- Find pictures of the brands from the era you are modeling. I model steam, so pretty much anything 1900-1950 suits my purposes.
- What size are the barels and how are the segments painted? I found that an HO scale barrel is roughly .43" in height, and each of the typical
3 sections of a barrel are .14" in height.
- Next comes the sizing of the graphics. Most photos are going to give you a bit of parallax, so finding the matching logos and graphics
of the barrels you want to model is next.
- I used Powerpoint to create 3 barrel segments and used the shape fill tools to get the correct coloring and gradient of those colors.
Each segment was .14" tall and 1" wide. Graphics and lettering were added to suit the contents I wanted to represent. Gasoline, Lubricating Grease, etc.
An early version of my barrels lacked depth, so I added drop shadows for each segment, and got just enough of a visual cue to imply ridges at the
right spots on the barrels.
- Once your barrel label looks OK, group the segments together as a single object. Copy and paste 16 or so into a column and align them so they
form a neat line. I made 7 columns of 16 barrel labels each on a single piece of typing paper. That gives you enough room to cut them out.
- Print your barrels in color.
- I cut each column of barrel labels so I can wrap all 16 at the same time around a single straw. I used white glue to secure them
- Once the glue dries, cut each barrel out of the straw.
- I discovered that paper punch outs from a 3-hole punch are just right to fit in the diameter of most straws. A little glue, a little paint,
and my oil drum/barrel is sealed.
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