-missy-

Hello Tom.

I agree with Frank, this is the best N gauge / 2mm modelling here on RMWeb at the moment.

I'm looking forward to seeing how you tackle the point rodding though, I'm struggling with it on Highclere!

Missy

Hello Chris.

As the others have said, that is a great post. It has given me a good idea on what you are upto.

As for the servos, I would agree with Nick that the MERG sevo driver is very adaptable although I would be interested in knowing what version board and chip others are using as I am struggling to program mine atm!

You seem to have an interesting selection of rolling stock too which is cool.

Missy

P.S. Not ALL modellers are dependent on beer!

There is still an lot to get to grips with before getting any of my scratch building to your quality though!

Best Regards,

Chris.

Hi Chris.

Thanks but its nothing anyone else couldnt do. Just remember these rules...

1. Practice really does make perfect, the more you make the better you will get.

2. Dont be afraid of anything. Its better to try something than to think about it too much and convince yourself it wont work.

M

Hello and Welcome Chris.

That sounds like an interesting little concept you have there. I am looking forward to seeing some more on this as Highclere is set in similar times and regions.

Missy

Ooooh, how did I miss this little gem!

Fantastic work as usual Richard. I am assuming its the Raithby etch you have used? As Jerry said hopefully there will be a collection of these soon, it would be fantastic to have a line up of these engines oneday.

Missy

Its nice to see your bits painted, it makes a very nice model really come to life.

Your modelling is top quality and the subjects you choose certianly have character.

Whats the bigger picture? Are all these going to end up on something oneday?

Missy

Hello.

As with Chris, I saw this for real at the weekend and there is no denying its well built! It's an interesting choice of material too. I am very tempted to try out a few things using it.

Missy

Fantastic Richard!

Is there any chance of an entry to show the background history to the layout please? Track plan, size, era etc? Just so I can get a feel for the layout. From what I can see so far it looks very interesting.

Missy

Oooh they look good so far!

IM sure I have seen someone selling something similar though, isnt it Taylors Models?

The walkways totally transform the wagon already without the chassis work you are planning on doing..

Missy

Hello Ian.

Looks good, I will be interested in seeing how these come out.

I have tried that NetFabb program to check my work but I cant seem to be able to save the file other than a NetFabb file. Any ideas?

Missy

Hello Will.

Thats an amazing amount of detail you have put into the saddle tank, can I ask how many hours work do you think that has taken? I see what you mean about the curves and things though, does it effect the final printed model in any way? If not then is it really that bad?

Im looking forward to seeing the bridge bits too...

Missy

Hi Chris.

Must be exciting to be working (paid working) with this as its a great way to get trained up and build up your skills.

Heres the weird bit, I dont use it at work. 99.9% of the work I do is on 2D AutoCAD. Fingers crossed though sometime they will change to 3D.

Me -I still don't see how a 3D drawing with hidden edges can be rendered by a machine though I've long since given up worrying about it!

Interesting stuff!

Its quite exciting for me, if I can get used to drawing things specifically for 3D printing then it opens up so many more possibilities than 2D etching. The combination of the two technologies should make for some quite exciting bits and bobs.

As for the hidden edges thing, in Inventor (the software I use) you really dont get and hidden edges or faces. Once you tell it to stick one face to another (called constraining in Inventor) the two pieces are effectively 'welded' together to form a single solid. Add that to a function called 'shrink wrapping' which once you have finished adding all the bits it turns the whole model into a single solid you end up with something that can be 3D printed (hopefully!)

M

Wow, that Peckett looks lovely, and shows off the nicely rounded shapes you get get with Inventor. I have been trying boilers in Sketchup, but have been frustrated with the '50p shaped' circles and cylinders!

Hi Will. I didnt realise that Sketchup was that awkward to do? The 50p shaped circles sounds awful! For me to round off a corner is just 2 clicks of the mouse..

Can inventor export directly as an STL file?

Yes it can, although there seems to be an issue with scaling of the bits. For example I had to increase the scale of something by 1000% once it was uploaded onto IMaterialise to get the right size. It looks like (from what I have read) not uncommon with Inventor drawings and 3D printing companies. I could always email you a drawing to check it out for yourself if you wish?

Very nice. I like the Q1 wheels just wish I had to Q1 to modify.

Don

Thank you Don. Dapol Q1s, available from any good model railway stockist!!

M

Me again

What software are you using?

Ian

Hello Ian. I am using Autocad Inventor and am just scraping the surface of what the software can do right now! Im sure as time goes on it will get easier, and ironically I find it more intuative to use than AutoCAD.

3D printing is definitely the way forward.

Hello Steven. I totally agree, its just a matter of time now until the equipment will be small and cheap enough to have one sat on your desk. The possibilities for this technology is amazing!

