I don't think that the Champ set includes the maroon, although I once painted a brass Royal Hudson that came with decals which
did include the maroon panels. I turned out well enough, but I think that painting would've been easier.
:-D
If you've got masking tape that's wide enough, lay out a length of it, face-down, on a sheet of glass, then lay a second piece directly atop the first. Use a straight-edge and a sharp pencil to lay out the panels, and use a compass to do the rounded corners. Use a sharp blade and a straight-edge to cut along the lines, doing the rounded corners freehand - the decal stripes should cover any minor discrepancies. By working on a double thickness of tape, you'll at least save some of the layout work by making the masks for both sides at the same time. Use either pencil marks or temporary bits of masking tape stuck onto the model to aid in positioning these masks, and be especially careful to not stretch or skew the large mask for the tender.
You could get even better results by using the cut-out sections as masks when you paint the primary loco colours. After applying the primer, simply place the tape pieces that would otherwise be garbage (the tape counterparts of the maroon panels) in their appropriate spots, then paint the black/grey areas. Remove the tape "panels", and when the black/grey paint is fully dry, apply the masks over top of it, leaving the primered areas expose for the coat of maroon. This will result in the maroon paint's surface being on the same plane as that of the black, which will result it the stripes lying even flatter on the surface than they would if the maroon were applied over the black.
Nice job on that Pacific, btw! Is that a detailed Mantua? Or what?
Thanks.
The Pacific started as a Bowser NYC K-11. Most of the detail parts are from Cal-Scale and PSC, and the CPR-style shrouding was cut from sheet styrene. The vestibule cab was built right over the existing cab, then any traces of the original which showed through the windows was trimmed away. The tender is from Tyco/Mantua. Here is a couple of photos taken before painting:
I also installed a can motor and a NWSL gearbox, so she's a smooth-runner and pulls well, too.
Wayne