TurboSnail Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 (edited) EDIT: This project is now finished and the kit is available from my Shapeways shop here. Features include: sprung buffers, NEM pockets, flywheel drive, pickups on all wheels, cab detail, etc. Due to the variability of the 3D printing process, I can't guarantee that everything will be a perfect fit, but the test model featured in the video went together easily. If you do decided to make one, please let me know (by private message or thread post) any feedback you have so I can make improvements to this kit and any future ones. Read on for an insight into the design and build process! An instructions and parts list sheet is attached, and the posts in this thread can help supplement this. Original post below: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Does 3D printing count as scratch or kit building? I've put this thread here rather than in the 3D printing forum as it's not about the process, rather about using a basic shell as a starting point to build up a model, which in my opinion is more like resin kit building. If it's in the wrong place, I'm sure someone will let me know... Anyway, I had a modified Hornby 0-4-0 chassis from an experiment into reducing the gearing to make it a good slow runner. This was mostly successful, so I felt like I had to make a body for it, which will be equally as experimental. One of my sources of inspiration was the Maunsell 0-6-0 diesel shunters (more info here) with the sloped windows in the lower cab, so here's the story: during development of the 350hp shunters (designed to compete with the Z class steam shunters), Maunsell also designed a smaller 0-4-0 version to compare against the Terriers and the like. Being short of time, some of the work was outsourced, hence incorporating some industrial shunter design into the mix (I should probably work on this justification a bit more, but I wanted to get on with the model! It's supposed to be fun, not super accurate). I drew up a basic shell on CAD, then got it printed by Shapeways (only £12!) in the 'Strong, White and Flexible - Polished' material as the shell was only ever going to be a base to detail up, so there's not much detail in it. First job, make it fit the chassis. The dimensions are approximately the same size as a Terrier, only slightly shorter, so the chassis needs cutting down. Once done, the body is a tad wonky... Adding some microstrip spacers cured this.The footplate needed a little massaging on the inside to allow the wheels to rotate freely - this took surprisingly long, and the help of a dremel, so they weren't kidding when they called the material strong! So now I have a decent starting point and I need to add: cab interior (to cover the motor), roof, handrails, access door handles, lamp irons, buffer mountings, buffers, coupling hooks, steps and anything else I can think of to improve the detail. TS01 Instructions & Parts List.pdf Edited March 29, 2018 by TurboSnail 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted January 14, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14, 2018 Looks like a fun project and nicely proportioned. I wonder if you could swap the wheelsets for some BR 08 ones and use dummy outside frames like the NG modellers often do? It might set it off nicely? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 Looks like a fun project and nicely proportioned. I wonder if you could swap the wheelsets for some BR 08 ones and use dummy outside frames like the NG modellers often do? It might set it off nicely? The chassis will stay the same for now as I'm trying to keep this project as cheap as possible (I may have spent rather a lot on recent RTR purchases...). However, if it goes well, I'm planning a Mk2 version (CAD already in progress!) with a decent set of wheels and a printed/scratchbuilt chassis - I like the outside frames idea, and it would bring the design more in line with the original 350hp shunters too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 All this time off Uni is increasing my modelling output massively - apparently I'm supposed to be doing something called 'revision'... Anyway, the shunter now has a cab interior, complete with massively oversized control desk covering the motor. If I'd planned the chassis to fit this body, I could have tweaked the motor position, but I think it looks alright like this and it won't be that visible with the roof on. Then I added handrails and door handles, all marked up by eye and surprising not all completely misaligned. Manual drilling was very slow, so the Dremel got to have another outing, resulting in my revision notes getting a fine sprinkling of dust. The handrails themselves are all made of stripped single core electrical wire (0.7mm, I think) as it was what I had lying around. Straightening it was a pain though. I used 0.5mm plastic sheet as spacers to make sure everything looks consistent. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 Any suggestions for this loco's livery? I originally wanted to do SR black like the original Maunsell shunters (see here). But I don't have the transfers to do it properly and don't want to buy a whole sheet for just this. Although I do have some yellow SECR numbers which could probably pass for the SR ones if I don't include the lettering. Alternatives are basically whatever colours I have lying around from other projects, including brunswick green and olive green. Or a more left-field approach might be to do an industrial style livery in grey or silver, maybe with wasp stripes if I'm feeling particularly talented that day, although it wouldn't really be 1930s/40s any more at that point. Any ideas? