Modelu Figures & Component News

[PenrithBeacon]

David

 

I think the reason is cost,

 

Over the weekend I was next to a stand selling cast whitemetal figures, at 7 mm + the facial details hold fast, 4 mm apparently not as crisp as traditionally methods.

 

Next is cost, for figures the chap said 3D print the master and cast in whitemetal, both quicker and cheaper if you are talking about selling multiple items. However I must admit with Modelu 7 mm figures I would rather pay the higher cost as with people its a bit like cloning the real thing in miniature. Happy to pay the price for a premium product, which is light years away from the majority of 3D prints I have seen

 

The question is for £100+ for a high quality loco body and chassis, which I would change some of the parts plus buy wheels motor and gears, is this a good investment ?

I would imagine that cost is probably paramount, but a premium product might be worth it, particularly for those who find soldering a problem. Also much of the work is done without needing to do the cleaning up of FUD.

 

I suppose it really boils down to the question of marketing. Is there a place between RTR and etched kits and, if there is, which prototypes might fill it?

 

Some batches of etched kits take years to shift would a firm like Shapeways keep a low volume product on their site or would the designers have invest in stock like the etched kit suppliers do?

 

Regards

[justin1985]

I think that Alan's 3D printer either is, or is similar to, the B9 Creator, which as Chris said above fuses liquid resin using a process called DLP (digital light processing), whereas Shapeways FUD and most other widely available consumer 3D printers use FDM (fused deposition modelling) which is almost like an inkjet of resin, with a print head moving side to side, creating ridges and steps as it goes. There is a really useful comparison of the various very different 3D printing techniques here. 

 

There was a thread on the 3D Printing forum here from someone who had bought an B9 during the original Kickstarter phase and was printing some exquisite 2mm scale wagons and road vehicles etc with it, but it seemed to take a lot of tweaking. It looks like the most basic B9 model is around £6000 these days.

 

I don't know if the commercial bureaux tend to use the FDM methods because it might be easier to fill the full height as well as width and depth of a machine's bed with different models? i.e. one run of a machine by Shapeways might consist of many many different models jumbled together to make best use of the space within the machine's bed, and FDM, with its waxy "scaffolding" parts etc make that easier? Maybe? 

 

Justin

[Jol Wilkinson]

I would imagine that cost is probably paramount, but a premium product might be worth it, particularly for those who find soldering a problem. Also much of the work is done without needing to do the cleaning up of FUD.

 

I suppose it really boils down to the question of marketing. Is there a place between RTR and etched kits and, if there is, which prototypes might fill it?

 

Some batches of etched kits take years to shift would a firm like Shapeways keep a low volume product on their site or would the designers have invest in stock like the etched kit suppliers do?

 

Regards

 

One thing not usually appreciated about "traditional" kit manufacturing using etches or even cast white metal is that is can be done in small quantities. Volumes can be as low as just one off from an etch tool, producing two or three 4mm loco bodies.  So the kit manufacturer doesn't have to hold large stocks of one individual kit. Casting is a little more volume orientated as the moulds need "warming up" so it becomes worthwhile producing a small run, but that might only be five or ten kits.

 

So that's not so dissimilar to 3D printing, where items are produced as one offs.

[wamwig]

If anyone hasn't seen the latest Modelu instagram post, here is the picture showing the names of the new ranges due soon, looks like my wallet could be taking a big hit!!

Edited June 20, 2018 by wamwig

[Chuffed 1]

Looks like a lot of post-it notes in different colours to me!

[hayfield]

Be good if we could read it !!

[wamwig]

As I can read it;

 

Military WW1, Military WW2, Military Post War, Industrial era 1/2, Railway 1920s, Railway 1950-1960, Railway 1970-1990, Railway 1990 on, Town & Country pre 1930, Town & Country 1930-1960, Town & Country Modern, Industrial era 3, Pendon 1930, Details, Trade & Services pre 1960, Trade & Services 1970 on.

[Mike Storey]

As I can read it;

 

Military WW1, Military WW2, Military Post War, Industrial era 1/2, Railway 1920s, Railway 1950-1960, Railway 1970-1990, Railway 1990 on, Town & Country pre 1930, Town & Country 1930-1960, Town & Country Modern, Industrial era 3, Pendon 1930, Details, Trade & Services pre 1960, Trade & Services 1970 on.