One thing from my own experience is that the material can be very brittle. Also the material hardens over time when exposed to natural light so it is important to ensure that nothing is too thin when designing things to be printed in 3D.

Thanks for the tip. I have been keeping an eye on the 3D forum here on RMWeb so hopefully I wont make too many big mistakes. I have decided to test these out with the Prime Grey material from IMaterialise as a sort of 'proof of concept'. It seemed the best option for them right now.

Julia have you considered doing 3d Point rodding stools i recon if they were of a generic design you could ofset the costs of yours by selling them to 2mm and probably N guace soc members

please can ordeer some now

Hi Nigel. I will bear that in mind, something generic would be lots better than the etched option right now. It would certianly be more flexible for sure! I am not so sure if something that small would print ok though.

M

Thanks Guys

That saddle tank is fantastic, what is the prototype? I shall we watching your entry into 3D CAD with interest

Hi Bryn, its a Peckett 0-4-0 Class 1687. (I only know that because its written on the drawing I am using!) I drawn the chassis for it and have it etched so a scale body for it would be good.

Hi Julia,

 

How do you do wheels with 3D printing then? - presumably they still need metal axles and tyres, so how does it all fit together? - are the 3d printed bits just cosmetic or is there a reliable way to fix axles and tyres onto them?

 

Regards, Andy

Hello Andy. Im not going to say too much on the wheels right now as its very early days and they will probably need some tweaking although I have sent off for an initial batch from the 3D printers. The tyre is going to be steel.

Those boxpok wheels look very nice! Are they designed for something specific?

 

Tom.

Hi Tom. A Dapol Q1, I have some etched coupling rods I drew specifically for the engine so the wheels seemed sensible to do as well. Maybe even drop in 2mm wheels for it?

M

Hi Guys, thanks for the vote of confidence. Like I said sometimes things just dont look right to me and its great to get a second opinion.

Hi Missy,Looking good, I do like the Irish stuff!With regards to the discussion of scale, don't forget that the LLSR had a much larger loading gauge and was running on 3ft track, as appose to the FR running on 1ft 11 1/2 with a fairly restrictive loading gauge. IMHO the difference between the 3 is as I would expect. A good comparison for Prince would be any photo's of it it 'The Engine House' at Highly where it was posed alongside some of the bigger stuff.Keep up the good work!Paul

Thanks Paul. That of course leaves me with another dilema, in that second photo I now have 3 engines which are 3 different gauges! That does mean that I will probably end up with an engine that I wont be able to run anywhere! At the moment I dont have any plans to build an Irish based layout...

Not sure about the chassis on those etched NG locos though....

Hi Andy. If building chassis was that simple! The idea was to try and get the three engines at roughly the correct height so it didnt distort the photo too much.

NG isn't really my thing, but that's some mighty fine etching you have there! Tom

Thanks Tom. I can only claim Prince as my own work really. Thanks for the advice about scale though, thats very true.

There are plenty of people who will make a lot of noise about the need to build strictly to 2mm - but I tend to find that noise is about all they do make - the numerous 'I'm planning to.........', who we have all met at shows.Jerry

Very true as usual Jerry. Its one of my gripes about people who are insitant on getting things spot on and therefore struggle and get very little done. If thats what you want then fine but please dont judge others by your own standards.

Better to make something that includes a few compromises but looks right than to make nothing I reckon.Keep up the good work.Paul.

So true Paul, thank you.

Sadly it is the assumption that active 2FS modellers are the ones kicking up the fuss about "1:152 only" modelling, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. Pure 1:152 is the goal, but normally only achieved by the dedicated few.

Thanks for the reply Bryn, I think your post pretty much sums up how I feel. From what I have seen its not really 2mm modellers that are causing the fuss but quite the opposite, 2mm modellers on the whole seem to be the ones that just get on and do things. For some reason it seems N Gauge modellers are the ones that never seem happy and for some weird reason some treat 2mmFS like it shouldnt exist. Why are people insistant that I shouldnt be running N Gauge stock on my 2mm layout? I dont have an issue with it at all...

2FS - Modelling by any means necessary

I think Im going to put that in my signature bit at the bottom its that good!

What I find more important is making sure that everything is square and has the right proportions.

Regards,David

Hello David. Thats something worth remembering, it really makes a difference when things are square. I think I am lucky that I seem to have an 'engineers eye' and am pretty good at noticing when things arent.

I may be wrong, but the chimney might need a little fattening up.Regards,David

No, you are right! Its a temporary chimney until I can find something a little more suitable. I cobbled it together out of a couple of bits of tubing and my mini drill thingy. It just looked too weird without one.

I don't know the Swilly engine but the other two look spot on and those Swilly engines were big beasties if pics are any guide. All in the garden (and that pic) looks just right to me Missy.

