wizmacnz

I found some time to prime and put a first finish coat on the 4mm footbridge. Peter

I believe it does run on a mac. You can download a copy of the software at http://www.freiwald.com It's a full version but limited to a certain number of saves and max 15 minutes operation. In my case it meant I had a pretty good idea of what it would do and what I needed to do in my layout construction long before I purchased the software. The manuals are pretty hard to follow, but there is a very helpful forum at freiwald.

I have received the prototype of the OO Scale footbridge today and it has now been released for sale. Peter

I've added more types to the range of Chimney Stacks. These can be printed at N scale and above. Peter

OK ...I've looked further at the N gauge issue. The chimney stacks are immediately available for purchase. At present there is a pack of 6 available but as these are small chimney stacks I think it will be a better deal in packs of 12. I will update this latter today. The lattice footbridge Is going to be available in the Frosted Ultra Detail material. Projected price around £9.60. I want to have a printed prototype in my hands before releasing it for sale. The FUD material is brittle by comparison with the material the OO scale material is printed in and I want to be sure it will be fit for purpose. Peter

Hi Peter Only too happy to help, if and when. I use Railroad & Co to control my layout. The track diagram on the lap top I plug into the layout highlights were each train is and gives me information on its identity. I can pick which train to run with a mouse and decide if I want to run it manually or get it to run on a predetermined schedule (or a bit of both). I have a significant amount of hidden layout so it allows me to find where everything is. Also don't need to remember their numbers before entering them into a hand controller. My eyesight has never been too good, so it's saved a lot of walking around the layout to peer at running numbers. It's certainly a sizeable investment, but not one I've ever regretted. A few steep learning curves along the way, but the effort and cost has to be off-set against the shear magic of it when it all works properly. I was born in the UK, but my first wife was a Kiwi that I met when I was working in London. I moved to NZ in 1986. When that marriage ended I had to make a decision where home was and where I wanted to live. I became an NZ citizen and am now happily married to my second wife, a South African. Must be something about foreign accents. Very much now an All Black supporter, but still support England and Tottenham Hotspur for soccer. Soccer is crap here, so you have to pretty soon take an interest in rugby if you want to watch some decent quality sport. Peter

Everything I model, I model in the computer at full size and then scale the finished computer model down to the size I want to print. To get to 4mm scale, I scale down by a factor of 0.01316, I number I know off by heart now. (It should be 0.013158, but the software doesn't support that many decimal places. I'm sure no one will notice the difference.) I design everything so that it can be built at Shapeways with a material they call "white strong and flexible" which is a sort of nylon and as they say is white strong and flexible. This is the cheapest material to build in at $1.40 per cubic centimeter plus $1.50 per item handling charge. (An item could be 10 chimney stacks or 1, the maximum being what can be printed in a single print operation.) The downside of the material is that it has a current minimum printable thickness of what scales up to about 55mm in the real world. It also has a minimum separation distance of about 40mm between printed items. I struggled for a while with my station valancing, where I seemed to manage to fool the automated checking process at Shapeways into thinking it was printable on what I call my Type 2 valance and get printed, whereas the Type 3 passed the automated check and then failed the manual check that they do just before printing. The printed Type 2 was perfectly acceptable to my eyes but I couldn't persuade them to print the Type 3. In the end I went back and changed the design of all the valancing. I can select the models to be printed in another material. What shapeways call "Frosted Ultra Detail" is a printed acrylic that can be printed down to about the same in N Scale as the other material can in OO. The material cost is $3.49 per cubic centimeter plus a handling charge of $5 per "item". The cost is probably not significantly different given that N scale items will have a quarter the volume of printed material and that the item handling charge can be split across more printed objects (10 chimney stacks or 20 for example). The downside of the material is that it is much more brittle and that things printed with small cross sectional area could be very fragile. I'm sorry for the very long winded reply. The answer therefore is yes, I can provide items at N gauge, but with the above reservations. I'll try re-scaling and uploading some items over the next couple of days. Anything that passes the online print-ability checks I will make available for purchase. Peter

Thanks Peter for your vote of confidence. I hope I'm designing things that people will want. My main driver has been building my own layout and identifying the things that I want. I have an 8 platform station to build, hence my first focus on platform canopies. Also have a representation of a large town to construct, hence windows doors, and chimneys. The footbridge was a little diversion. My station is going to have subways that I have yet to model. Peter

I've just realised that I referred to a photograph of the space frame in my last post, where as all I have posted here is the computer rendering. So here is a photo I took of the spaceframe undergoing structural testing.