 

That's a lot of people that will have to go look in the dressing up box.....

[BernardTPM]

That's a lot of people that will have to go look in the dressing up box.....

[sem34090]

With regards surface finish, I refer viewers to the Toplight thread in the 3D Printing section... this is the print as it arrived:

 

Now this was a resin print by a fellow named Ivan, in China, which I seem to remember cost in the region of £30-£40 in 4mm scale.

 

I think it's fair to say that is both cheaper than an etched kit and the surface finish is higher than a sizeable proportion of us would achieve in brass.

[Jol Wilkinson]

With regards surface finish, I refer viewers to the Toplight thread in the 3D Printing section... this is the print as it arrived:

 

 

I think it's fair to say that is both cheaper than an etched kit and the surface finish is higher than a sizeable proportion of us would achieve in brass.

 

You still need an underframe, bogies, etc. to finish the model, which would probably bring the price into the same area as etched kits. Separate commode handles would make painting and lining easier as shown in the thread your refer to, adding further to the price The photos in thread that also give a better indication of the finish of this 3D resin printed coach body, which is not up to the standard I would want or expect from an etched kit. it is also quite different to the finish Alan achieves with his Modelu products, possibly through using a different process and which doesn't yet seem cost effective for larger items.

 

And why would it be a better finish than you would achieve in brass/ Or do you mean you could build a better model from this 3D print (surface finish excepted) than you could by assembling an etched kit? 

[The Great Bear]

With regards surface finish, I refer viewers to the Toplight thread in the 3D Printing section... this is the print as it arrived:

 

 

I think it's fair to say that is both cheaper than an etched kit and the surface finish is higher than a sizeable proportion of us would achieve in brass.

 

 

You still need an underframe, bogies, etc. to finish the model, which would probably bring the price into the same area as etched kits. Separate commode handles would make painting and lining easier as shown in the thread your refer to, adding further to the price The photos in thread that also give a better indication of the finish of this 3D resin printed coach body, which is not up to the standard I would want or expect from an etched kit. it is also quite different to the finish Alan achieves with his Modelu products, possibly through using a different process and which doesn't yet seem cost effective for larger items.

 

And why would it be a better finish than you would achieve in brass/ Or do you mean you could build a better model from this 3D print (surface finish excepted) than you could by assembling an etched kit? 

 

 

As the creator of the model to you are referring I would agree with much of that. Yes, as it stands, totting up the cost of the 3d printed bits and other stuff to make a complete kit adds up to the same as a David Geen kit for instance. For me building a Geen kit to a standard worthy of the kit is beyond my skills and with at the time I started dabbling with the unavailability of the Slaters kits (now supposedly returning) I decided to dabble with 3d printing. I haven't seen in the flesh a completed Geen kit but I have no doubt one constructed well would beat my efforts. Notwithstanding that I would query the point about surface finish. The sides of the resin prints (not the early ones done in SLS nylon or Shapeways FUD) I have got have been smooth and I would imagine would compare near enough with brass. Yes on some there has been signs of banding in the coach ends but I wouldn't see that as being critical. 

 

Very much depends on what your looking for. For me and I suspect many other the limitation isn't the standard of the kit but the ability to neatly paint and line it.  Which I think  builds on sem34090's point.

 

I'm not sure comparing my coaches and printing for something 230mm long is comparable with things 1/20 of the size. It seems most consumer/small business (say £5k or under) SLA printing or similar machines can either offer the very finest of resolutions both in xy plane and layer height or a decent build volume. For the coaches you need the build volume and forgoing the very last bit of detail is a necessary compromise.

 

Enough of this - I was a bit surprised to see my coach in this thread as I'm not really sure of its relevance to what Alan does but I thought seeing as one of my models was being referred to I should comment.

Edited June 21, 2018 by The Great Bear

[The Ghost of IKB]

And now something completely different......

