alanbuttler

Hi Rob, I'll be testing them thoroughly over the summer, so realistically I hope to have some ready for Wells in August. I'm heading into another busy period so dev time is at a premium again! But seeing what Martin has done with the print samples I gave him is very encouraging! Cheers Alan

Thanks, will be printing a prototype one in 4mm today

Yes good point, I've found some dimensions online:

How's this look gents?

Larger Scales are here! Larger scales including G Scale and 16mm are now available across the whole product catalogue, including detailing components. All figures are printed in a tough grey resin. Prices start at £15 for Gauge 1, £26 for G Scale and £32 for 16mm. These 16mm painted models pictured below were commissioned for the Kent and North Wales Light railway and painted by the hugely talented Claudia Everett.

Yes, all are in the cards once I've nailed down how best to produce them :)

News Update - June 2019 Hi all, it's been a busy Spring with a lot of improvements made behind the scenes on workshop processes, communication and standardising products and packet sizes. We've launched a new website with a chat function where you can talk to me or other staff members when we are in the workshop. There is now also a new landline number (01743 340008). My small crew of staff are getting to grips with more complex tasks, freeing me up to get out and about working on new products and collaborations. New HD Resin B9 Creations have been developing a brand new resin designed specifically for model making. I've been beta testing the resin since March and it has outstanding model making potential. In particular its matt grey finish and outstanding material characteristics make it highly suited to figurines and details. I'll be using it as standard on all products to up 1/32nd scale from July. So far it doesn't exhibit the same brittleness of 3D printed resins and as a result I've been blowing the dust of many parked projects - platform lamps being one of them! N Gauge in particular looks exceptional. I'll post pictures when I'm back in the workshop next week and I'll have some stock at Warminster this weekend. This resin was first used at Pendon during Tim Shackleton's figure painting course, where I scan participants in the morning, before spending the rest of the day learning figure painting techniques. Thanks to the lightening speed of the B9 printer, I was able to scan, edit and print the participants so they had their figurines ready to paint after lunch. GWR Spark Arrestor Commissioned by Warren Shephard for his 16xx kit, this test print will be added to the range once I've had feedback from Warren in 4mm and 7mm scales. When the ModelRail 16xx is released, I'll look at modifying the artwork to make it compatible. LSWR Barley Twist Platform Lamps It's been almost 4 years since I printed the L&Y lamps in 4mm and until now they haven't been viable to produce in any quantities. A new resin launched by B9 has put them back on the table and I'm now experimenting with some artwork kindly provided by Martin Finney. The image below is of a 4mm multi part print, with base, column and neck printed separately. These components have a 0.5mm hole which in this example has a length of brass wire threaded through for stability. Making these lamps modular will allow for a wide range of variations. I'll be taking these print samples to Warminster this weekend for Martin to review. I'm yet to decide on how to deal with the frames, most likely they will be a fold up etch for strength and lasercut glazing along the lines of Shawplans laserglaze. New Loco and Rolling Stock Lamps Thanks to Justin Newitt and John Marsh, I have the artwork for a number of new loco head lamps and rolling stock lamps. Test prints have been successful and I now just need to modify the artwork to take the lenses. The new lamps include: LNER Carriage & Goods Tail Lamps LNER Brake Van Side Lamps Taff Vale Railway Head Lamps (two types) Cambrian Railway Head Lamps New Products Available Now 2748 Shunters Pole Another example of a product that has been right under my nose for years! The shunters poles featured in a number of figures are now available in packs of 3. New Modern Image Engineers and Diesel Depot details Thanks to Sean Williams and Mike Turner who brought their kit along to DEMU last weekend, there are now 7 new figures in the modern image range. Nick Willcox from the SVR also makes an appearance! Also added are Diesel depot details, including hanging and folded jackets/bibs, hard hats, drivers bags and rucksacks. https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product-category/finescale-figures/railway-and-lineside/1982-onwards/line-possession-working/ https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product-category/detailing-components/diesel-depot-details/ New Early Industrial Loco Crews Originally commissioned by Minerva Model Railways for the Manning Wardle K Class, these 9 crews are now available in all scales. Thanks to Nick Willcox from the SVR for his help in the scanning and arranging volunteers. https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product-category/finescale-figures/industry/early-20th-century/loco-crew-early-20th-century/ Next Developments 2 day scanning session booked in with the Friends of Pendon for a new range of seated passengers and other civilian themed figurines 70+ WWII British and American infantry, tank and artillery figurines in relaxed poses Initial range of new platform and street lamps (including the Revo!) Exhibitions Modelu's scanning equipment will be available at the following exhibitions this year: Warminster 8th June Railwells 10/11th August Guildex 31st August / 1st September Great Electric Trainshow 12th / 13th October Warley 23/24th November BRM Peterborough 7th / 8th December

Potentially Stephen, though with the finials it would add another step in the clean up process to remove the uncured resin from the hole. I've been experimenting printing the finials with a peg on the base which could be the answer

I could try printing them with a hole in the foot already, instead of having the usual 3 supports on the base of a foot I could try 2 and the hole. Having just printed some LSWR platform lamps with a 0.4mm hole right through the column and base I'm thinking it could actually work..!