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Nile Posted January 17, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 17, 2018 Straightening tinned copper wire is quite easy, you stretch it slightly. Take a piece about a foot long, hold each end with pliers and pull apart, hard enough to straighten but not enough to break it. You seem to have a good job with yours anyway, they look straight to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Now complete with lamp irons, cab steps, buffer mountings and roof. The cab steps are 1.5mm plastic strip and the lamp irons are 1mm strip and were the fiddliest b***ers to assemble that I ever hope to deal with... Should probably have used staples, but I'd run out. The roof is 0.5mm plastic sheet and has a gentle curve formed by taping it to a small jam jar overnight. I could have 3D printed this but a) I wanted to add cab detail, b) gentle curves are the worst for showing print lines, and c) it made the print a bit cheaper. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 I'm in that entertaining stage of waiting for stuff to arrive... Maybe I should make some progress on my somewhat neglected cakebox challenge entry. CAD model for the Mk2 is coming along nicely though. Body is pretty much there, but need to do some more work on the chassis and motorisation. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR18901910 Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 What a good little shunter, that! What liveries would it be produced in? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbler Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 (edited) The chassis will stay the same for now as I'm trying to keep this project as cheap as possible (I may have spent rather a lot on recent RTR purchases...). However, if it goes well, I'm planning a Mk2 version (CAD already in progress!) with a decent set of wheels and a printed/scratchbuilt chassis - I like the outside frames idea, and it would bring the design more in line with the original 350hp shunters too. Looking good Tom. A big hole in the front, how are you going to fill that up? A scratched part or some more 3D printed parts? Scott Edited January 23, 2018 by gobbler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 23, 2018 Author Share Posted January 23, 2018 What a good little shunter, that! What liveries would it be produced in? Whatever you want it to be really! I'm going for SR black, like the second image down on this page. According to the fictional backstory, it was developed in about 1937, so any livery from late SR to early BR could fly, although I doubt it would survive standardisation. Or who knows, maybe it was sold to an industrial concern? Looking good Tom. A big hole in the front, how are you going to fill that up? A scratched part of some more 3D printed parts? Scott It will have mesh in, I have a few sizes on order to try out - I prefer 3D printing for large/simple parts, but all the detail will be seperately added such as handrails, horns, buffers etc.. Still not 100% sure about the size/shape of the hole yet though. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 24, 2018 Author Share Posted January 24, 2018 Finished exams for this term today, so I celebrated by spending an hour drawing a leaf spring for the mk2. Truly living the wild student lifestyle over here. Turns out it's surprisingly difficult if your CAD software is a bit dim and deletes all the part relationships every time you change a dimension. Still waiting for the radiator grille mesh for the mk1 to turn up before it gets painted. Probably should be expected from an eBay supplier though. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 I gave up on waiting for stuff to arrive and made a start on painting the mk1. The buffers have also been added and are Bachmann SR type. Two fairly heavy coats of Humbrol gloss black spray later... Some unevenness still shows from the 3D printing process and it looks a lot better/worse depending on the lighting. The body has not been sanded back at all, which I would do if I had more ambitions for this loco than just being a fun test. Spraying it in my freezing cold bedroom probably didn't help either (the only way to get any ventilation being to open the window fully). This project is reminding me that modelling can be fun when you have an idea of how much progress you're making. My layout has been a bit neglected recently as it got to the stage where I had a huge list of tasks and it didn't seem to be getting anywhere, so going away to uni with a few small projects is actually quite refreshing. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 Some further work on the Mk2 CAD, the chassis has a bit more detail added and there is some basic cab detail with a control panel. I also colour-coded the assembly to help keep track of things - the tan parts will form one print, the grey parts another, and the orange parts will not be printed but are used for reference. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 Painting is done! I think I'll have to admit that my ancient tin of Humbrol Super Enamel red has finally bit the dust, having formed a skin about 5mm thick on the surface... This lighting shows off the 3D printing lines nicely, it's not quite as bad in real life - being gloss doesn't help but it will get matt varnished at some point. Just need to do transfers now, and wait for the radiator mesh to eventually turn up. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu4472ke Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Painting is done! I think I'll have to admit that my ancient tin of Humbrol Super Enamel red has finally bit the dust, having formed a skin about 5mm thick on the surface... This lighting shows off the 3D printing lines nicely, it's not quite as bad in real life - being gloss doesn't help but it will get matt varnished at some point. Just need to do transfers now, and wait for the radiator mesh to eventually turn up. P1000017.JPG P1000018.JPG P1000019.JPG Looking good!! are these going to be on shapeways? