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I saw the Electrostar cab on Shapeways as well - it does look quite good but I don't think it captures the look of the units as well as James's if I'm honest. When seen from above, the front of the Electrostar has a pronounced curvature which James has captured in his cabs, but which his missing from the shapeways model. The sides of the prototype also curve inwards much more gradually towards the leading edge, whereas the shapeways model seems to have much more geometric and sharp curvature. Comparison here showing left: Shapeways model, and on the right, plan view of cab as traced from Bombardier drawing: I have a couple of James's cabs awaiting fitment and I do think they are more accurate than the Shapeways one overall (just my personal opinion!)

Very true. Double curves are always the main problem with joined gangways. I don't really have a lot of sharp curves on the scenic part of the layout, but getting in and out of the fiddle yard and reverse loop might be a different story! I don't really mind too much of the gap is visible while the train is negotiating curves - it's more how it looks when on straight or gently curved track, so hopefully the gap won't be too big.The Bachmann S-Stock is the kind of thing I'm aiming for. Thanks again for the kind feedback though, and more updates coming soon

Hi there JDW - thanks very much for the kind comments, really appreciate it. I think you're absolutely right about the keen couplings - it won't be until the coaches are assembled that I will find out how well they work with the gangways but I suspect they will need a bit more clearance than usual. The layout it's being built for has mostly continuous and fairly gentle curves so I'm hoping they will cope ok with that but will have to see! I like the idea of the black tissue paper - I'd not got as far as thinking about how to address that problem but that might be a neat way of doing it - lots of experimentation ahead I think!

Hi all, hope you're all well. Just a quick bulletin to let you know I've posted some progress updates to the Class 700 project - if you're following please feel free to head over to the 3d printing thread here for more details: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/125715-siemens-class-700-emu-3d-printscratchbuild/ Cheers

Evening all! I've made a bit of progress on the 700 project this weekend so thought I would post a quick update. Nothing earth shattering I'm afraid, but things are chugging along well I think. The couplings from Keen systems arrived a couple of days ago, so I was able to integrate that geometry into the chassis and rear fairing parts, and the cad is now finished, uploaded and parts on order. While measuring up for clearances with the coupling I needed to finalise the dimensions of the gangway, so this part is also now made and on order (screenshots below). I've also spent some time on finishing and painting the cab part, which has scrubbed up looking not too bad and I'm quite pleased with it! Anyway here's a few pics of progress this week: The mug-shots! There is a bit of bleed-over of the yellow just under the windscreen recess but this will be covered by the windscreen itself when that is in place. At the moment I'm leaning towards vacuum forming the screen as it has compound curves. It should be possible to 3d print a mould of the shape from the cab model and form some thin clear plastic over it, but I'm expecting there to be a bit of trial and error with that! The key will be getting a crisp and accurate shape which fits neatly into the recess. It will be back-painted matt black where it sits on the recess, so from the outside it will be completely flush. A similar method will be used for the headlights, although they are going to be super fiddly. Any ideas or tips for these bits would be most welcome. CAD of the corridor/gangway connection. This will simply stick onto the flat coach end, around the aperture. The close couplers should allow the gangways of both coaches to sit fairly close together when on a straight section (although probably not quite as close as shown here!). A view of the corridor connection as seen from inside the coach - obviously no one will ever get this view of the model, unless I can figure out how to fit a camera inside it! And the completed chassis plate. I decided to combine the seating with the chassis as an integral part, because the base of the seats will sit across the top of the two channels where the brass beams will sit, keeping them in place and hopefully keeping the whole piece straight. There is also webbing on the underside of the part which should help with rigidity. Shapeways have given a dispatch estimate of 13th September, so with any luck the parts will be here this time next week, and I can start assembling the coach body. That's all for now, thanks for looking and comments/feedback welcome as always Tim

Thanks Matt - yes I suppose you could do that, I don't have a DCC layout so it's not something I'm looking at, but interesting idea!

That's good news! I'd love to have a dedicated workshop space, even if only for a few weeks! Looking forward to more updates, but don't forget you're supposed to be enjoying it - don't work so hard that it tires you out or winds you up, otherwise it's not a hobby anymore, it's a chore!

