simon br blue

On 10/10/2023 at 08:13, Lacathedrale said:

I've been scanning through this thread and WOW! 

 

I've never really been in a position to do 3D printing until a few months ago when I got a small resin printer and it's blown me away, so I've just ordered myself an FDM printer too. I'm a bit wary about how the layer lines will turn out for the filament but I'm hoping since it's a relatively modern printer and I'm in no great hurry, that I can print finely and avoid the majority without having to go hardcore with spray putty and sanding. 

 

For example, the sides on that PAB hopper look silky smooth - what was the process to achieve that please?

Most prints will need some sort of processing before final painting.  For PLA I normally remove any support and then use a disposable nail file (the type with a different level of roughness each side) to remove any uneven areas,  I will then spay a coat of of primer (sometimes the yellow filler primer) and again sand any rough areas with the nail file.

To get a higher quality of print I tend to print at a slower speed and high quality settings in the slicer software.  Print orientation is also important, the PAB coke hopper body was printed upside down with the top of the hopper flush with the print bed, the top hatches were added after initial processing.  Some of the wagons such as the IVA Cargowaggon and Polybulk wagons were printed in 2 parts with the middle of the wagon flat on the printer bed, the join normally requires sanding and filling if on a flat surface.

A couple of wagons below were printed in different ways.  The castle cement tank was printed in 2 parts with the middle flat on the bed.  The suspension and detail parts were added after sanding and filling.  Layer lines are more visible on curved surfaces and the end of the tank required filling and sanding.  The Cerestar tank wagon was made using a printed chassis and tank ends with 63mm plastic pipe used for the tank barrel, where there is as suitable size and shape pipe is available this will give a smoother finish than printing a barrel.

7mm Castle Cement PCA, 2 part body and chassis printed in PLA, resin walkways, ladders, suspension and details. Accurascale Oleo buffers and homemade transfers.

7mm Castle Cement PCA by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm Castle Cement PCA by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm Cerestar PCA. Tank ends, chassis and discharge pipework printed in PLA, resin walkways, suspension and details. 63mm plastic pipe for barrel. Elastic used for discharge hoses, Accurascale Oleo buffers and homemade transfers.

7mm Cerestar PCA by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm Cerestar PCA by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm FV432 test print painted with details added. Printed in 3 parts - body and separate wheels/tracks, details such as lights, mudguards and light guards printed separately. Some layer lines on the front due to printing orientation of the print, with complex angles it isn't always possible to get a smooth finish on every side.  The Warflat body was printed in 2 parts joined in the middle with separate ends/bufferbeam.

7mm FV432 by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm FV432 by simon br blue, on Flickr

Hope its OK to also join in on this thread, I've been following the progress on this thread and have been working on 7mm version of the PAB hopper.  I also used Shapeways to print the chassis with a bonus of 7mm being able to print the chassis in one piece.  The body, hatches and doors  were printed in PLA on Ender 3v2 printer.  The walkway and ladders printed by shapeways and I also used Accurascale Oleo buffers.

7mm PAB coke hopper by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm PAB coke hopper by simon br blue, on Flickr

Been a few months since the last post, below are a some tank wagons.  Following the usual method of choosing wagons with a tank diameter around 63mm in O gauge.

First up is a 7mm Air Tip Calcium Carbonate tank wagon. Resin printed chassis, tank ends and details with plastic pipe for tank barrel. homemade transfers and Dapol couplings.  The real wagon used the hydraulic ram to raise the barrel to aid powder discharge.

7mm Tip Air wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm Tip Air wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

Next wagon is a 7mm TTA LPG tank. Shapeways versatile plastic chassis with PLA printed tank ends and plastic pipe for tank barrel. Resin printed hatch cover and homemade transfer. Dapol couplings and Accurascale Oleo buffers.  Similar to the Vacuum braked Algeco version build previously.  The Accurascale Oleo buffers are good value with the only drawback being they currently only do the smaller 13" heads.

