rue_d_etropal

I agree, but given other grey link ups between the companies then , even sharing same 3d scans would make sense. There is nothing wrong with working together. Hornby and Jouef, before being taken over, collaborated on the original model for Eurostar, and it was made I think by Mehano initially.

One thing that has struck me is whether this is another grey area colaberation with Hornby. A couple of years ago I notice Thomas items being sold under Marklin name, with Marklin chasis. Then the batrer train sets were launched in UK from Hornby. Now with it being the centenary of Flying Scotsman loco, we have a version from Marklin. These days a good start to designing a new model in a different scale, would be work done in design for model in another scale, so has there been some collaboration. Another interesting fact is that I seem to remember Marklin own LGB, so have a big interest in garden railway market. The other big player in this field in I think owned by Bachmann. Just thinking. Nothing wrong in companies working together though. And I would not be surprised to see the American tour version, as maybe the Australian one.

The original question here concerned sourcing STL files. Some good idea, most have been heard before. Question is how much are people prepared to pay for an STL file? Obviously that depends on what it is, but they'd start with a coach body. How much would you pay?

100 x1000 = 100,000 not 10,000 And given how many designs I have and how many people are actually ordering models then I do believe I am correct on valuation. In fact probably undervalued. That sort of money would only fill a small sized model railway shop, and I know having run a model railway shop a few year ago.

I posted a while back that I was considering offering my collection of designs to a group , for what I consider a reasonable price. There is definitely a market for model railway designs. I have been involved in the design side for about 10 years, and am looking to retire properly. I agree with the sentiment that someone comes up with a god idea, but then expects someone else to set it up and run it. A bit like those who grumble about fewer model railway shops, but could get together with others and actually set one up themselves(co-op?). I have enough designs in many different scales which could set up a group nicely. My worry is that nothing wil happen and eventually my designs are lost, which is another reason I am looking for a group to take them on. Given that many r2r oo and n gauge locos have broken the £200 mark, then 1000 modellers putting the equivalent of half that in the kitty, would be enough. Only thing then would be finding someone to organise it.

That has always been the case and something Chris Ward wrote about in one magazine article. His main business was I think prototype modelling, and for that you can charge a lot more and you are less concerned about print time. I think there will come a time when big commercial companies want to stop their own STL files being copied. Might be be a while yet. For most people doing design work they would not get anywhere. You might get lucky, but even threatening to take to court would get ignored, especially if it is someone the other side of the planet. I think there is also an attitude similar to that in IT world where ideas(in effect coding) is shared. That is how most people learnt and improved in my time. Companies realised only alternative might be to spend a lot more money on training. It made those I worked with highly flexible as well.Much of the coding on the internet is shared, often in effect given away. This some wanting to do 3d printing expect STL files to be available free.

I think there will come a time when big commercial companies want to stop their own STL files being copied. Might be be a while yet. For most people doing design work they would not get anywhere. You might get lucky, but even threatening to take to court would get ignored, especially if it is someone the other side of the planet. I think there is also an attitude similar to that in IT world where ideas(in effect coding) is shared. That is how most people learnt and improved in my time. Companies realised only alternative might be to spend a lot more money on training. It made those I worked with highly flexible as well.Much of the coding on the internet is shared, often in effect given away. This some wanting to do 3d printing expect STL files to be available free.

For most people doing design work they would not get anywhere. You might get lucky, but even threatening to take to court would get ignored, especially if it is someone the other side of the planet. I think there is also an attitude similar to that in IT world where ideas(in effect coding) is shared. That is how most people learnt and improved in my time. Companies realised only alternative might be to spend a lot more money on training. It made those I worked with highly flexible as well.Much of the coding on the internet is shared, often in effect given away. This some wanting to do 3d printing expect STL files to be available free.

And then stop passing files on to others? In the same way e-magazines can only be downloaded to use on specific readers, there needs to be some way to combine printing software and STL files.

