Also a video on how you run multiple trains on DC really deserves a video I would love to know how to do it for my railroad.

[@michaelramsey81]

Thank you so much! I actually do have a Facebook group. facebook.com/groups/355415535828311 As for multiple trains on DC, I don't really have any special setup. I usually just run one train at a time and electrically isolate the sidings so I can park locomotives. I've recently switched to DCC, so now I'll be able to actually run multiple trains at the same time.

[@toyrav64]

Thank you

[@Dallin_ONeal]

Thank you so much this video helped me so much when restoring my 4-4-0 #119 also it’s an overall great video and I will be subscribing to this channel!!!

[@TheBerkshireMainline]

Hey Michael! I know it might be a year too late but I was thinking that it would be cool if you did a mix between Susquehanna 142 and Westport and shelter cove, for example naming the engine as “Susquehanna & WSC ” or maybe “Susquehanna, Wesport & Shelter cove” I think it would be a nice reference if you decide include that Susquehanna in the name! ;) have a good day, man!

[@modelrailfan37]

This is super cool, and although I lossely model a real railroad, (CN) I think this would be a nice detail to add to my locomotives, even if it’s not prototypical. Just one quick question, (sorry I ask wayyy to many) what do you use to wipe excess paint of the wheel surface should that happen? Thanks for the great content, and keep up the great work!

[@michaelramsey81]

Thanks! I use isopropyl alcohol on a Q-tip or paper towel to remove excess paint.

[@spproductions5103]

What would you recommend to put black walls on a mth big boy, ive got one and I am unsure if I'd be able to lay the engine on it side and run it when applying paint

[@michaelramsey81]

If you can't hook up power to run it on its side, you could try using black paint on a tiny brush (or a black paint pen) and manually painting the exposed segment of each wheel, then putting it on the track and inching it forward a fraction of a turn, then taking it off and doing another segment of each wheel, until you've gone around the whole wheel. Since you're using black rather than white, it will be a bit more forgiving of error, since the face of the wheel is already black. I would experiment on a cheaper loco first, and find a process that works for you before attempting it on the Big Boy.

[@spproductions5103]

@@michaelramsey81 thank you

[@nathanchan4653]

Even after the driving wheels, leading, trailing and tender wheels are given white wall rims, is it preferable to let it dry overnight? Also, would the driving wheels, leading, trailing and tender wheels are given white wall rims applied dries faster on a fan after each application from the paint pen?

[@michaelramsey81]

To be safe, I'd let all of it dry overnight before putting the loco on the track. It stays pretty soft for a long time. I haven't tried a fan, but since it's an oil based paint, I don't think it would help much. An alternative method is to use acrylic paint and apply it with a tiny brush. This can be a little bit trickier in some ways, but easier in others, and it will dry faster with a fan.

[@codewon9274]

This is probably a dumb question but how did you move the wheels when they were not on the track?

[@michaelramsey81]

I had wires with alligator clips hooked directly up to the pickups on the tender axles.

[@sammisworkshops3762]

Do you have a link or at least the info on that company making the other label cartridges for the brother machine. I have that label maker too. cool idea for custom one off road names!.

[@michaelramsey81]

Certainly! The company is PTouchDirect.com. They sell the Brother cartridges as well as their own.

[@sammisworkshops3762]

@@michaelramsey81 Thanks!

[@thatonecaledonian812]

What font and size did you use?

[@KatyPacific382]

1:30 connect power leads? I never heard of those. I'm trying to find one for an ho scale rivarossi heavy pacific I'm going to get and repaint soon. Where can i find power leads

[@michaelramsey81]

They're just wires with alligator clips on each end. You can get them on Amazon. I usually clip them to the tender pickups. www.amazon.com/Alligator-Electrical-21-5inch-Connection-Experiment/dp/B0995KJWR5/

[@michaelramsey81]

Just clip them to the rails and control the speed as you normally would.

[@KatyPacific382]

@@michaelramsey81 oh I see. Also fun fact, if I do get the rivarossi chicago & alton heavy pacific 5299, I might renumber it to 5296 and paint the engine and tender like Gulf Mobile & Ohio 5296. It's another C&A pacific, but in GM&O colors which is pretty accurate as the C&A engines became part of the GM&O once the GM&O purchased the C&A railroad, I believe they were well liked by crews

[@fallingup90]

Very good video! Did you ever have to separate the SY locomotive and tender?

