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Hello fellow modellers, designers and printerers!

 

This is my first post onto this forum (or any!) after much prompting by my good friend Jack P - please visit his workbench as he has been key to my railway modelling revival so I can't thank him enough.

 

So the story goes that I discovered the joys and wonders of CAD a few years ago while at uni, which led me to the 3D printing laboratory and from that point I got hooked on the process. Day and night was spent there, until one day I decided to have a crack at a loco. I was lucky enough to have access to a FormLabs Form 2, and thus the SECR J was the first to come off the printer. Having designed it on an old Airfix Prairie chassis and off eyeballing online pictures only, the proportions are all over the shop and especially due to the giant motor, topped off by my appalling paintwork......

 

IMG_20191215_230527.jpg.90b782af208d1ee2d5ee94d19940fbae.jpg

 

I thought I could do better than that so I had a look at some other prototypes and the LBSCR K had always stood out, so I had a go at that. The large parts were done on an Ultimaker 3 with the detail again on the Form. The Airfix Prairie chassis was chosen once again and seemed to suit an awful lot better! But the paintwork needed some better skills, which is where Jack P joined the party and finished it off for me - the alliance was born! He's done an amazing job as you can see below.

 

IMG_20191215_230730.jpg.154421967a2ca5bd2ef5c7a3ab27d194.jpgIMG_20191215_230634.jpg.f1a1ada0306777c89b14aa86c52af171.jpg

 

So what's next on the list? There is a LBSCR J1 on a custom 3D printed chassis at the ready-to-print stage, hoping this can be printed fully in resin somehow. Also I have started work on the LBSCR Director's Saloon (as on the Bluebell) in its SR modified state with gangways (screens of both to follow!). I'm again hoping for full resin but its still in its infancy, particularly because uni is now a thing of the past so no more free printing, and I do CAD for a living for the big railway so I tend to favour other things in my free time. But slow progress is better than no progress - I have a small list of other prototypes I would like to have a crack at currently standing in no particular order at:

 

A better LBSCR K,

LBSCR B4x

LBSCR D3

LBSCR C2x

LSWR H16

Some other stuff?

 

So the big questions to the crowd and for this relative newbie: how does one go about finding resources to produce accurate CAD models? Where does one find reliable GAs? Also, are people interested in these models for themselves, in some form or another?

 

The project taking up all my time is in fact a DC electronic signalling system, which can protect blocks, operate signals, read points, ramp up and down the speed range accordingly, all automatically into one PCB (per signal that is). Spurred on by another friends' building of a layout I thought this needs some investigation. I have a proven working custom IR track sensor in hand, and initial simulation testing is promising - I have some good confidence it could work so far! Might I need a separate thread for this? Do you think this is a practical system, given some vast wiring required too?

 

Anyway that's my introduction, thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing some thoughts!

 

BrightonBoi

Edited by BrightonBoi
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BB, Is it your intention to market these to the public? I had followed the 'K' on Jack P's thread and it looks very good. I am at present trying to revive a 30-odd y.o. kit-build of a K's K, your print looks very good in comparison.

cheers from Oz,

Peter C.

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Very impressive for first efforts. For drawings you could use back issues of a number of model railway mags such as RM (as above) and Model Railway Constructor. As you seem to be favouring Southern prototypes keep a look out for J H Russell's 'A Pictorial Record of Southern Locomotives'.  

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I shall be following with a lot of interest!

 

Regarding drawings, I can probably rustle up a D3 for you. That said, Golden Arrow do a very good one of these already.

 

As for the H16, any chance of doing a version for a Hornby S15 chassis? I have one of these set aside already and intended doing my own CAD for it.

 

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8 hours ago, sem34090 said:

As for the H16, any chance of doing a version for a Hornby S15 chassis? I have one of these set aside already and intended doing my own CAD for it.

 

 

So does he ;)

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Great to see such a positive reception so far! I'll have a look out for some of those books, seems like a favoured resource.