7mm TTA LPG tank by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm TTA LPG tank by simon br blue, on Flickr

Another wagon I've been working on recently is a 7mm PAB coke hopper. Body printed in PLA on Ender 3v2, Shapeways printed chassis, walkway and ladders with PLA door and hatch details. Peartree wheels, Accurascale buffers and Dapol coupling.  I started drawing this after seeing the 4mm version and detail pictures on Cazrail's thread.

7mm PAB coke hopper by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm PAB coke hopper by simon br blue, on Flickr

An update with some more wagons completed.  Some wagons I actually finished work on last year were the Hydrocyanic acid tanks and their barrier wagons.  

The Hydrocyanic Acid tank has Shapeways Versatile plastic chassis with PLA tank ends and 63mm plastic pipe for the barrel.  Shapeways PA12 printed walkway with resin printed hatches.  Homemade transfer.   Unusually the tank has a flat top section where the loading hatch is which required cutting into the pipe before assembly.

7mm Hydrocyanic Acid tank by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm Hydrocyanic Acid tank by simon br blue, on Flickr

The PXA Barrier wagon.  High end version used with Hydrocyanic Acid tank wagon.  Shapeways Versatile plastic chassis with PLA ends and ballast weight and plasticard deck.  Homemade transfers.  Versatile plastic air pipe.  Low end version is the same chassis with alternate ends.

7mm PXA Barrier wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm PXA Barrier wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm PXA Barrier wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm PXA Barrier wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

On 30/08/2022 at 10:22, Wolf27 said:

I’m sure you have been asked this countless times and I may have even asked the question, but are any of your wagons available in 4mm?

Hi, some of the wagons are available in 4mm.  Chassis for the Cambells and Procor curtain side wagons are available on my Shapeways shop along with the chassis for the TTB CO2 tank and ferry tank.  The Polybulks I can print on my own printers as well as the Blackadder.  I'm looking at making some of the other wagons available in 4mm when time allows.

A wagon finished recently is a 7mm BOC TEA tank (same as the Oliva trains 4mm version).  Shapeways printed Chassis and GPS bogies in versatile plastic with PLA printed tank ends, plastic pipe for the tank and resin details and buffers.  Homemade transfers.

7mm BOC TEA tank by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm BOC TEA tank by simon br blue, on Flickr

A couple more wagons.  2 versions of a JNA wagon, an Ermewa version and one in Wascosa livery.  4 part body printed in PLA with Shapeways multi jet fusion plastic PA12 bogies and underframe tanks.  Resin buffers and Dapol couplings.  Although similar the Ermewa and Wascosa versions have a number of body and detail differences.  Homemade transfers, currently unfinished Ermewa livery as I can't print white ink.

7mm JNA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm JNA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm JNA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm JNA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

A couple more wagons, firstly a HJV hopper.  Body printed in PLA on Ender 3v2, left wagon has a resin test print of a chassis and the right wagon has a Shapeways printed chassis. I've also printed a PLA chassis as a kit, the 3rd pic is of a wagon printed in one part via Shapeways and printed in PA12 Multi Jet Fusion Plastic black.  Homemade decals.

7mm HJV hopper by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm HJV hopper by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm HJV hopper by simon br blue, on Flickr

The second wagon type is a Covhop.  PLA printed hoppers in 2 parts with separate discharge doors.  Walkways printed in Shapeways versatile plastic. Left BIS wagon has a chassis printed in PLA with resin details and the right wagon has a Shapeways chassis printed in versatile plastic.  Also working on a disc bake version and the sugar covhop, homemade decals.

7mm COV HOP wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm COV HOP wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

Some more project currently on the go.

Firstly a couple of 7mm class 20's.  I'd previously drawn a 1/32 class 20 and decided to rework some parts and try printing some parts in 7mm.  I went for a DRS version and printed it in PLA as a test with resin printed details, as can be seen in the first photos the main body was in 2 parts with separate cab, cab front and nose end.  The bodyside doors are plasticard and the grills are resin.  The bogies were done as a test in both resin and PLA with this model designed as a dummy with it planned to run with another powered version yet to be built.  Currently awaiting windows and some more detail adding.  Fitted with Shawplan etched window frames, with rainbow Railways acrylic paint and Railtec transfers decals.