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 are these going to be on shapeways? Glad you like it! The Mk2 will be on Shapeways, but only once I've built one to make sure it all fits together properly. It will be available in two parts, body and chassis, designed to work with specific gears, wheels and motor but will probably work with other ones with a few modifications. I can also put the more industrial-style Mk1 body on if anyone requests it, which should fit on a modified Hornby 0-4-0 chassis (but I don't have a spare chassis to confirm that with, as mine has a different motor and gearbox). I didn't intend this to be a 'product' when I started out, but I kept adding bits to the CAD to make my life easier later on, to the extent that it has pretty much ended up like a kit, so I may as well make the models available to everyone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 Glad you like it! The Mk2 will be on Shapeways, but only once I've built one to make sure it all fits together properly. It will be available in two parts, body and chassis, designed to work with specific gears, wheels and motor but will probably work with other ones with a few modifications. I can also put the more industrial-style Mk1 body on if anyone requests it, which should fit on a modified Hornby 0-4-0 chassis (but I don't have a spare chassis to confirm that with, as mine has a different motor and gearbox). I didn't intend this to be a 'product' when I started out, but I kept adding bits to the CAD to make my life easier later on, to the extent that it has pretty much ended up like a kit, so I may as well make the models available to everyone. Is that a home made gear train on the chassis or is it available commercially? If home made what components did you use please? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 Is that a home made gear train on the chassis or is it available commercially? If home made what components did you use please? It's very much home made, not the best engineering I've ever done... The components are a cheap motor and a pack of multiple sizes of gear, total cost about £3, plus some aluminium sheet and a lot of bodging to get it all to work properly. More info available on this blog post. The video doesn't really do it justice as anything filmed in 18fps will look terrible. I'm deliberately being vague about the specific components, as sellers seem to come and go on eBay - search '12v dual shaft motor' and 'module 0.5 gears' and you'll find similar things. The Mk2 shunter has a much better set of gears on order and the gearbox will form part of the chassis so will be far more precise - I'm working on that at the moment and it will be posted in this thread. I've been thinking of making a proper re-gearing kit for the Hornby 0-4-0 using a 3D printed gearbox and brass gears, but I've got a few other things to get on with before that Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 Working on motorising the Mk2 today. I had a motor and gearset in mind and I wanted to have the option of fitting a flywheel, useful if the short 0-4-0 wheelbase loses electrical contact with the track. Fortunately, the body is reasonably roomy, so I've modelled it with the biggest flywheel I could find, a 17mmx12mm one from Roxey. The second image without the motor shows the pickup arrangements, one on top and one underneath, which will be the DCC concepts wiper pickups to save me faffing around with phosphor bronze strip. These also have holes to bolt onto the chassis, hopefully making assembly easier. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR18901910 Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Can we please see a video of it running and in action? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Can we please see a video of it running and in action? I don't actually have any track at my student house, so I can't test it now, but there is a video of the mk1 chassis running on my blog, there's a link on post #19 in this thread. It doesn't run great as it is so light - the Mk2 will be a much better runner as I've allowed space for a flywheel and lots of ballast inside the body and I'll upload a test once it's built. The build progress will be in this thread, I'm just waiting for the gears to arrive so I can make sure the CAD gearbox is the right size, then I can put in the Shapeways order and get on with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Mk1 finished! In sort-of SR black (no-one makes the word Southern small enough to fit on the sides!). Still needs grille mesh though. The photos aren't too flattering, though bear in mind it is several times life size... 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 Gears arrived today for the Mk2 - in miniature! It's a bit of a gamble using such small gears, but I need a gear with a 3mm hole to work with the Hornby axles, plus it gives me a reasonably slow 1:60 ratio. CAD model just needs to be adjusted for their size, then I can print. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboSnail Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 Body and Chassis prints are now on order, £13 for the body and £10 for the chassis. I had a look at a couple of companies, but ended up using Shapeways, as theirs was £23 with the extended production discount, compared to £36 from iMaterialise. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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