That would be fantastic, yes!

Yes, exciting times, I want to reprint everything and get it under the magnifier!

Some material news, I'll slowly be replacing the red resin used for details such as lamps with a high resolution green resin. This resin is compatible with the new machine and is of a much higher quality than the red, as these crude 4mm scale GWR Loco Lamp comparison shots show! These are printed at 30 micron slices at a rate of x400 4mm scale lamps in 30 minutes, about 5 times faster than the older machines. Next step is to print components in the new material and see if anything needs adjusting, in the case of lamps the handles need thickening up at touch at the apex. More to come soon!

Plans are afoot on this subject Dave! Cheers

Super work Mikkel! Shows what well sculpted and anatomically correct figures the AS ones are for a white metal head to work on a 3D scanned body. I've a new scan of a chap with a full beard (see the Manning Wardle images), if needed I can swap this head onto other bodies prior to printing

I'll get some off to you in the next couple of days Stephen

Hi there, no problem: 2 Roller - 2.72mm 3 Roller - 3.10mm

Cheers Mike, once Ally Pally is over they will be on the website ready to order! I'm printing them in 2 parts hollowed out with locating pegs to help align the two shells

I wish I could take credit for that! These are the full colour images that the scanner captures, used for painting reference

Yes good point Jol, I've been thinking the same and struggling a little to categorise clothing styles which can span many fashion era's! The strap line should actually read "Pre War" to encompass everything prior to 1939 in theory... I'll correct it.

Dear all, time for a long overdue update from Modelu HQ. New Staff We are really happy to announce that Modelu now has three staff and a fourth joining soon. Kate has been there since the beginning on despatch. Jasmin has been working with us since June and is excellent at editing scans, helping to speed up scan processing turnaround after an exhibition. Rory started last week to assist with production of catalogue figures and development of new ranges and larger scales. This includes G scale and 16mm, both scales of which are almost ready to launch. New Product Range: Town & Country With the team firing on all cylinders in the workshop, I have time to get creative with the scanner again. First up is a new range of 16 Town & Country figures suitable for the Edwardian period up to present day. This range is being added to frequently and new product announcements will be posted on social media and RMWeb when new figures are available. Many thanks to Alison Barker and members of the LWMRS and Mendip Group for the use of their scans. The Town and Country range can be found here. New Products: Colliery Figures A number of colliery themed figures have been created to complement the existing range of Industrial Workmen. These include shunters in high vis with hard hats (with thanks to Andy Hardy) and three miners, scanned at the Apedale Railway. These are available in the Industrial section of the website here. New Products: GWR Loco Crews Originally commissioned for the Minerva GWR Pannier, these eight figures were created with the kind assistance of the Great Western Society at Didcot and are now available in scales N to Gauge 1 with larger scales available for special order. The GWR Crews can be found here. New Collaborations! In 2018 there were a number of successful collaborations with manufacturers, with Hatton's for the P Class and Andrew Barclay and Minerva for the GWR 5700 Pannier. This is an area that excites us the most, working with other like-minded individuals to produce the best figures to complement the best products. We are pleased to announce a second collaboration with Minvera for the imminent O Gauge Manning Wardle K Class. These partnerships have demonstrated what is possible when we put our heads together and we're really looking forward to more of them in 2019. Figures for the Minerva Manning Wardle K Class are now available via the website in 7mm scale. Thanks to Nick Willcox and volunteers at the SVR for their help with the poses. Exhibitions For 2019 Modelu's main focus is growing the team and product development so the exhibition schedule is lighter than previous years: March 23rd & 24th - BRM London Festival of Railway Modelling, Alexandra Palace, London May 25th & 26th - Railex, Stoke Mandeville Centre, Aylesbury June 8th - Warminster Show, Warminster Civic Centre, Warminster August 10th & 11th - RailWells, Wells Town Hall, Wells September 7th & 8th - Guildex, Telford October 12th & 13th - Great Electric Train Show, Milton Keynes November 23rd & 24th - Warley, NEC Birmingham For a full list of events please see the Modelu Website

Hi Stephen, apologies for the delay! We've just pushed through a load of webshop updates which now includes 7mm scale slide chairs. If you'd like a sample popping the post please let me know, https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product/2121/ Cheers Alan

Hi Nick, Thank you for that suggestion, I need to do some website work on tagging the figures so I'll add that to the list. I'm adding more Town & Country figures now so makes sense to tag them with the eras they are suitable for. Thank you! Cheers Alan

The second release of figures scanned at Tracks to the Trenches are now available on the website. These include sappers, infantrymen, nurses and officers suitable for the British forces of the First World War. The new figures are available in scales from N to 1/32nd with G scale and 16mm available for special order.

Thanks for your order Max! I have to be honest and say next day delivery is a rarity for my ever patient customers! I'm glad you like the product

Hi John, David who hired and wore the uniforms mentioned to me that one of the differences was the lack of a belt around the jacket in later uniform. Unfortunately we ran out of time to repose and rescan without the belt, but I might be able to work something out in CAD. I'll see what I can do