"White lines on 6mm / 15mm scale roads" Topic

I have tracked down some grey 2mm thick foam that looks suitable for roads when 'dirtied' up with paint / pastels.

I am wondering how to paint the white lines in the middle of the strips as I do not have a spray gun:

1) Mask off and use normal paint by hand?
2) Mask off and use an aerosol?
3) Paint by hand with no masking?
4) Do not worry as at 6mm the lines are so small no one will notice them missing

I have seen the Woodland Scenics idea of painting over white and scratching it out but that sounds very very iffy…

Other thought is a white ink pen?

Andrew
blog.kings-sleep.me.uk

These the hobbycraft ones?
I would mask with proper masking tape and paint carefully.

Strips of white decal material?

James

I have seen people do this with a wide paint pen and a metal straight edge.

Jeff

I recommend buying a good quality opaque white gel pen from the craft store. It is water soluble, so you can't ink or seal after, but it makes lining a snap. Given that the foam is porous, you might need to experiment a little to see if it will work, but it is a cheap investment.

Possibly a white color pencil (maybe Berol/Prismacolor or whatever they are these days) witha straight edge, and then dullcoat after.

Or mask and dyrbrush the white on it.

Check if railway companies do anything suitable you can get decals in HO 1/87 and TT 1/120 might be similar in N 1/160 and Z 1/230

i did mine by hand many years ago with thinned paint and it seemed to work very well

now i probbably would have a go with the gel pen – they seem so much easier

What era are you Gaming, White lines only started use in the Uk in 1921 and even later in europe

there are still a lot of minor roads with no markings on even now

Ian

How about a cardboard stencil that is cut out with a hobby knife. Make both dashes and straight lines to a certain length and dry brush. The coverage is not as important as the straight edges. Any missed spots is 'faded' paint on the road.
The stencils will give easy uniformity to the solid/dashed lines and be used repeatedly.

Sounds like an awful lot of work – unless you're a masocist of course. Wouldn't it be easier to go to your local model railroad hobby shop and see if they have any of the items in this link available? link

link

Grimm

Folks,

A big thank you for the links and ideas – I had seen the single roads for sale but was looking more Motorway width so I'll have a trawl.

As for being a masochist – for years I have bought scenery or used the clubs but money being short for these bits I'm trying to make things for myself (and enjoying the challenge / learning experience) so I must be one now

Andrew
blog.kings-sleep.me.uk

Nothing quite like using stuff you have made yourself.
Careful, it gets addictive..

Mnay years ago I did thiss by painting my roads and then sticking carefully cut stips of white self-adhesive labels on for the lines.

There were however two problems:_
1. The line width varied a bit as I simply used scissors to cut the strips.
2. The adhesive started to loose its stick after a while and the curled up at the ends.

I am thinking about doing the roads again so am having exactly the same dilemma!

Graham

I created a 6mm motorway and used a white permanent marker I got from the art shop. The pen I used was a bit fat but it looked good overall. I also airbrushed the lanes to make them look dusty.

They are on my site under Terrain but it isnt working at the moment.

6mm.wargaming.info