Hi Mike, the Irish engine does appear quite large compared to the others. There is a bit of me tempted to finish it off just to see what it does look like compared to the others.

M

Hi Tony.

As you say the underlying work on a layout is often overlooked and can be very tedious so its good that you are enjoying it.

It just makes the fun stuff even more fun. Its looking great though, when is it next due out?

M

Weathering powders in my opinion are not used enough on layouts!

I used them on my trackwork (before I reworked it) and the were fantastic so I am planning on using them again for sure. I was going to suggest a little rust colour on and around the rails to highlight things like chairs but looking at the photo you have got it spot on in my eyes!

M

Hello

Can I ask what you are using for the point rodding itself? I have some of the 2mmSA etch but it's a little two dimensional where as yours has more depth to it.Thanks,Tom.Edit: D'oh, Just seen, 0.4 mm square rod!

Hi Tom. Yes, you answered your own question there! Model Signal Engineering sell the 0.4mm Rod, Southwark Bridge Models sell the stools http://www.sbmodels.org/ I can see them appearing on Ropley in the near future then!

You've made me want to build one in 4mm right away! :-)

Hello Mikkel, heres a thought, why not have a go at another 2mm one! Its much more fun!

Inspiring as ever Missy.Don

Thank you Don

That point rodding looks the business, definitely worth the extra hours.

Thats good to know Bryn. As you can imagine its a bit mind numbing soldering it all together. I havent even got to the tricky bits yet!

That crane is a work of art.

I dont know if I would call it a work of art Will but thank you Works of art can be usually found in galleries and cost lots of money

That crane is delectable Missy

I thought you would like it!

I'm not at all sure how you've done it but that channel rodding has a distinctly Western look to it

Im not sure how either! Im keeping a low profile about the origins of it as it might start one or two people off again!!

M

Thanks Guys

what will the safe working load of the crane be ?

Probably about 100 grams! Definately not a can of lager!!

i am correctin assuming it will work going on by your previouse works.

No Nigel. This is a totally static model, I couldnt really see any reason to make this work.

How tall are you ?

Above average. Not teeny!

I hope I can make mine look as realistic as yours.CheersTony

Im sure you could make a better job of it than me Tony. Mine is far from perfect.

M

Thank you Chris.

Getting the bits etched has helped tremendously, I couldnt even imagine how to make something like that jib without an etch! You should have stayed and chatted for a bit Chris, I could have sat down with you and helped out on a few things. Thats what I go to those things for!

Anyway Im just about to add another post about the crane...

M

Looking superb Tom. The last two photos are probably the most realistic I have ever seen in 2mm/N!

I noticed you have fishplates on your track joints, how did you make them?

Missy

Very nice work Julia. I remember playing on 'Welsh Pony' (a bigger version of Prince) when it was plinthed outside Porthmadog station years ago! I think you've captured the look of these engines really well.

Andy

Thanks Andy.

I am a bit pleased on how it turned out, especially as I havent really has much luck with the bits on my latest test etch. You are so correct when you say it LOOKS right, it looks right to me so Im happy with it! I took it into work today to have a think about a chassis for it and have come up with hopefully a solution but this will be the smallest chassis I have done to date.

The problem is I seem to be so easily distracted with things like this, I REALLY must concentrate on Highclere and get some work done on that, especially as there is another show comming up in a few months time.

all I ever see at boot fairs is complete tatexcellent modelling as always

Trust me Nick, the vice was the exception rather than the norm! 99% of the time I never see anything that interests me. Thank you though.

As someone pointed out on another blog recently that I have quite a collection of engines that dont really work right now (I am assuming it was me they were on about) I would like to say that I have not forgotten about them! I am just trying to concentrate (rather badly too) on the layout first, then hopefully I can turn my attention onto engines and rolling stock (which I love making). I dont know how others model but I struggle with the problem of trying something out then loosing interest with it once I have tried it out, am I alone?

Missy

Hello Nigel.

Im looking forward to seeing some progress photos then as the enthusiasm has returned. Especially the signal...

Missy

Hello Nigel and Jerry.

Hopefully todays findings at the car boots are an omen for the rest of the season, I am very happy with the vice as its the best one I have found so far, it looks top quality.

The engine is indeed Prince, its a total experiment as far as engine building goes and not something I am going to rush to get finished. It was something I drew in autocad a while ago and added it to the test etch purely to make up space. The picture above was the result of about 2 hours work this evening mainly because I didnt want to end up with no modelling this weekend. Dont expect to see another post about it in the near future!

I have been toying with the idea of comming along to Trainwest and am still undecided mainly becuase I have done more then my fair share of driving this month this weekend. I need something to make it worthwhile going although it would be nice to meet up again Jerry.

M