 

I am hoping to release some of these designs to the public at some point long-term but I know little about how to go about that. So far I know that ShapeWays is incredibly expensive, open-source requires people to have their own printers, so what's left? Perhaps a look at other companies, or even buy a printer and operate a business out of my bedroom! I'm certainly up for suggestions in this area.

 

10 hours ago, sem34090 said:

Regarding drawings, I can probably rustle up a D3 for you. That said, Golden Arrow do a very good one of these already.

 

As for the H16, any chance of doing a version for a Hornby S15 chassis? I have one of these set aside already and intended doing my own CAD for it.

 

 

As Jack has rightly pointed out, I had exactly the same idea! Building on an existing chassis does seem to be easier, but my major stumbling block with the H16 is correcting the expansion link bracket. The S15 chassis holds the motion up with some tiny plastic push-fit sleeves, so without gluing it to the new bracket it needs some thought.

 

I would absolutely appreciate some D3 drawings if you are happy to supply them, thank you. It may go up in the pile if so....

 

2 hours ago, Caley 439 said:

what CAD package do you use for your drawings? 

 

Short answer is, it depends :lol: I seem to be jumping between convenient licences: I started out in SolidWorks for the SECR J and K, moved to Fusion for the LBSCR J and the start of the Saloon, but after cloud issues I'm considering going to my work's package - Inventor. So that's up for debate.... Talking of the LBSCR J, here are some screens of it below. The Saloon will come when Fusion starts behaving :wacko:

 

Front.PNG.edeb16a7d97918322af74aeb4980c253.PNGSide.png.1956a751cc5bf890fc9a526cf2794de1.pngRear.png.3ddb859fb489e8aaee62bbcffc3d93bb.pngCab.PNG.34b6d7afa3a958e87300b6707f063043.PNG

 

The cab is a grey area, it was taken from a blurry image of a drawing of an L class cab, bodged into my K, and then into this J. I don't think there's anything accurate left in it! But Jack came up trumps and found some GAs of the outside so that's pretty good.

 

Enjoy! Thanks for the support so far.

 

BrightonBoi

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Hi Brighton Boi , loving your work so far ,especially the H16 to fit the  Hornby s15 chassis . Regarding  drawings , as well as  trainmad 98, there was a small booklet published  by a chap called LeLeux  sometime  ago listing all the drawings of locos, wagons, coaches  & all assorted railway items ,such as bridges,goods sheds, etc   in the pre 2000 model railway magazines- many of which I have  & will supply you with copies  if I have them. 

Keep up the Great work

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 05/01/2020 at 12:40, Javier L said:

Ive been very fortunate to be able to print the J1 by @BrightonBoi as part of one of his first works.

 

An overall excellent model by him! I cant wait to see what he comes out with in the future!

 

Cheers!

9CE82DF1-39AD-4FA1-8C7C-D499E1A13EEA.jpeg

0029D225-BFBC-44CE-80A8-CCAFAC017FCA.jpeg

Hi  Javier,I would be really interested  in as example  as well, if possible  and  what is the other loco  in the background? 

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  • 1 month later...

Hi there all! Apologies for the long silence, getting used to this forum thing is a challenge. I hope there isn't a requirement for regular updates here....

 

Thanks @Javier L for the great photos and amazing prints, and it's nice to see some interest too. This particular one is the first in existence so I would expect some bugs and issues to arise during completion. After any fixing and fettling then I would consider release the CAD files to those interested.

 

Aside from the K receiving tender pickups, unfortunately I have little else to update on right now. I have been on some CAD training so that should get the ball back rolling! Let's hope for some exciting progress to come, the list is ever growing....

 

One long term aim is to get a resin printer of my own, so what might be people's recommendations? Anycubic comes up a lot, but what about Prusa, or Photocentric? Is it worth coughing up for the higher end models? I've only got a little experience with Form 2 so I can't make much comparison myself.

 

Thanks all for the support! 'Til next time...

 

BrightonBoi

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  • 1 month later...

Hi @BrightonBoi, just stumbled across this topic -- fantastic work. The rivet detail in these is really impressive and the K looks very smart.