[@michaelramsey81]

I did end up separating them when I removed the tender shell to install the DCC decoder, since the shell holds the drawbar mechanism in place. Getting it back in correctly took a few tries.

[@fallingup90]

@@michaelramsey81 Would you mind making a video on removing the tender shell?

[@michaelramsey81]

@@fallingup90 I'm planning a video soon about converting coal tenders to oil. I'll use this loco and make sure to show the process of removing the tender shell (and putting it back on, which I remember being a bit more difficult).

[@fallingup90]

@@michaelramsey81 Great! Can't wait for it!

[@VRBroadcasting]

I have a question.(Probably redundant and dumb one depending on what’s obvious.) Does it matter if the white paint pen is acrylic and water-based?

[@michaelramsey81]

No such thing as a stupid question! Acrylic vs oil shouldn't make much of a difference, but you might have to experiment a bit to get it to flow on smoothly. I've successfully done it with acrylic paint on a small brush, although it is easier with the pen.

[@VRBroadcasting]

@@michaelramsey81 I appreciate your kind words and understanding. I found some acrylic white paint pens on Amazon and weren’t sure if they would work. So thanks for the tip! My future fantasy cab forward and other likewise Locos and rolling stock will look absolutely dashing thanks to your methods.

[@chrisscott8934]

What color red did you used for the roof of the locomotive?

[@michaelramsey81]

I used Vallejo 28.029 Gory Red (the spray can version).

[@chrisscott8934]

@@michaelramsey81 you nevermind try air brushing it?

[@michaelramsey81]

@@chrisscott8934 I don't own an airbrush, unfortunately. Planning to get one at some point.

[@andybones752]

I don't know if you were ever a fan of thomas the tank engine, but I'm planning to set up a ho scale layout to produce stories that are essentially an american version of the reverand awdry's railway series using locomotives produced in the usa and Canada. Do you recommend any models in particular?

[@michaelramsey81]

That's a cool idea! I actually had a concept like that in mind myself years ago, although I never did much with it. I did have a few ideas for American equivalents of characters. I think Bachmann's 0-6-0 Porter side tank engine would be a decent Thomas substitute. A Spectrum Richmond 4-4-0 would be perfect for Edward if you can find one. Gordon could be a USRA light Pacific. An Athearn/Roundhouse 2-6-0 might work for James. Henry is obviously a 4-6-0, but the Bachmann one doesn't look much like him, so you might have to do some kitbashing. Diesel, of course, would be a Fairbanks-Morse H-10-44 or something similar. Some of the original characters are more uniquely British designs, so you might have to get a bit creative - for instance, there's really nothing like a Stirling Single (Emily) this side of the pond aside from a few experimental locos, and certainly nothing that was mass-produced in HO scale. Percy is also a tough call - lots of little "docksider" 0-4-0Ts have been made in HO, but none that are actually good aside from brass.

[@andybones752]

@@michaelramsey81 awesome, thanks for the tips. Also, I was just curious as to what u would use to represent the other diesels from thomas and friends like mavis or boco?

[@michaelramsey81]

@@andybones752 I'm thinking maybe a Baldwin VO1000 or an Alco S1 for Mavis. Boco is a tough call... maybe an F unit?

[@andybones752]

@@michaelramsey81 Thank u 4 the suggestions. I think I have a good list now. Arry Bert and Diesel as Fairbanks Morse H16-44's, Bear as an EMD GP40, BoCo as an EMD E7; Daisy as a Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC), Mavis as an Alco S4, Rusty as a GE 45-Ton switcher and Salty as an Alco RS-3.

[@jonathangreenlees4772]

Dude, that is an awesome idea! I am a huge fan of Thomas The Tank Engine and I can't wait to see your versions of those stories!

[@nthechocolatefactory372]

Who is the maker of this model?

[@michaelramsey81]

It's an older Bachmann Spectrum model.

[@toddkobell4298]

Would a white sharpie work?

[@michaelramsey81]

To my knowledge, they don't make a white Sharpie, at least not with normal ink. Sharpie does make white paint pens, and while I haven't tried them myself, I'd imagine they work similarly to any other paint pen, so you should be able to use them.

[@modelfxaustralia8963]

Its not a good idea to scratch the area for pickup, it forms pockets for grime, use a thinner or alcohol plenty of good vids on this