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MMD > Archives > September 2013 > 2013.09.18 > 06Prev  Next


Nelson-Wiggen Decal Colors
By Monica Jones

So much information has come from my simple request!  First,
I should explain in more detail how I obtained my image.

Removing the glass from the nickelodeon allowed it to be scanned.
However, it's sheer nature required a backing to be put behind it.
Having done this sort of thing before, I did it with both black and
white backing paper.  I found that one method clarified the edge
damage, while the other made the fine lines "pop", such as on the
banjo.  Then, using my Photoshop skills, I found that overlaying the
two images gave me a very good indication of what the decal on the
machine actually looks like!  The color in the image you have all seen
is, perhaps, just a bit darker green than what I see in real life.

Laurence Leonard kindly sent me a photo of his Nelson-Wiggen label
in place, and it looks much whiter than the label on my machine does.
I realized only just now that his machine has a white item (the music
roll?) _behind_ the sticker.  Between that and the possibility of
camera flash, etc., causing whitening of the label, I am now more
certain that my label is the color it was supposed to be, but I cannot
rule out yellowing from light exposure or age.

Finally, that color is green -- not a common green, but more like a
cross between lime green and mustard yellow.  The gold edging is also
a muted gold, more mustard yellow or golden tan than gold (and also not
shiny).  The pixelation you see in my picture is on the actual decal.
It is not an artifact of the scanning, and is doubtless an artifact
of the [half-tone screen] process that made it originally.  It almost
looks like they obtained the color they desired by using dots of both
a green and a gold or yellow.  I was going to remove that in Photoshop
as well.

My intention was to use this material to make proper decals:

http://www.micromark.com/clear-decal-paper-for-ink-jet-printers-5-sheets,7942.html 

I've used it before (granted, it's smaller and simpler on an HO model
train), but it would be worth a try before you went so far as to pay
for expensive custom decal printing.  (It also comes in a white version
which would block light on a glass-mounted decal, but would require a
lot of very careful trimming.)

I don't need a new decal now, but if I ever do, I want to have one
I could use.

Monica Jones


(Message sent Thu 19 Sep 2013, 02:11:15 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.)

Key Words in Subject:  Colors, Decal, Nelson-Wiggen

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