 

I'd definitely be another taker for the H16 -- like apparently everyone else, I've been mulling over scratch building a body and using a Hornby S15 chassis for a long time. The NRM hold a GA drawing for the H16 in their archives, if you weren't already aware.

 

Best of luck with it all and I hope we'll be seeing some more progress in due course.

 

Adam

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  • 8 months later...

Hi all!

 

What a year, apologies for the radio silence. I must do something about that.

 

Hot off the press though: I'm very pleased to say that the J1 is complete! And here she is in all her gleaming beauty. Safe to say it you can tell what it's suppose to be, at least.

 

IMG_20201227_223248.jpg.6984e4f7916bdd853b04c843147597e6.jpgIMG_20201227_223441.jpg.133c2c1fb20c2439f43f8d393bfa45d9.jpg

 

Its certainly a long way from being perfect, but its the best I can do so very pleased, after about a 4 month build. If people would like to see some photos of the build I'll put some up. I'm particularly happy with my only mildly wobbly lining - a first time ever attempt!

 

The printed chassis was the biggest problem as the axle holes didn't quite match up with the bought brass coupling rods. It runs great now after many days of fiddling, but how do people solve this one? We shan't mention that despite designing for 2nd radius, the radial axle box locks up and won't allow it - one to fix on a rainy lockdown-day along with all the other minor issues.

 

I am still thinking about releasing these designs in some form, however I'm well aware of the plethora of small problems, so for the moment I'll say that if anyone is interested in any way please DM me, but I have no printer of my own. To that I really owe my thanks to @Javier L for kindly supplying the prints and sending them circumnavigating the world a few times - a fantastic bloke with much advice and know-how.

 

What's next on the bench one might wonder? Well a SEF U chassis and smashed up Bachmann N have been bought inherited so it seems a mogul of some description is promising. Perhaps an aim for a U1 (drawings bought), depending on whether I can stomach build internal valve gear (and something with servos?), no promises as yet. Ambitious indeed. This looks like a considerably more conventional etch-style build so perhaps a better located thread is in order and let's hope you all see a bit more of it's progress.

 

Perhaps an updated list of intended projects would be nice:

SR U1 (Next in line - most major components in hand)

LSWR H16 (S15 chassis in hand)

LBSCR B4x

A better LBSCR K (Brass frames acquired)

SECR F1 (long term fantasy!)

LBSCR D3 (Cancelled - Chivers kit to be re-released?)

LBSCR C2x (Cancelled - Nucast kit arriving, apologies to those who were interested)

 

Thanks to all those who have helped out and contributed, and those who put up with these ramblings.

 

BrightonBoi

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Hi DrDuncan,

 

The majority of the cab roof measures 1.05mm thick, while the lips front and rear are 0.41mm thick.

 

IMG_20201229_174655.jpg.6fd750f037e77a759586ad67d9e3fb7e.jpg

 

This is the complete cab unit, one piece as printed and slots into place nicely. The difference in thickness lines up flush with the cab back sheet to blend in.

 

Unfortunately in my previous post it looks like this isn't sitting fully home in the model so is quite proud round the join lines.

 

Hope that helps.

 

BrightonBoi

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That looks great. It is a pity you are dropping the C2X it would have been just fine for me. I consider myself to be a bit ham fisted and the thought of ruining an expensive kit does put me off. However using a 3D print would suit me. Currently I am learning CAD and have a printer so 3D is the way I want to go. But I will want a K....

 

Keith

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My apologies Keith, I was also of a similar mindset. I've been assured that the Nucast C2x is a very simple and easy whitemetal build, whether there's any truth in that remains to be seen...

 

I'll revisit the C2x idea when a couple of harder-to-source models are crossed off, and there's enough interest. There's always a chance that another Brighton 0-6-0 tender loco makes it onto the list so a possibility to do a few at a time. For now, that may be some years away!