7mm DRS class 20 by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm DRS class 20 by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm DRS class 20 by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm DRS class 20 by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm DRS class 20 by simon br blue, on Flickr

The other class 20 is a model of 20084 with the additional fuel tank and extra grills.  I thought it would be an easy progression from the DRS version but this has some other details and different fuel tanks.  I've actually started on making 2 versions of 084, one completely in resin (printed in 2 parts on my Mono X) and a hybrid version with PLA body and resin cab and nose.  Again this is a dummy designed to run with a powered Heljan version.  First pic is the all resin version, second pic is the PLA and Resin version.  The final photo showing some resin cabs and nose ends with a mk2 version of the DRS cab with printed window surrounds.

7mm class 20084 by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm class 20084 by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm class 20 cab and nose test by simon br blue, on Flickr

Been a while since the last update but some pictures below.

7mm JSA wagon, Shapeways printed chassis and bogies with PLA printed 3 part hood and resin retails.  Homemade transfers, Dapol coupling and Invertrain Oleo buffers.

7mm JSA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm JSA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm E499 ferry tank wagon test print.  PLA print with resin details, mesh walkway and 56mm plastic pipe with masking tape bands.  Still with ladders and data board to add.

7mm E499 ferry tank wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm E499 ferry tank wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm IVA Cargowaggon test print in PLA.  2 part main body with separate ends, suspension and underframe bracing. PLA printed buffers and ferry hook details.  Homemade transfers.

7mm IVA Cargowaggon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm IVA Cargowaggon by simon br blue, on Flickr

Are the cab handrails separate fittings?

The tank ends were primed, sanded, primed and then white topcoat.  Picture attached of ends printed in 3 different material with the finish as printed.  The grey end is printed in Anycubic grey resin on a Mono X, the TUA end with the walkway support is printed in White versatile plastic by Shapeways and the end on the right is printed in PLA on a Creality Ender3 v2.  I normally use primer then sand a repeat before applying a top coat and sometimes sand that if there are any imperfections.

I've had a look at the HO 25 sideframes and will print a test when I next use my resin printer.

Talking of OBA's below are some pictures of progress on some similar wagons.

OBA waiting for decals to be applied, fitted with Oleo buffers, Dapol couplings, printed deck and air brake parts.

7mm OBA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

OCA also waiting for decals to be applied, printed in WSF with PLA printed deck and under frame details added.

7mm OCA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

PNA Plasmor wagon printed in Shapeways versatile plastic with PLA printed brick load and ends with separate Shapeways PA12 doors fitted with wire mesh.

7mm PNA Plasmor wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

OTA wagon with lower end printed in WSF with PLA printed deck added, Resin Oleo buffers, Dapol screw coupling and printed air brake parts.  The stanchions just temporary pushed in place for the photo.

7mm OTA Timber wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

Mermaid ballast wagon with Shapeways chassis, PLA printed body and resin printed buffers, requires transfers and end chains to finish.

7mm Mermaid ballast wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

TCA tank wagon, Shapeways printed chassis, bogies and details with PLA printed tank end and 63mm pipe used for the barrel.  Resin hatches and buffers with homemade transfers.

7mm TCA tank wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

Hi Mark,

1mm to 2mm should be fine for the decks and m2 or m2.5 will be ok for attaching the bogies.  I can print the decks for the OBA myself if you're interested and can do the air tank and valve if required.

The Procar 80 is one of the prints that I've not completed, I printed it as a basic shell with the intention of adding wire mesh for the mesh the cars drove on but its been packed away in a box for several years, I've attached a scan of the Procar 80 wagon info sheet which includes a wagon diagram.

Regards

Simon.

Recently I was looking at getting another resin printer and after looking at the various options I went for the Mono X.  I've printed a couple of parts to see how they came out.  I've used Chitubox for the slicing and used the standard settings for grey resin.

The first part printed was the test cube, people seem to have varying results with this and my cube came out ok but the text in the middle wasn't perfect.