I've noticed there is a section for details for diesel locomotives on the modelu website. I was wondering if it would be possible and popular to produce replacement springs and axlebox sets for the Bachmann class 40. And maybe the other missing bogie details..?

I don't think I'd be the only person keen on getting some would I?

[Brocp]

And now something completely different......

I've noticed there is a section for details for diesel locomotives on the modelu website. I was wondering if it would be possible and popular to produce replacement springs and axlebox sets for the Bachmann class 40. And maybe the other missing bogie details..?

I don't think I'd be the only person keen on getting some would I?

Send Alan a email and ask. He has made bespoke details before that have gone on to the website as standard products

[PMP]

 

One of Modelu’s latest figures in 7mm scale, the figure is printed in a new material which is grey, and in due course all the figures will be printed in this material.

[AGR Model Store]

 

4MM Scale

[davefromacrossthepond]

Wow.  I don't know which I'm more impressed by . .   the models or the paint job.  Simply fantastic!

[Chris hndrsn]

I believe the visitors to Tracks To The Trenches this weekend will be spoilt with "WDLR" figures. The modelu3d website teases with WW1 tabs/dead links, to WDLR figures along with British Empire troops. I am looking forward to them being available online.

[wamwig]

Yes you can see some scans from Tracks to the Trenches on the Modelu Facebook page and their Instagram account.

Edited July 13, 2018 by wamwig

[Chris hndrsn]

The WW1 figures do look good

 

[wamwig]

The first WW1 figures are now on the Modelu website with the 'loco crews' above now becoming 'Sappers' as replacement loco crews have been scanned for future release.

[alanbuttler]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for being so patient with my drip feeding and teasing of new products on social media! As of the end of May I now have a new next generation B9 machine and an intern helping out 3 days a week, the results of which are approx 70 new figures ready to be released.  There is still much more to come and I'm in the process of changing the business from being less on the road and more in the workshop so I can keep the range growing and pushing the boundaries. 

 

The new machine prints around 3-5 times faster depending on the model and uses a high resolution grey material similar to ABS.  It does still have some challenges and some items are better suited to the red material printed on the original machines, in particular loco lamps and point rodding. I'm still testing what works and what doesn't, but the biggest change will be that all figures will now be produced on the new machine in grey resin.  Anyone who has placed orders in the last few weeks will have seen a few of these new grey figures making their way into packets.

 

I'm currently processing orders from Tracks to the Trenches and working through a backlog of commissions, but expect to see the new figures on the website this week.  When they are ready I'll post up the line ups, which will include:

 

- Approx 15 First World War Royal Engineers and WDLR Crews

- Approx 30 Industrial Crews and Workmen to suit early 20th and mid/late 20th century

- Approx 25 Pre-grouping Crews and Station Staff

- Approx 8 new 1950s/1960s station staff and shunters

 

The next steps will be to review my scan archive from the last 4 years of exhibitions and create a range of contemporary general public figures, with permission from the original scan customers.

[Chris hndrsn]

Alan,

 

I would like to include one of my great-grandfather's in a vignette on my layout. How do I get one of your reenactors (about 44 yrs old, RE Captain, slim, 5'10") to pose as though they have fallen of a motorbike at a dock at Houplines, France in 1917? I suspect the compound fracture of the thigh bone will dissuade most actors and I wouldn't be able to afford a commision with the motorbike, all the bone prosthetics, fake blood and torn uniform. Damn, I will have to cut up some of your other figures.

 

Cheers,

Chris

[flubrush]

The next steps will be to review my scan archive from the last 4 years of exhibitions and create a range of contemporary general public figures, with permission from the original scan customers.

 

Any hopes of the Caledonian/Stevens signal finial scanned at Bristol, 2017  :-)

 

Jim.

[JaymzHatstand]

The next steps will be to review my scan archive from the last 4 years of exhibitions and create a range of contemporary general public figures, with permission from the original scan customers.

Not wishing to try to force a rush, I've got plenty to be working on at the moment, but will that include people scanned at shows as loco crew etc? I was 'done' at Warley the other year and would love to be able to point people to where they could buy a miniature 'me'! Of course, I will be ordering a few more eventually as I have the reference, but it's nice to be available!

 

Cheers

 

J