The Great Bear

Some back of the fag pocket costs: Typical length of bridge over hs2 - say 60m Width between parapets no cycling faciltites - 7.3m carriageway + 2 x 2m verges = 11.3m Deck area - 678m2 Bridge works cost - say £2700/m2 Cost = £1.83m Width between paraperts with cycling facilities = 2m verge + 7.3m carriageway + 1.5m separation to cycletrack + 3.5m combined cycletrack/footpath + 0.5m allowance for edge shyness = 14.8m So extra width = 3.5m Extra bridge cost = £0.567m Now that's just the cost of the physical works. To get a total budget cost say multiply by 2 (it can be more, probably is on hs2!) so thats £1.13m for the bridge alone. Add in a bit for the extra earthworks and bits and bobs either side so you're looking at £1.2m extra per bridge crossing or thereaouts. Now on a project this size even with well over 100 bridges I'd guess arguably that's not significant but neither would I say it's "minimal". I

Could you care to explain, please? Having spent he last 2 years working on a £500m plus road scheme with a BCR betweeen 3 and 4 that comes as a surprise.

Sublime modelling, Mikkel...

Second the above! The video with all its different view points along the layout also shows how well you've integrated it into the rolling model landscape and backscene with a bit of depth, due to the 2mm scale. The lane (?) and hedges behind the station at the join is neat

John Now I have had chance to look at your toplight pictures on the pc, blimey your painting is very very neat, the droplights and bollections look perfect. If only I could print remotely neatly as that! I'd love to see what you could do with one of my nascent coach kits, my painting and liing rather lets them down. I'd also say that even with the glitch in the GWR transfers being oversized I'd say your Toplights look better than the adjacent Hornby Collet. Fab. All the best Jon

Thank you. I've just had a play with Shapeways for a D56 brake third using that approach. Interesting... First, whole body and roof done in Smooth Fine Detail Plastic A whopping £91.85! Now, using your approach... Sides and ends in Smooth Fine Detail Plastic £30.62 (which bizarely is cheaper than the White Natural Versitile Plastic at £39.02) Roof in White Natural Versitile Plastic £12.65 So £43.62, less than half the price of doing whole thing in Smooth Fine Detail Plastic (FUD was a lot quicker to write!) So for doing stuff in Shapeways this seems a neat approach. I had shyed away from printing with shapeways for the recent coaches because the light sanding needed even with the Smooth Fine Detail Plastic was a pain with a paneled coach. For the smooth sided Multibar Toplights this isn't an issue of course. Just need to crack a more efficient way of doing the underframe and interior if doing via Shapeways... Once again thanks Jon .

Very, very nice, John. Your painting is really neat. I may try your trick with masking tape for whatever next coach I try - though using HMRS pressifx transfers my issue is getting them straight! All the best Jon

On and off over the last few months I've been getting to grips with Autodesk Fusion 360. Very different from Autocad that I'm used to, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it... My plan is to use this software for coach designs moving forward, well, fingers crossed... I also got another test print, this time only part of a coach, from the Photocentric printer mentioned above, this time at 50 micron layer and in a hard resin. The grooves on the door ventilators have come out on this print but that apart the finish isn't discenably better than the 100 micron print. The edges of the panelling are still a bit "soft". If I'd seent this print back in January or even compared with the Shapeways FUD I think I'd be convinced, but not after seeing what can be done after getting the 3d hubs print. So more thinking...

I've used Sculpteo a fair bit. One thing to note is their shipping cost is a lot more than Shapeways £11 or so. Otherwise no discernible difference in service than Shapeways really

Very nice, especially the one looking down the station access road.

Not tried that option. I wonder how it compares to the HP Jet Fusion, that's done on slightly bigger layers 80 micron I think. As you say, Sculpteo are a lot more affordable for the HP material, little more than their normal SLS nylon service I think. The HP material has benefit of slightly thinner wall thickness requirements I think.

How true, not forgetting a Saint, arguably one of the most seminal of all loco classes, for which there isn't even the Airfix/Mainline models only a lame adaption of the Triang Hall.

Here's the D45 coach as above in an up stopping train, hauled by a Dukedog:

My latest coach builds. A C32 "Multibar" Toplight 3rd and a D45 "Bars I" Toplight Brake 3rd (I am a bit confused with the diagrams of some of the coaches based on Russell, especially those that were used for Ambulance trains.) My painting and lining is still not great but slowly improving with practise. The C32 was done by 3d hubs as before, the D45 was a sample I got done by Photocentric a UK manufacturer of printers to see what their HR2 printer could produce.

Here's the completed D45: Once again the basic model rather let down by my finishing, in particular applying the lining transfers (HMRS Pressfix) - in particular on the paneled coaches where it runs along the ribs Practise makes perfect I suppose but any tips gratefully received... The commode grab handles in brass by Shapeways look good on the coach I think.

My latest experiment, door T-handles in brass, again by Shapeways. They had to be rather oversized to get them to print so I am not sure how they'll look on a coach. (I know 247 Developments do turned brass handles so may try those too.) Not the easiest things to get a clear photograph!

When I had a power cab before upgrading I used a different power supply, from Maplin I think, to deliver a bit more voltage.

Not sure if this is the kind of thing you have in mind?

Oh yes. I was referring to coming off the Midland Mainline platforms. Going the other way I use the lift, cuts some of the mall, that's what I do, anyway; I'm a lazy so and so so wouldn't walk further than necessary!

Or turn left and use underpass to Kings Cross, might be easier?

You should be able to reverse direction with one of the CV values

https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/how-design-parts-sla-3d-printing This suggests you want to keep the z axis cross-sectional area to minimise peeling forces, which answers why to not print horizontally (if it would fit); is it support for the model that points against doing it vertically, in that the model has to support it's own weight whereas at an angle it can be shared with supports? A lot to learn! I'm also wondering whether the hardness of the resin has an effect on the detail resolution and the rounding in the edges of the panelling, the stuff from 3d hubs was hard, whereas the one I got done was in a firm resin, so had some flex in it. The ventilator grooves were 0.016m deep full size so .21mm in the model, so not so fine as to be beyond printers' resolution; they are just about visible but a bit more would be better.

Thanks, so if I'm interpreting the photos correctly based on the above the model was printed at around 30 degrees off vertical?

I don't know how much room around each part would be needed or is advisable but roughly if the body and interiror rounded up with a bit to spare were 40mm x 40mm x 250mm and the underframe 40mm x 20mm x 250mm that would give an 80mm x 60mm footprint but that may well be too tight? Other issue is that to do a 70' coach that would need 300mm height or you angle it across the build envelope, which would have worked with the Photocentric HR2 one. I suppose another approach would a smaller (higher resolution) printer and print in halves! With the daylight resin I think in theory you can join bits together before they are cured. But not convinced this would work accurately or reliably enough!

The Kudo 3d is nearest to the above but at or above upper bound of pricing. Suspect one has to add duty / vat on the price. Combination of the specs of photocentrics LC precision 1.5 and HR2 would fit the bill. A larger build volume in the xy plane would allow multiple bodies and parts to be printed at once, bear in mind each of my designs has three parts.