TangoOscarMike

Here's a funny thing. I had never used a like button (since I think that social media is the death of the Internet), until I started using it on RMWeb a couple of months ago. Several times I found myself having nothing to say, but wanting to make some sort of acknowledgement. And I realised that the like button exists (ostensibly, at least) for precisely this purpose. So I started using it. And it is useful (I choose to regard it as useful) that there are different types of like, to express particular types of approval. In normal speech we make all sorts of brief approving noises, some of which are actual words, when we have nothing to add.....

Another tiny bit of progress. I've added M3 studs for attaching the body to the chassis (I'm a big fan of making things so that they can be taken apart). I've also received a new 3D printed ducket, with which I am pleased. This particular coach is not going to be a brake coach - instead I'll start with a straightforward modification of a 4-wheel coach. When I get started on that I'll start a new thread (possibly under Smaller Suppliers, since I might offer the duckets for sale). In the second picture it appears as though there's a flange all round it. There isn't - it's an illusion created by looking through the ducket to the internal shape.

Yes. I won't offer exactly these models in finer detail plastic. Instead I will produce versions with, well, finer details. A thinner beading, less chunky door handles etc. I've been avoiding finer plastics for these because of the expense. But it's easy for me to produce the models for others to try. I think that Shapeways' Frosted Ultra Detail might be too stiff for the attachment arrangement of the 2-compartment version. I might have to come up with an alternative.

Let me give a more serious answer. I'm thinking specifically of people who have some R-T-R stock, and wish to dip their toes into kit-building. The Ratio GWR coaches are widely regarded as entry-level, but it's easy to make a mess of their running, and it's not easy to paint them. I want to provide people with an easier introduction. Hence locomotive bodies that simply clip on to the cheapest readily-available 00 R-T-R chassis.

I'm planning to take them back in time and given them to my 13-year-old self.

I've set the ball rolling on the coaches here.

Dear all This post generated some interest in the 3D printed coaches that appear in the pictures of the locomotive. These are old-fashioned horse-draw-carriage style coach bodies that fit on commercial coach or wagon chassis. I'm not altogether happy with these coach models: the combination of price and level of detail isn't right. Because of the cost of the higher-quality plastic, they're printed in the low-resolution "white strong and flexible" plastic. This means that the detail is a little crude and the surface is rather rough (and they still aren't cheap!). Nevertheless there is sufficient interest for me to offer them for sale so that anyone who wants to can participate in the experiment. I'm making them available at Shapeways' baseline price, with no markup. Here is a 3-compartment coach body that fits on the Hornby 4-wheel coach chassis (which is also used for their long-wheelbase wagons). And here is a 2-compartment coach body for the Dapol 9' wagon chassis. Please let me know how you get on with these, and ask me for advice of clarification if necessary. In particular, let me know if the links don't work! There is more to come. Tom

Alas no, not without modifying the chassis, at least not by me! Maybe there is someone with better geometry skills who can take up the challenge! Here is the previous version: The long splasher is just the same. The boiler is too high and too fat. The boiler is not cylindrical (except just behind the smokebox), but it does curve in a little bit below the centre-line. Eliminating the splasher was never an option. Making the sides of the boiler almost vertical, as they now are, was the price of lowering the boiler and making it thinner. I could definitely tweak the splasher, maybe putting a dip in the profile between the wheels, and it could curve down behind the back wheel. But I'm planning to make a version of this for the inside-cylinder chassis, and I want to have a few clear visual differences (different splasher, different shaped firebox...). If we overlook the distance between the splasher and the wheels, then I think the shape is somewhat justified by these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCR_Class_11F https://www.gersociety.org.uk/index.php/locomotives/t-w-worsdell/g16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNWR_George_the_Fifth_Class And (ahem) this: https://collection.maas.museum/object/43691 And Bessie, mentioned earlier in the thread. I've just re-read what you wrote - it is the vertical boiler sides, rather than the splasher, that concern you. I don't think I can do anything. This isn't even caused by the motor "cradle" (the splasher covers that). The vertical boiler sides are just the width of the motor projected downwards. I might be able to carry the forward, cylindrical part of the boiler further aft, but that might just draw attention to the problem. In the end, a certain amount of optical illusion is needed to put just-a-boiler on a chassis designed for a gurt big water tank. But I'm still open to suggestions!.....