Hi David All I can say is it's been at least 15 years since we have been asked by a client to build a physical model. Laser cutting is 2 dimensional and has to be layered up to produce a 3 dimensional effect. It is also not really any cheaper than 3d printing and 3d printing costs are falling all the time. To make the sash window for example would require several laser cuts laminated together, whereas the printed window is already a finished item. The platform canopy roofs could be constructed in card or sheet plastic, but would require some modelling skill to put it together. If you have the skill and the time then build your roof this way. If you are an idiot model maker like me and you would rather spend more time playing trains than cutting and laminating bits of card and plastic then buy one of my roofs that has all the tricky time consuming stuff already done. Stepping is not really an issue unless you have curves being built up across the printing plane. The minimum printer layer thickness is currrently 0.12mm but is improving all the time. My canopy supports have round columns and there is no stepping. Printed plastic does have a texture but then so does wood and card. The pictures of the assembled canopy were taken without carrying out any prep work, just sprayed on some primer and painted it. When I place it next to a Superquick platform canopy that took me much longer to build, the Superquick looks like a toy. The first printed footbridge will be with me on Monday. I accept that it could be built using etches, card etc maybe a casting for the curved brackets, and that the materials would cost less than a 3D printed model, however the 3D printed bridge will come out of the box just needing to be painted. If you want to build a model of a bridge, then build a model of a bridge, but if you want something that will provide you with a bridge without investing the time, or if your modelling skills are not the best, then buy a bridge. The current projected cost of the footbridge is about 19 pounds 25p, which is very cost competitive with other "off the shelf" model footbridges. Also if someone wants me to add a couple of steps or change the span slightly then it can be done. You can't do that with Dapol, Bachmann or Hornby. My products aren't really aimed at the Allan Downes modelers of this world, the're more aimed at what Railway Modeler used to call the "average modeler" or below. Mind you even Allan Downes buys ready made windows. As a final note..take a look at the spaceframe further up this thread and try building that. The model is printed with 0.7mm thick cylinders printed across the print plane. Take a close look at the photo's and see if you can see any stepping. I'm glad there's still a thriving architectural model making business in the UK. I don't think I have the skills required to apply for any of the vacant jobs. Peter

Hi Peter Just caught up on your thread. I envy you the space your going to have for your new layout. My own layout has had to develop in limited space. It was only when I first started to operate it that I realised I didn't have anywhere for trains to go to. My hidden fiddle yards than had to be built underneath the main table. I know that you have a large stable of analogue loco's but had you considered planning for DCC on your new layout? I went the whole hog and have RR & Co now to aid me with operation. I think I have 60+ turnouts now and it just got too difficult to remember which switches had to be in which position to get a train from platform 5 to the main line. It certainly cost a bit of money on all the new gear, converting loco's to DCC etc, but I have to say it's not an expenditure I've ever regretted. Some old friends wouldn't convert easily to DCC and have had to be disposed of, but they were probably my worst runners anyway. I look forward to seeing your new track plan. Peter

Hi Peter Thanks for the kind comments, I look forward to you becoming a customer. On your off topic comment, well I do own a small architectural business here in New Zealand. Unfortunately clients don't really pay to have physical models built so much these days. It's all done in the virtual world which is much quicker to adjust, show different options etc. The two images below are what I was working on this afternoon, to show a client a couple of different options for their building. Peter

Hi Ian If you tell me which kit or kits you are interested in I will have a look and see what is possible. Peter