Anycubic test print by simon br blue, on Flickr

I did couple of other test bits done to see how fine and smooth some parts were, below is print of a 4mm class 58 fan grill.  The grill is 17mm diameter and the mesh is 0.2mm thick.  This printed fine but I had to manually adjust the supports to remove them from the grill.

4mm class 58 grill by simon br blue, on Flickr

Also printed was a set of 4mm springs for the Heljan class 58, this came out smooth and the damper spring was strong enough to not get damaged during cleaning.

4mm class 58 springs by simon br blue, on Flickr

Another grill test was done with open mesh and a bodyside braces behind the grill.  I did print this part in 2 orientations and the one pictured came out better when printed vertically.  I had tried this previously on my Form 2 but could get it to print reliably with the open mesh.

4mm bodyside grill by simon br blue, on Flickr

Overall very impressed with the printer and compared to the Form 2 its much quicker printing.

Just one question for the Mono X users on here - has anyone tried tried reducing the UV power setting and cure time as it has been mentioned that the standard setting over cure the standard Anycubic resins.

Been a while since the last update.

As well as renders shown previously I've done some more similar wagons, just a pity BR didnt have a standard air braked wagon chassis as although similar they are all different.  After doing the PNA I modified the OBA to represent the OBA's modified by BR for the Plasmoor traffic with higher ends.

7mm OBA Plasmor render by simon br blue, on Flickr

After doing the OBA next up was the OCA and SPA, all of these were designed with an open deck to reduce the cost, I printed decks in PLA for these along with the underfloor air brake valves and tanks.

OCA render by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm SPA render by simon br blue, on Flickr

The next wagon was the Procor PVA curtain side wagon, this was designed to use the same lorry trailer sides but as this is longer than the Campbell's version it requires 2 trailers to make the sides.

7mm PVA Procor render by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm PVA Procor curtain side van by simon br blue, on Flickr

After working on this I made a couple of changes to the previously drawn Railiner wagon, by removing the brakes and opening out the sides reduces the price as Shapeways calculate the price on material volume and machine space.  This wagon has shorter curtain sides than the Campbell's wagon.

7mm Railiner Render by simon br blue, on Flickr

Made some progress with the PNA model and added the wire mesh to the sides and printed the load in PLA and ends.

7mm PNA Plasmor wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

Also printed a deck for the OBA and primed it.

7mm OBA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

Another wagon with some progress is the POA Blackadder which I did a test print in PLA for all the parts which came out OK and I've now ordered some detail parts from Shapeways in PA12.

7mm POA Blackadder by simon br blue, on Flickr

One new wagon design that's a bit different to the recent air braked wagons is a Mermaid ballast wagon.   The chassis was printed in  Shapeways versatile plastic and the body test printed in PLA, I may potentially get the body cast in resin as I'm after several of these. Normally I try to avoid unseen chassis details but the nature of the mermaid requires more detail than normal, the buffers are Accurascale buffers for their HUO hoppers and available as spare from them.

7mm Mermaid wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm Mermaid chassis by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm Mermaid wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

10 hours ago, blueeighties said:

Morning Simon. They are etched replacements.

They look good, who produces them?

How do you make the later headcode box covers?

Just a following up original question, does anyone make GBRF colours in acrylic or has anyone found a good match?

Hi,

The price is less because tax is not applied by shapeways.  UPS will ask for the tax payment before delivery.

On 08/11/2020 at 22:37, Wummyock said:

Hello Simon, just curious do you do the Gloucester Fast Freight bogies in 4mm scale? If you do what price are they?

Hi,

I did draw a bogie for the Lima UKF wagon,  I got a test print from Shapeways, the cost would be about £14 for a pair.

4mm Gloucester Bogie by simon br blue, on Flickr

A little wagon update, a couple of renders of some wagons that I have worked on/modified recently, a OBA wagon, a PNA Plasmor wagon and a POA Blackadder. 

7mm OBA wagon render drawn to be printed in Shapeways versatile plastic with PLA printed wagon deck.

OBA render by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm PNA Plasmor wagon render drawn to be printed in Shapeways versatile plastic with PLA printed brick load and and ends with separate Shapeways PA12 doors to be fitted with wire mesh.

