simonmcp

As you know your way around computers I would recommend trying FreeCAD which has various "Workbenches" where you can work a 2D drawing up into a 3D one. Check out He does loads of great videos about FreeCAD and you can create a spreadsheet to hold all the variables/ measurements of your drawings which are fully parametric. Simon

Freecad is good but it's a very steep learning curve. Lots of tutorials on YouTube though. I know it is a 3d package but the Part Design workbench is really good for doing 2d design. Look out for MangoJelly solutions tutorials on YouTube.

Looking at the left hand red circled roof portion, not having seen the full picture I assume that is between the first and second coach. The darker shape that then disappears as it gets near the clerestory suggests to me that the coach to the right of the gap has a flatter roof, nearest the clerestory, than the one to the left?

Just to confuse the issue, is it DUNMERE? Could be on a clay working.

The "abomination" of 'wriggly tin' reroofing of thatched roves was what drove Roye England to create the models of the original condition thatched cottages that make up Pendon.

Is that an animal in front of the luggage trolley?

Hi JCL, I haven't printed with a 0.2mm nozzle but a German here https://www.stummiforum.de/t171433f180-M-glichkeiten-mit-einem-D-FDM-Drucker-W-rstchenleger.html uses one in his printer and gets amazing results. I only have a cheap Aldi 3d printer badged as Balco but if I slow it down to 10mm sec print speed and use 0.1mm layer height I can get some quite good results. I printed the hut in so many separate parts to make painting it easier. I used 100% infill on all the parts as well.

To get bricks to come out with enough definition you might need a 0.2mm nozzle which dramatically increases the print time. I tried, admittedly with a cheap Wanho Clone printer, and a 0.4mm nozzle and the details disappeared. Biggest tip for greater detail is to slow down the print speed. To get all the options in Cura, shown in the Piccadily video, you will need to change the settings options (sorry can't remember exactly where and I'm on my phone and not at the computer so can't look).

Would an Ultrasonic bath be any good at removing the release agent?

Superb. Pendon Museum use an outside toilet as the test piece for all new modellers, I am sure you would get approved, although they do model in card. Your painting is spot on, the colours are just right.

I have had the same problem on inset tram track with plasticard sets lifting after they were fitted. All had run fine to start with and then became like yours. Eventually resorted to nailing it down.

Beautiful layout, very finely made buildings. Is that the N Gauge society industrial diesel? Does it run as good as it looks?

I am planning a small diorama with three stages of 'construction', a building under demolition (a Vollmer kit), a hole in the ground (I think another Vollmer Kit) and a Kibri kit of a very similar to yours building under construction. I now know that I will have to put in all the extra detail. I may be gone some time! Nice work on your building.

That is the most convincing cement render I've seen, and the rest of the small building looks amazing as well. Could you please explain how you achieved the finish. Simon

Where's the fun in that, I go to exhibitions for the chance to catch up with fellow modellers. The social side is just as important to me. I was envisioning perhaps just one ear piece/headphone so you could still chat to friends and the layout's team members.

I would like some clever person to make sound chips that 'broadcast' the sound to an app that could be listened to by anyone on thier phone or Bluetooth connected device, preferably with headphones. I envision it a bit like those audio guides you get at some museums. If the locos had a method of location detection the sounds could fade in and out as they pass the listener, I think it's called the Doppler effect. As the exhibition visitor moved to the next layout just the sounds of that layout would be played. It would be like those silent discos.

It's the new leaning tower of China. Slightly more seriously, is it Piko or Kibri?

We do have a Skinners Bottom in Cornwall. Strangely the sign keeps getting stolen, and no I don't have one.

Cults 3d has one amazing contributor called krimble who puts loads of HO stuff on there. You may need to put the designs through a program to check they are 'manifold' or actually able to be printed first. If you are using an FDM printed my best advice is to slow the print speed down to 20mm second for better prints.

Are the RM scans low resolution or is it that they are out of square with straight lines a little not quite straight? Are you able to print the plans out? I ask as I am contemplating splashing out on a subscription.

Are Bamboo skewers the correct size for telegraph poles?

I would suggest Cling Film, instead of a rigid clear film, as this will give an uneven or ragged line which won't be as visible.

Talking of trains/layout. Apparently some people (apologies if I've mentioned it before) put cling film between the baseboard joins and ballast/scenic up to it on both sides and when dry separate the boards. Thus leaving a pleasing interlocking of the scenery instead of a large straight join.

Are you going to do the flooded version as in the colour picture? That would be a talking point, don't think I've ever seen a layout with that on it. Simon

There is a TED talk about this type of printer here:-