Having trouble sourcing realistic vinyl overlays since the demise of Electra Graphics, of both ilks.
Can anyone recommend a suitable supplier for NMT graphics to apply to Dapol Mk3 pantograph car?
GE
Vinyls would be rubbish on a Dapol mk3 anyway, too much relief on the body side. Paint it and apply Railtec decals, IIRC they do new and old NMT logos.
Quote from: njee20 on July 25, 2026, 08:10:20 PMVinyls would be rubbish on a Dapol mk3 anyway, too much relief on the body side. Paint it and apply Railtec decals, IIRC they do new and old NMT logos.
Thank you, nice to know.
GE
Quote from: njee20 on July 25, 2026, 08:10:20 PMVinyls would be rubbish on a Dapol mk3 anyway, too much relief on the body side. Paint it and apply Railtec decals, IIRC they do new and old NMT logos.
Agreed - they vinyls were designed for the Graham Farish smooth-sided Mk3 coaches. They could be used on the Dapol Mk3s also but did not look as a good.
Quote from: GlenEglise on July 25, 2026, 07:59:58 PMCan anyone recommend a suitable supplier for NMT graphics to apply to Dapol Mk3 pantograph car?
Dapol don't make a Mk3 pantograph car. You'll need to modify the roof to include the pantograph well (and source a pantograph). 977993 is the pantograph car - plenty of photos on Flickr and Departmentals.com (https://www.departmentals.com/departmental/977993).
Quote from: njee20 on July 25, 2026, 08:10:20 PMPaint it and apply Railtec decals, IIRC they do new and old NMT logos.
Agree - don't bother applying vinyls to Dapol Mk3. Either use Farish Mk3 for the vinyl (if you can find them), or rework a Dapol Mk3. I would however add one step -
Strip it, then paint it.
You'll get a better finish if you remove the factory applied livery first. Phoenix Super Strip (https://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/products/125pq18) is my go-to paint stripper as it doesn't affect the plastic.
Whilst it's stripped you'll be able to fill in any windows that don't exist on the prototype you're replicating.
Phoenix Paints (https://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/products/14p134) will also sell you network rail yellow in tinlets or aerosol
If you do need vinyl style sides for old coaches and are willing to draw up your own loads of online and local printshops can do vinyl cut stickers with transparency these days and usually with really quite good alignment (you still fill the uncut window bits with the window frame colour and extend the colour out a bit past all the cut points)
So if you are ok with some drawing tools it's quite possible to do without actually owning any machinery.
Whilst I appreciate all comments I do not understand why applying vinyls to Dapol coaches should be considered a non starter and almost heretical.
Vinyl transfers such as Adam Warr's for Farish coaches were very much appreciated by the modelling community.
Since Electra Mk 2 have ceased trading we have variable results from others at supplying suitable vinyl overlays. There is significant issues with quality and also an apparent lack of response to the differences in applicatio to Farish or Dapol coaches.
The vinyls for Farish are not suitable for Dapol as there are differences in coach body dimensions.
Does anyone cater for vinyls particularly for Dapol coaches?
I am conscious of the extra detailing now applied to some coach bodies but do know how to address this issue.
GE
I've not used them, but thus ebay seller might do what you want.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/chriscodethrees
You're not getting the answer you want (vinyls for Dapol coach) as they won't work as well as on a smooth sided Poole/early Chinese Farish model. The seperate windows and raised detail doesn't sit well with a vinyl overlay.
Try a repaint and Railtec transfers - if you don't like the result switch to vinyl.
As Steven says, and I said in my original post - the vinyls work on the totally flush sided Farish coaches. They don't work well on the Dapol coaches becuase there's too much relief. They won't sit flat around the windows, the CDL lights, the door handles. All the relief that is present on a Dapol mk3 and not on a Farish one.
What you have in the Dapol ones is a coach you can disassemble, remove the glazing, and paint. Use a can of yellow spray paint. Railtec make the decals, as I said. Both new and old generations. The newer ones are much easier to apply as there are no bodyside stripes. If you start with two TGSs, a TSO and two buffets you're not a million miles off the configuration of the NMT anyway.
"Chris Code Three's" vinyls look attrocious IMO. I bought a 150 which had them fitted and they were hugely oversized, awfully detailed, with opaque 'windows' and they fitted terribly. That he sells any is astounding. His NMT pack (here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185958439386?itmmeta=01M0BF4MCG4RF5BT9D98WMNBK3&hash=item2b4bfc99da:g:D7IAAOSwj-JfuV7v) is a work of fiction, and poor quality fiction at that.
If you want vinyls, use Farish coaches, the result will be better. If you want to use Dapol coaches, don't use vinyls.
Quote from: Steven B on August 18, 2026, 10:39:43 PMI've not used them, but thus ebay seller might do what you want.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/chriscodethrees
You're not getting the answer you want (vinyls for Dapol coach) as they won't work as well as on a smooth sided Poole/early Chinese Farish model. The seperate windows and raised detail doesn't sit well with a vinyl overlay.
Try a repaint and Railtec transfers - if you don't like the result switch to vinyl.
His vinyls aren't particularly good and are undersize for Dapol and even some Farish items.
Experience of other modellers.
GE
I may still have a set of Electra NMT vinyls if that's specifically what you're after. I'll check my stock.
Electra is very much missed. It appears they won't engage with anyone which is a loss to them and the modelling community.
There must be value in the design work alone. If, as has been suggested, online printers can do the job from a file, surely there could be a downloadable option?
Quote from: GrahamB on August 20, 2026, 07:39:06 AMElectra is very much missed. It appears they won't engage with anyone which is a loss to them and the modelling community.
Indeed a loss - I have some old Grafar MKIIs here that I rescued from the auction and have adopted - some have damaged paintwork for which I had hoped to acquire vinyls.... Ah well, they will have to wait for another solution...
Quote from: cmason on August 20, 2026, 12:50:03 PMIndeed a loss - I have some old Grafar MKIIs here that I rescued form the auction and have adopted - some have damaged paintwork for which I had hoped to acquire vinyls.... Ah well, they will have to wait for another solution...
I also have some Farish mk1 carriages and 158 drive mechanisms awaiting conversion. Fortunately, following an appeal, I have a couple more EMU vinyl sets. I'm just waiting for the weather to cool down before I start work.
Pretty sure I have a pile of ERG vinyl's for NSE EMU's somewhere. IIRC my interests changed after I had only finished a few units off. Probably from well over 10 years ago.
Quote from: thebrighton on August 20, 2026, 02:58:14 PMPretty sure I have a pile of ERG vinyl's for NSE EMU's somewhere. IIRC my interests changed after I had only finished a few units off. Probably from well over 10 years ago.
I'm interested in pre NSE, what primarily ran on the Southeastern or central section if you have any.
Quote from: GrahamB on August 20, 2026, 03:30:53 PMI'm interested in pre NSE, what primarily ran on the Southeastern or central section if you have any.
Sorry, all NSE