PNA render by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm POA Blackadder render designed to be printed on my PLA printer in 4 parts with Shapeways PA12 details and BSC suspension.

POA render by simon br blue, on Flickr

Nice conversion, top work on the masking for the stripes, not easy to get them straight and level.

Very interesting document about the STS Polybulk, I think the next one I do will be a weathered pink one.

I did re-scale some of the 25 parts to HO for another member on here, I'll have to look for the file but no time scale as not had much modelling time recently and have about 50 other projects on the go.

A slightly different update this time I've been adding some 3D parts to a 7mm Skytrex bodyshell.

Starting off with the 7mm resin Skytrex 31 bodyshell, original layout with molded discs.

7mm Skytrex 31 1 by simon br blue, on Flickr

Bodyshell with lights, discs and roof vent removed/ drilled out.

7mm Skytrex 31 2 by simon br blue, on Flickr

3D Form 2 resin lights fitted and roof dome re profiled with filler.

7mm Skytrex 31 3 by simon br blue, on Flickr

3D Form 2 resin foot steps fitted and nose door filled with filler.

7mm Skytrex 31 4 by simon br blue, on Flickr

3D Form 2 resin roof grill, washer jet covers and lamp irons fitted.  Wire handrails added and replacement engine exhausts fitted to replace the original class 30 versions.

7mm Skytrex 31 5 by simon br blue, on Flickr

Archer resin rivet details added after giving the shell a coat of white primer.

7mm Skytrex 31 6 by simon br blue, on Flickr

Another coat pf primer to show up any issues.

7mm Skytrex 31 7 by simon br blue, on Flickr

Humbrol acrylic warning yellow applied.

7mm Skytrex 31 8 by simon br blue, on Flickr

Current stage of the work, Life Color acrylic Railfreight grey and Revell tar black applied.  Waiting for a printed bufferbeam and bogie to arrive from Shapeways.

7mm Skytrex 31 9 by simon br blue, on Flickr

A couple of Polybulk wagons for tonight's update.

First up is another 7mm PBA Clay Tiger, new version of the wagon printed in 3 parts on my Balco printer with walkways and end details printed in Shapeways PA12.  Y25 bogies printed in Versatile Plastic.  side Pipework made from wire.  Form 2 printed buffers and discharge handles.  I tried this to see how it compares to the version available on Shapeways,  this just needs the hopper lid painting and Railtec transfers adding.

7mm PBA Clay Tiger by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm PBA Clay Tiger by simon br blue, on Flickr

Next wagon is a 7mm STS Polybulk.  Similar design to the Malt Distillers Polybulk wagon, main body and bottom doors printed in 3 parts on my Balco printer with details and walkway printed in PA12  and Y25 bogies printed in Versatile Plastic by Shapeways, Invatrain Oleo buffers, Dapol screw couplings, Versatile Plastic air pipes, side pipe work using Steel wire and end brake gear and fittings printed on Form 2 in colour resin.  Home made transfers printed on clear decal paper (bank white sheet positioned behind the data panel).  This is probably the most detailed wagon so far with more parts printed separately than the other wagons and using 4 different print materials.

7mm STS Polybulk by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm STS Polybulk by simon br blue, on Flickr

The wheels I used on the PWA are 2'10" Peartree wheels.

Another bit of an update,

Following on from the PRA I had a go at making a couple more wagons using my PLA printer for the main body to keep the costs down.  The first wagon as a POA scrap wagon, the main body was printed in 2 parts to allow it to fit on the print bed with additional details for the suspension and details being printed in PA12 from Shapeways.   Transfer are from Railtec with Dapol coupling and Shapeways printed air pipe.

7mm POA scrap wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm POA scrap wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

Another wagon made with a PLA body is the HTV hopper, these use a Shapeways Versatile plastic chassis and have been finished with PA12 handrails.  These have homemade transfers and Dapol couplings.

7mm HTV hoppers by simon br blue, on Flickr

7mm HTV hopper handrails by simon br blue, on Flickr