The Great Bear

Thanks, but it's not that. FYI for a resin printer the numbers of layers depends on the height of the model (including the supports as the model is at an angle dangling down from the build plate as it lifts out of the resin vat) and on the layer height (in this case 50 microns) . For all the prints I've done of the loco I've gone for the 50 micron layer height to try and get smooth surface and better detail. There are around 2300 layers in the print which then takes around 12 hours to print. (More modern printers with a mono LCD screen and rapid resins would do it faster.) The exposure time per layer depends on the printer, the resin and the layer height.

Hi there On many of my prints I get random hoziontal lines aligned with the layers, varying in spacing and severity. Some prints are ok, but many aren't with similar print orientation and support density. I can't pin down why some are afflicted and some aren't. In hindsight keeping a systematic record of variable like resin, exposure, print orientation etc would have helped! I don't think it's a temperature issue as the resin was warmed prior to the print and the printer enclosure has a heater in it. My printer is 5 years old, Phrozen Shuffle XL and is rather battered as it's been taked apart several times recently replacing the stepper motor as original one got jammed from a resin spill and then lcd replacement. I recalibrated the z axis after fitting the new lcd. The FEP is only a couple of prints old. Any suggestions as to the cause and solution would be much appreciated as I've got a growing pile of nearly there but not quite prints.

Been a while since I gave an update on progress. Some major problems with the printer, firstly a resin spill which managed to get into the stepper motor for the z axis so I had to replace the motor. Then I managed to damage the lcd screen. As my printer is ancient, 5 years old, I had to get replacement screen from Ebay, arrived in 2 weeks from China. Meanwhile I kept on thinking I could add more bits and pieces and kept on noticing things in photos to take account of eg the washout plugs, the top row at least aren't level. Here's where it's got to... Getting the rear of the body to sit down low enough was a bit of a challenge, ending up shaving bits off the casing of the Ringfield motor as the body shell over the firebox top was already pretty thin. Printing the reversing rod was ambitious and it was difficult to get to it to print straight, thickening it up and some supports and also some props to the firebox you can just make out in this angle sorted that. I wasn't originally going to do the cab interior just use whitemetal detailing bits but then I got carried away... As this is the end which is printed first all the details hanging down need supports, so it is a bit hit and miss whether they survive or not and the density of the supports means careful removal isn't possible. This one part of the regulator lever and one handle on the reverser were the victims. Most of the pipework is a tad oversized and also filled in the gap to the backhead to help them stay intact. This print isn't perfect, there is some banding in line with the printing layers variable in spacing and severity. I get that in many of my prints can't work out why as some of the earlier prints of this model were ok. A more structured approach keeping track of variables (resin, exposure, orientation, supports etc) would have helped. Whilst not perfect I think I'll run with this one and add things like handrail knobs to see if my allowance for these worked.

Thanks, I had same idea. Having damaged (in a fit of rage!) my original 72xx - which wasn't runnign well, terrible pick up perhaps not helped by a hamfisted attempt to fit the Brassmasters detailing parts - I was hoping to swap with a new chassis. Maybe a bit of surgery on the body might do the trick or I'll have to try and repair the one I "dropped".

Is difference between the 72xx Hornby models with the curved/raised footplate and those with the square one solely in the bodyshell or is the chassis, cylinders and the motion bracket different too? I'm stuggling to tell from photos of models,

Lanarkshire Model Supplies do/did the GWR short buffer stop for bay platforms their reference BS14. Comes with web page unavailable when click on that today, however.

What's the small brass cylinrical thing on the running plate on the fireman's side by the front spasher?

Looking at photos some more I think the shorter front dropped section rebuilt when outside steam pipes were added only applies to the Court series.

As someone who struggles (well, indeed, has given up) with the fiddlyness of fitting the lenses to the Modelu lamps, I'll have to give this a go. You've probably mentioned it and I've missed it but do you do the same with the headlamps, any colour behind the varnish "lens"?

Thanks, Russ. There's 2 versions of the curved front original where start of the drop is tight to the cylinders vs revised with outsdie steam pipes where there is a gap. But, looking at the photos again it looks like I've pushed it a bit too far forward I, too much of a gap. Having just found this photo which is pretty much dead side on, I'll have another look. Similarly, I think you're right my steam pipes are a tad short. I didn't have any drawings of them, positioning or size. (I've drawn at 8.5" outside diameter.)

Some photos taken a while back of my "Pseudo Saint", an Ebay purchase of a Hornby Bachmann-bash, here paired with a couple of my home brew coaches. In the past month I've been playing around to upgrade this loco, putting a more accurate body onto it, details here.

Thanks for the compliments and encouragement, John. The mogul is a good loco, and was in my opnion a great choice for Dapol to do, being so commonplace. I have another (of the first batch) in a box somewhere to relivery from BR black to GWR wartime black.

Many years back from Ebay I bought this loco, an approximation of a Saint. It looks like it is a combination of a Bachmann Hall boiler/running plate, a modified old Hornby Castle chassis (the Ringfield motor type) and a scratchbuilt cab. I renamed it to Bilbury Court, as a Leamington loco that was a regular in my Oxfordshire patch of the GWR. The incorrect height of the boiler of course means it doesn't look like a Saint at closer inspection, not helped by the over long steam pipes I added. The wheels of the old Hornby Castle are undersize due to the chassis being shared with the Hawksworth County though this is made a bit less obvious by the smaller splashers from the Bachmann Hall. The chassis ran pretty well so I thought I would fire up the 3d printer and have a go at coming up with a better body. (Sorting out the wheel size too difficult for me for now!) Here's progress from a few days back. I have gone for a Court series one, probably staying as Bilbury Court. As my layout is post war, this one has short safety valve bonnet and outside steam pipes. I got dimensions from a GA drawing in a GWRJ and I bought a couple of drawings, including the No.1 boiler, including the No.1 boiler, from HMRS. The David Maidmont book has also proved valuable, lots of good photos and I've just remembered this Smugmug site. Niggles are the cab footsteps, break too easily and the dropped section at the front warping upward when curing, not too bad in this attempt. A few marks on the print as well, possibly due to the FEP being worn some marks on that. A few questions, if I may (there'll be more I expect) - Any idea what the size of the washout holes on the boiler are, possibly I've made these a bit small? - What is the thing in the centre of the curved section of running plate under the smokebox? - As a loco with outside steam pipes and rebuilt front end I read somewhere on RMWeb that the dropped section of the front end is further forward and a tad shorter, is that right? I think I can see that in photos but had to guestimate the dimensions as the drawings I have show the original without outside steam pipes. Hopefully what I've come up with so far is not too far amiss? I've done a bit more work since adding more detail. In doing that I also realised that the centre splasher on the fireman's side is wider due to the reversing rod. More to follow soon. All the best Jon

Some shots of a 43xx, this one being the most recent Dapol release, on a goods train. Taking photos as often reveals niggles. I used tracklay foam under the tracks whch with the thin C+L sleepers made ballasting really easy and neat. I used the same foam for the areas between tracks and cess too. Gaps have opened up, I have since filled most of these using normal diluted pva glue method. I've also sprinkled some ballast, filled gaps around the signal bases. Should have cleaned the dust off the van...

I like the pattern, the wear effect you've achieved. Can I ask how you did that, some filter? I've got Photoshop but I haven't found a convincing effect for canvas sides on a wagon.