Please don't throw in the towel - there's enough towels down there to start a new hotel chain! Your work so far is really inspirational and shows what can be achieved with good attention to detail and good craftsmanship. Please stick with it - there's plenty of people here with a wealth of experience in all manner of things who will be glad to help with a variety of problems I'm sure. I've learned a lot from Oak Road and I'm sure lots of others have too. Keep up the good work

Yep, that's pretty much what I had planned Keen Systems makes a close coupling device which does just that, and I'm waiting for a sample to arrive so that I can alter the CAD on the chassis and send it for printing. Like the Pendolino and S-Stock, it extends round bends but retracts and centres when the coaches are aligned on a straight section.

Mmm, good question - I might get one printed and see how it comes out, thanks for the suggestion Thanks Sarah, hopefully it will start to come together a bit more when I've got the chassis and bogies done. Which train/loco were you going to model in N scale? Thanks Simon! You must have a sizeable layout to accommodate an 8-coach EMU - the biggest I can fit on the platforms is 6 coaches!

Hi folks - just to let you know for anyone following the Class 700 build, I've now started a new thread in the 3d printing/cad forum here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/125715-siemens-class-700-emu-3d-printscratchbuild/?p=2843010 Some of the parts have now arrived from Shapeways so I've posted a few pics on that forum and will continue to post updates on the Class 700 project there. I'll be back to working on the layout itself in the next week or so, and will post more updates on that here hopefully, Many thanks, Tim

Hi all - a quick update, as some of the parts arrived from Shapeways today. I have to say I'm absolutely gobsmacked by how well they've printed, they have done a great job. The chassis, bogies and rear fairings are still awaiting some other parts before I can fix the design so they won't arrive for a couple of weeks yet. But I'm really excited to see how these bits have come out. I have given the SLA/FUD parts a very light dusting of primer just so that I can see the surface detail, and whilst there is some stepping and roughness, that can be easily sorted with a bit of careful sanding and filling. The vestibule parts I've printed in WSF, and they're a little bit more woolly. I don't mind this too much as they're more structural than visual parts, and won't be seen once the shell and roof skin panels are in place. Anyway without further a do, here is what arrived today: Overall view of components printed so far Close up of underframe part - not too much to show here, it will look more interesting when it's attached to the chassis! Some of the finer detail bits on the underframe - I was worried about how these would come out, but they've turned out ok The cab and dellner coupling/snowplough - 20p piece for scale. The cab, with coupling piece attached - had to put it up against the board as it doesn't stand up with the plough fitted. There is some quite noticeable stepping on the coupling part, but hopefully I'll be able to improve this a bit with some finishing. This is the roof module - I don't think I posted any pics of the CAD for this, but it was sort of thrown in at the last minute when I realised I'd forgotten it! It sits in the middle between the two vestibules. Some etched grilles will be going into the recesses on the top. The vestibule section - as mentioned this is a little bit woolly, although I will try and smooth it off a bit. I was surprised the fine door detail came out as well as it did! That's it for now, please feel free to leave comments/feedback Many thanks, Tim

Funnily enough I had a kind of similar experience with Gibsons - they emailed back straight away to start with and were very helpful, but when I got back to them to order a couple of bits they seemed a lot less willing to help and almost curt when they eventually did get back to me. I don't really understand it at all. In any case I've ordered the Romford wheels from Holt Model Railways instead.

Indeed, I can see they supply a lot of stuff! Half the problem is not knowing exactly what I do want, and not really being able to see whether the product does what I need it to do without actually ordering it. Not having much experience of locomotive/rolling stock scratch building means it's a process of trial and error! I've ordered some Romford wheelsets with inside bearings, which hopefully will do the trick but if not it'll be back to the drawing board!

Hi Gary, yes I have considered that. The sides have quite deep curvature at the top and bottom which would be quite tricky to get absolutely right with brass. I'll see how I get on with styrene - may end up using brass depending on how it goes!

Mmmm.... interesting. Scale wheelbase is 28.9mm, which happens to be ludicrously close to one of the Tenshodo chassis offerings of 28.7mm. I'm open to any and all options at this stage, the emphasis being on cost!