Just to add to what Mike says. Shapeways offer a potential worldwide customer base, which would be very be difficult for an individual to set up and maintain. Shapeways was set up with help from Phillips and their extensive knowledge on world wide trading. I think that is one reason for having USA processing in the USA as there can be a lot of extra financial hoops to jump through,(eg insurance) if you manufacture and sell to USA customers. There has been some discussion on this forum about this concerning British companies not being prepared to sell to USA customers, directly or indirectly. Similar issues could also arise selling copies of STL files. Often people quietly forget about this, as some also do using software not licenced for commercial use, until problems arise and the financial penalties can be very high. It is possible to make STL files available to download via Shapeways, but only for free. If Shapeways were to have facility to allow downloads for a payment then that would be something I might consider. I suspect they have considered it but found there were risks. What is required is someway to only make downloads available to the person who downloads them. There are rumours that this can be done, but I have not found anything official.

One advantage I have is that I can actually see what sells, and there does seem to be an appetite for models of real coaches. There also seems to be interest in freelance coaches produced in various railway colours, but how much of that is for modellers and how much is for collectors is difficult to calculate. Not everyone wants to assemble a kit or modify a set of parts, but there has always been a large number of modellers who are prepared to adapt, repaint or finish off models. Mainly in the past as there was no option, especially for those who don't feel competent enough to assemble a kit. My approach to design is to find a middle ground which helps people start and also gives them the fulfillment of finishing something. Next step is for more people to do home printing, but learning curve for 3d CAD is steep. I am still learning, and it is that that keeps me going as much as anything.

Not sure about this one, but a number of my designs have been featured in magazine articles. As I have done designs in wide range of scales, I can see which scales are best value. Unfortunately Oo Scale often looks relatively expensive as price is based partly on space used and a lot of space is wasted. Also Oo is right at limit for many home printers, although I have come across some people with modified printers that can print a G1 coach in one piece. I think there is a big market for STL downloads but I would prefer to leave the handling of that to others.

At the moment there is no easy way to set up to sell STL files, securely. This is reason I would like a group to take over. With so many different scales ideally a combination of different groups and societies. Only downside would be probable discontinuation of any new designs, as this seems to often be the case when established ranges are taken over, unless there is actually someone willing to do design work.

I think there are a few offers around. This one has also been extended by a day as it has been popular Had a couple direct to because of my own e-shop being highlighted. This one has been done for my designs. SPECIAL OFFER from ShapewaysTo celebrate the upcoming holiday season, we’ve created an offer for this Shapeways Marketplace shop. When you spend $200 at this shop, you will receive free shipping (including international). You can enter 21FREESHIP at checkout for free shipping from now until December 31st. My only quarm is that they asked me to add this to my e-shop, when I would have thought it possible to have something set up in their software to automatically add it to header when my designs were viewed.

I was talking to someone about security recently, and they said there was a way of adding a (random?) I'd code to a print file so that it could not be copied of passed on to anyone else. I have asked about this type of idea before but this was the first time someone said it was already an option. Having said that I would still prefer to go down the route I have suggested. Apart from the work involved and the fact I hope to be around for a while, I am passed retirement age, and if I was to go suddenly , my designs might be lost forever and I also have other plans, not related to model railways directly. What I have noticed is designers having a particular interest, subject or scale, but then get asked to offer either new designs or do resizing. This happened to me , and actually opened doors for me and helped me improve my designs and make them easier to modify . The problem is that this means my collection spans a wide range of interest, and suspect anyone interested in on part is not interested in other parts, in particular scale. This is why I suggested the various specialist scale societies got together and took over the complete range. As to how they then split it up would be up to them. One reason I went with Shapeways was its history, in particular the way it started with help from Phillips. The history of Phillips is fascinating and they made decisions about how to work globally. I think this might be one reason why there are production based in USA as otherwise there might have been tricky trading rules, something some in our hobby forget about, but then grumble that there are extra charges etc. Unfortunately every country is very protective of its own markets but still wants it to be easy to export to other countries, and it is not getting easier. Now I am thinking of contacting various publications with my ideas for future of my collection of designs.