 

BrightonBoi

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Nucast kits are good - or were - and the comments about the revamped and re-released ones from the SEF/Branchlines partnership are also good.  So I’d consider any nucast (but not ex k’s) inside cylindered 0-6-0 with or without tender as being only a little more advanced than building a plastic kit.   Yes you may need to clean up castings, but you have to this on plastic kits too.  Use expoy or superglue and you don’t have to worry about soldering white metal.  The chassis might be more involved but build it ridged and that makes things much easier.  Ian Rice has done good books on building white metal locos and etched chassis construction that give lots of tips and also suggest designs  you should not buy!


Give it a go!

 

DrDuncan

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You make it sound easy Dr D!

 

I've stumbled through the lovely SEF whitemetal Billinton brake van (awaiting finishing) which I superglued together, much to the consternation of some. I would agree it was successful so I'll stick to the theory when I come to the C2x.

 

The warning over the chassis is noted indeed.... Let's see what arrives. The U1 chassis is in hand and ahead of the queue and rather more worryingly complicated! :wacko:

 

BrightonBoi

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  • 1 year later...
On 16/12/2019 at 00:44, BrightonBoi said:

Hello fellow modellers, designers and printerers!

 

This is my first post onto this forum (or any!) after much prompting by my good friend Jack P - please visit his workbench as he has been key to my railway modelling revival so I can't thank him enough.

 

So the story goes that I discovered the joys and wonders of CAD a few years ago while at uni, which led me to the 3D printing laboratory and from that point I got hooked on the process. Day and night was spent there, until one day I decided to have a crack at a loco. I was lucky enough to have access to a FormLabs Form 2, and thus the SECR J was the first to come off the printer. Having designed it on an old Airfix Prairie chassis and off eyeballing online pictures only, the proportions are all over the shop and especially due to the giant motor, topped off by my appalling paintwork......

 

IMG_20191215_230527.jpg.90b782af208d1ee2d5ee94d19940fbae.jpg

 

I thought I could do better than that so I had a look at some other prototypes and the LBSCR K had always stood out, so I had a go at that. The large parts were done on an Ultimaker 3 with the detail again on the Form. The Airfix Prairie chassis was chosen once again and seemed to suit an awful lot better! But the paintwork needed some better skills, which is where Jack P joined the party and finished it off for me - the alliance was born! He's done an amazing job as you can see below.

 

IMG_20191215_230730.jpg.154421967a2ca5bd2ef5c7a3ab27d194.jpgIMG_20191215_230634.jpg.f1a1ada0306777c89b14aa86c52af171.jpg

 

So what's next on the list? There is a LBSCR J1 on a custom 3D printed chassis at the ready-to-print stage, hoping this can be printed fully in resin somehow. Also I have started work on the LBSCR Director's Saloon (as on the Bluebell) in its SR modified state with gangways (screens of both to follow!). I'm again hoping for full resin but its still in its infancy, particularly because uni is now a thing of the past so no more free printing, and I do CAD for a living for the big railway so I tend to favour other things in my free time. But slow progress is better than no progress - I have a small list of other prototypes I would like to have a crack at currently standing in no particular order at:

 

A better LBSCR K,

LBSCR B4x

LBSCR D3

LBSCR C2x

LSWR H16

Some other stuff?

 

So the big questions to the crowd and for this relative newbie: how does one go about finding resources to produce accurate CAD models? Where does one find reliable GAs? Also, are people interested in these models for themselves, in some form or another?

 

The project taking up all my time is in fact a DC electronic signalling system, which can protect blocks, operate signals, read points, ramp up and down the speed range accordingly, all automatically into one PCB (per signal that is). Spurred on by another friends' building of a layout I thought this needs some investigation. I have a proven working custom IR track sensor in hand, and initial simulation testing is promising - I have some good confidence it could work so far! Might I need a separate thread for this? Do you think this is a practical system, given some vast wiring required too?

 

Anyway that's my introduction, thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing some thoughts!

 

BrightonBoi

Nice Mogul! Is there a chance of making one? I hope to do so myself. Also, what would I need to make it?

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