Great, many thanks Brack. Sounds like they'll do the job. Once the parts arrive from Shapeways I'll start a scratchbuilding thread to show the progress of how I'm getting on - not least because I suspect I will need a lot more help!

Yes, but as you say they would be spoked wheels, and in any case I suspect most pony truck wheels would be too small a diameter for what I need. Therein lies the problem. For the moment I've ordered some Jackson-Romford sets as mentioned by Brack, to see if they fit the bill. If not it's back to the drawing board! I like the user name by the way, that made me laugh! I like thinking of authors of book titles, such as "The Importance of Punctuality" by Justin Thyme. Or "Road Safety" by Deborah Crossing.

Thanks, but I've been in contact with Gibson already, and they don't have what I need - at 10.5mm their disc wheels come on pinpoint axles only. Appreciate the info though, cheers!

Very useful, thanks Brack - I think the Jackson-Romford sets might be what I'm looking for. Sorry to sound daft but what does 'inside bearing' mean exactly?

Hi all, Some of you may have already seen my ongoing Class 700 project on other forums here, as it is connected with my Sevenoaks layout and also involves a lot of 3d printing. I'm hoping people aren't getting sick to death of hearing about it! At the risk of annoying people any further, I was after a bit of advice on wheel sets - this is my first foray into the world of rolling stock scratch building so it is proving a steep learning curve (albeit an enjoyable one). Any modern image southern region modellers will be familiar with the Class 700's distinctive bogie arrangement which lacks side frames. When it comes to building bogies this poses some interesting challenges, not least the fact that no one seems to sell wheel sets with flush axles - they are all of the pinpoint type, designed to click into side frames. To illustrate, here is a picture of the real thing: And here a pic of the bogie design I hope to use for the model. I have established that 10.5mm wheel sets are extremely close for what I need (10.8 would be precisely to scale). However I've had serious trouble finding someone who makes these with flush axles (as opposed to the pinpoint type). I'm suspecting I might be out of luck as there are so few stock types that require them, and even fewer modellers who are daft enough to embark on a scratch build project. Nevertheless I thought I'd ask on here on the off chance! The last time I asked about something I couldn't find, someone came back with the answer in about 10 minutes which was incredible! All the best, Tim

Talltim - that is precisely what I was planning on doing, to get a nice crisp edge

Thanks Simon! As I'm new to the cad forum I did have a look through the recent posts and was fascinated by all the products you've designed for lineside and station details - I will certainly be ordering a few of those in due course! The class 700 project is rumbling along fairly well - I now have a number of components on order from Shapeways, which will probably arrive in the next week or so. Once that happens I will post regular updates on how the model goes together. There are still a number of hurdles to cross, not least the electrics, lighting and motorising but if the bodyshells go together ok I will look into offering 'ready to motorise' sets or individual coaches to order if people want them. A long way to go yet, but I'm enjoying the journey! Cheers, Tim

It is true that Sketchup is a graphics heavy platform. It also does not seem to be supported on Intel graphics chipsets, which means a lot of laptops and desktops using onboard graphics will have problems. The system requirements for sketchup are stated on their website as follows: Recommended hardware 2+ GHz processor 8+ GB RAM 700MB of available hard-disk space 3D class video card with 1GB of memory or higher and supports hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL version 3.0 or higher and is up to date.SketchUp's performance relies heavily on the graphics card driver and its ability to support OpenGL 3.0 or higher. To test your graphics card's compatibility, please download and run the SketchUp 2017 Checkup application. Historically, people have seen problems with Intel-based cards with SketchUp. We don't recommend using these graphics cards with SketchUp at this time Minimum hardware 1 GHz processor 4GB RAM 16GB of total hard-disk space 500MB of free hard-disk space 3D-class video card with 512MB of memory or higher and supports hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL version 3.0 or higher and is up to date.

Personally I've found Sketchup to be very powerful and more than capable of creating workable STLs for 3D printing. I use a tool called solidinspector to check components in SKP before exporting to STL format and so far that has worked almost flawlessly. Sketchup has a particular way of working which doesn't suit everyone, but if you do click with it you can get some great results. It's free as well, unless you go for the extra features in the pro version. I would definitely recommend it to anyone for its intuitiveness, and there are plenty of tutorials and addons out there as well.