When I first got started in 3d printing design, it was suggested to me that within a very short time there would be a 3d print facility on every high street, like there used to be photo printing shops. That has not happened, and may still be a way off, but I keep seeing people here either asking for design help or actual designs to print off. Granted there are a lot of designs available free to download, but who is going to spend a lot of time doing a lot of designs, just to give them away. It needs a bit more overall management, and maybe either a new group or some of the existing specialist groups to take control. By this I mean either designing or be buying up designs . I am prepared to offer such a group all of my designs , for a price, and then that group could then supply those designs to their members. I could then retire properly and get on with other projects.

I have not posted much here for a while. I am only really looking at designs where there are good drawings. If someone wants a design done, then I will only look at it if there is a drawing. If I don't have a drawing then I would ask for that person to send me one. Even then it needs to be a good drawing. Not trying to be difficult, just trying to make best use of my time, now I have reached retirement age .

Ok, just received another drawing. I included extra to cover what I thought should be new postage rates. New copy of list received. Cost per sheet seems to unchanged, but postage packing is now £5 per order. New list has a few extra drawings as well. Still no email or phone number so ordering outside UK might still be an issue with respect to costs.

I did order the drawing I wanted and it arrived ok. I do seem to remember that there was a note to say the price had gone up, possibly only postage, but can not now find that note. I want to order another print, but not sure what cost will be. Has anyone ordered prints this year?

A few years ago when Bachmann were in the process of releasing their Austerity 2-8-0 loco And it was several years in the process, I thought I could do what in effect Riddles did and combine an LMS 8F with an LNER tender and valve gear. It would be tender drive as well. No having to play around getting loco gearing to work.When I finished it, I wrote to BRM with letter titled Recipe for an Austerity. Now not only did I have an Austerity ahead if when Bachmann actually got theirs into the shops, but it could pull a decent length train, in particular round (still quote large radius) curves on out club layout, when it would require two loco driven locos to pull similar train. As far as I was concerned, having tender drive actually improved the model as it could be worked the way it should. After conversation from a well known model shop owner in on outskirts of Manchester, I was even not so bothered about retaining 8F wheels on loco,as some Austerities were fitted with them. So forget the argument about tender drive, if it bothers some then they can fit loco drive themselves. Also for tender drive, suggest contacting Mark at Locos n Stuff as he can produce a suitable 12mm gauge unit to fit most tenders.

Thanks for ordering. Plan is to resize other designs, but some designs are old and need more care to modify. The nostalgia approach might work for those who actually remember it, but even I am too young to remember when TT was riding the waves and I officially enter retirement phase of my life in a few weeks time.

I was surprised they chose a class 31. S class 47 might have been better, as at least some of those were used on construction trains in France, do increasing potential market. A class 20 would also have a French market. An Austerity tank would be useful, and those were also used on the continent. Two them were used on the Peugeot internal railway, with what also looked like British wagons. 3d printing is way forward. I am adding the scale to all my new designs and also workng through my existing collection. Just completed resized designs for standard 16 ton coal trucks, 3 different types, as well as a 9ft and 10ft chassis. In this small size only offering finer grade plastic. Details on my website.

I think it is part of marketing for new Peco track, which will probably sell more to continental modellers than British ones. Nothing wrong in Peco doing the track, as probably a market for it, and it does seem to introduce a new rail profile , proper code 55, suggesting other changes in the future. It is also a lot easier to model 3mm scale these days thanks to wargaming 15mm which at 1/100 scale is close enough, and there is a very big range of buildings, both resin and lazer cut kits, and accessories available. Some of it would easily suit British modellers, and is not expensive. Easy to find online.

Yes it was a commission , might be something in archives. My point is that I have not come across anyone looking for British TT120 until Peco announce they are doing the track, which is more likely to appeal to Continental TT modellers. One of the big problems facing us here is that with smaller loading gauge it is difficult finding HO chassis to fit British models, and this will also be a problem for anyone thinking of doing TT120. I get that question often with my own designs, but I will still add TT120 to scales for my designs. Starting with new designs.

I did wonder. That hurts even more given that Heljan originally planned to do British HO but backed down because they did not think there was a market. Not sure how big market for British TT120 is.