G1 laser cut Caledonian Grampian

[Beatty 139]

I have been completely rebuilding a new home from the ground up for the last 18 months so modelling has been very much on the back burner, unfortunately came down with a stinking cold that wasn't conducive to building works in winter, so I have had a few hours with the computer and Mike Williams excellent Caledonian Railway Carriages book, I have been meaning to get my head around building coaching stock for a while and other than some NPCS just haven't got around to it.

 

My though was to build some 45" stock but well why not be ambitious so this is the result from a couple of weekend work.

 

I first build 1 1/2 compartments to test my ideas

 

So far so good i though but to help with interior finishing I really wanted access to the interior, this is a problem as i would much prefer to fix the roof in position so I had some change of heart and made the floor removable with 8 M2.5 screws to fasten it in place.

in G1 a Grampian at 65' long really is big, another issue I had in the test section was the thickness of the sides getting a little out of hand some some changes in materials has brought this back closer to scale in total the sides are laminated from 7 layers of ply giving both interior and exterior details.

One of the last jobs was to test cut and engrave the windows these are in 1mm acrylic and have been engraved with the Caledonian's pattern of smoking signage.

I have some warm white LED's arrive today that will hopefully allow me make and fit the roof.

 

One of my last jobs to finish the body structure then will be the seats I kind of hope I can find someone to design this in 3D cad for the squab and back then get one printed and cast the rest in resin. I can see the buttoned texture of the seats, arm rests etc being quite a challenge especially as i only have a really basic knowledge of 3D design myself.

[Giles]

A remarkable fabrication job..... you must have a fair sized laser to get that length in!

 

Very nice job!

[Kelly]

Looking great:-)

[flubrush]

Nice one. :-)      As Giles says,  you must have access to a big laser cutter.    I've had the occasional thought about doing a Grampian in 1:32 scale but the length is the major consideration at just over two feet.   I machine my sides from sheet styrene and I've had to make my 48ft sides in three sections to get them to fit on my CNC machine.

 

 

This is the 48ft side...

 

 

...and this is a close up of one of the sections.    I've managed to machine the bolections in place.

 

I did this work last summer and other matters have put the project on the back burner.  Your excellent work has got the thought processes going again. :-)

 

Jim.

 

 

[Beatty 139]

Hi Jim

They might end up as a commercial product at some time in 1/32 but as I build live steam mainly all my personal modelling is in 10mm scale to match my loco's and I like to have stock to match. When I purchased my last laser I specifically acquired a machine that could produce coaching stock as a future option.

 

Your sides look very effective, both methods get away from the very flat sides of an etched coach that doesn't convey the depth of a real vehicle side profile.

[Beatty 139]

Been actively working on this on and off over the last couple of months to get this right, a new daughter arriving into the world has caused some delays as may be expected but following some commercial work another thought has come to mind so I will update once I have tested the next bright idea.