14 different types of 3D printed doors have been released today. These can be made to suit any size you want. Each type is illustrated as a 760mm, 810mm, 900mm and 1000mm wide door, 1980mm high (or two of these when double doors). The pricing is to give an indication of the cost. I will make up individual sets on a customer by customer basis. For example a small terraced house might require a 900mm front door and 5 or 6 760mm internal doors and a 810 back door. As the computer models are parametric it is easy to adjust any size to suit. The installation method is as per the windows. Cut a hole in the card or plastic wall and glue the door into the opening using the architrave flange on the printed door to hold it in place. Peter

For those into Facebook, thanks to the technical expertise of my son who came to dinner last night, I now have a special Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/modelrailwaystructures This will have latest updates on the shop, products under development news and give people a chance to provide feedback on what they would like for future products. I also welcome comments there on the likes dislikes of the product range. Peter

For scratchbuilders I have started to add a range of 3D printed windows. First off the block is a simple sash window 900 x 1200 (12mm x 16mm). I can make these any size you want ( the computer model is parametric so I've done all the hard work). If you want a particular size just let me know. A ten pack of the 900 x 1200 is US$6.00 in Shapeways white strong and flexible polished finish or $5.50 in the unpolished finish. The polished finish is recommended if you intend to paint the windows.

This is the preliminary model for a 3D printed 4mm scale fireplace. I think I'll do three or four different versions and sell them as a set. Peter

Yes it is 4mm scale. Peter

While I'm waiting for my footbridge prototype to arrive , due first week in April, I thought I would slap some paint on the platform canopy assembly I posted about above. The canopy was already assembled and had no prep work done to the plastic before painting. I would recommend painting the components before assembly, and as printed plastic has a slight texture to it (not like smooth and shiny plastic kits), I would also recommend a light sand with wet and dry to anything that you want to have a smooth finish. The world is not really smooth and shiny and in some cases the plastic texture is a positive advantage. I used what ever paint I had to hand. The cream is Dulux house paint. I guess what I'm saying here is that this is the worst that it could look. I'm looking forward to seeing what can be done by a skilled model maker. I've now created some bulk packs on Shapeways to improve the per item cost. If you have plans to build platform canopies for your layout, please PM me and I will see if I can customise the bulk packs to suit the quantities that you need. Also if you want a "customised" canopy design just drop me a PM. Peter

Hi Downer It is a platform-to-platform bridge because the prototype that it was based on was Kirby. It's similar to the Hornby footbridge, but the Hornby bridge is way over scale. Bachmann have a nice looking lattice footbridge, but this would work out much cheaper. I can quickly add on a few more steps to make an alternative of this bridge, higher to suit non-platform use, however is there a particular bridge that you think would make for a good model? Peter

Hi bigwordsmith The chimney stack is modeled with fully bonded brickwork, as per the Shapeways computer rendering image below. I think it's a combination of my photograph, my painting plus the subtlety of the texture as printed that makes it hard to see that. Overall thoughI have to say it looks much better "in the flesh" and has a much more realistic appearance than the cardboard alternative. Peter

My Chimney stack experiment has arrived from Shapeways and I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I'd modelled the bricks and mortar courses at true scale, which means that the mortar was only 0.16 of a mm wide. I really didn't expect the printer to make much of a texture. I have quickly slapped some paint on it and placed it on a piece of paper on my desk to take a picture. As you can see, you can definitely make out bricks. Here it is balanced on the ridge of a Metcalfe corner shop I made (very badly) a few years ago, which gives you some idea of the size. I see I missed a few cobwebs when I quickly brushed it down when I retrieved it from under the table in the railway room. Now that I know that it works I will knock up a few variations and some larger ones (when I get time). I've also released it on Shapeways at 7mm to the foot scale. Peter

Thanks Mark, I have loads of ideas, but the challenge is finding things with lots of air per plastic. The lattice bridge works well in that regard. Peter

My latest model is a lattice footbridge based on the footbridge at Kirby in Furness. Currently just doing some minor tweaking to suit printing requirements. Likely to be available for sale in about 10 days.

Here is the assembled "privy" after splashing on a bit of paint and sticking on some brick paper. The photograph was taken with it on a piece of paper on the dining room table under a single down light. It looks better to the normal eye than it does to the cruel camera closeup, but it gives an idea what you can do with the 3D printed privy.