Right, I'm back, and this is what I'm going to do: I'll make a few more tweaks to two versions of the carriage-style coaches (the one for the Hornby 4-wheel chassis, and the one for the Dapol 9' wagon chassis). Then I'll put these up for sale on Shapeways with no markup. I'll post a message here when the models are ready. My markup is pretty much symbolic, so its removal will be as well. But this seems to me like a decent alternative to my current approach, which is to offer nothing for sale that I haven't printed and tested. If I get a reasonable level of approval I'll wait for a while, then put my token markup in place. That's what I'll do first, then I'll give my attention to the other strands: Finer-detailed versions. Other chassis types (starting with 10' Dapol wagon chassis). The open coach. A brake coach. I've spread myself a little thin....... Meanwhile: I'm going to do one more test print of the locomotive, with a slightly large and higher boiler. Would anyone like to offer any suggestions for other changes?

For the record, my locomotive and coaches have only been painted (several coats of thinned acrylic) with no filling or sanding. In fact the paint alone makes a big improvement to the surface. I want these things to be as easy as possible for beginners. For some reason this has worked out far better for the locomotive and tender than it has for the coaches. But I don't disagree with you - the result is acceptable (to me) from a couple of feet away, but not close up. One of the happy results is that, although the finish is rough, it isn't rough enough to stop the lining decals (which are whole, filled-in panels) from adhering properly to the surface. Shapeways is very very convenient - and let's bear in mind that this sort of thing was impossible without a factory not very many years ago. But I wish they weren't so expensive - the cheap option is not really that cheap.

Thank you both, and your preferences are noted. It ought to be straightforward to tune the models for printing with better detail. In fact the main alteration will be making beadings thinner. I'm going to disappear for a few days, but when I get back we can resume discussion.

A splendid red engine, you mean? Certainly - the first one was red and the next one (or the one after) will be red too. I won't lie - I've already use this video as reference material. But I've only just noticed that Bessie has an elongated splasher similar to mine.

The longer of those two is the same as the 4-wheel coach chassis (and the log-wheelbase wagon) so that's already covered. The shorter one looks interesting....

Alas, we're all in the same boat. Nobody on this forum can help with your affliction. At the moment I'm concentrating on freelance entry level models (the 0-4-0 chassis is much cheaper than anything else) and leaving the more serious models to others. But this chassis would be a good choice if I decide to move up in the world.

It's OK - the soup of projects goes round and round, sometimes slowly and sometimes fast. And from time to time finished things rise to the surface and everyone admires them. Then after a few weeks the modeller realises that it isn't actually perfect, dismantles it and puts it back into the soup. Think of it as a form of meditation, or a metaphor for life or some such claptrap!

Noted! Via Shapeways or other means we will make this happen. I've been very coy about the whole thing, slowly "perfecting" my designs and occasionally sending pictures to Gibbo. Maybe it's going to turn into more of a community effort now! But right now I need my beauty sleep, as a matter of considerable urgency....

White Strong and Flexible (a.k.a. Versatile) is pretty indestructible. The part I managed to break was really very thin and subject to extreme bending. On reflection, I'm more worried about damage to the chassis. In this particular case I'm making less detailed prints, not more detailed! I abandoned FUD because of the cost, which has lead to designs with a rough surface and chunky detail. Close up and before painting these don't look so good, but at "normal viewing distance" I'm quite happy with them. Weirdly, I find the locomotives to be consistently more satisfactory than the coaches, as far as detail is concerned. I don't know why. Bear in mind that I'm trying hard to make things that are easy to paint (with beginners (like myself) in mind). So this contributes to, for example, the over-scale beading.

Grand. Stand by. The upside of Shapeways is that they are very, very convenient. I have considered approaching Knuckles on this forum about this, but, well: job, children, garden, tax declaration, other hobbies...... when I get a little time for railway modelling I like to spend it designing on the computer or painting..... If I ever start to regard Shapeways as a serious problem then I will look for alternatives. But at the moment the problem is that I work very slowly and I make multiple test prints before I'm happy with a design (therefore help with testing will indeed be useful!).

Dieselpunk! Upvote!

Well, the Hornby 4-wheel chassis is also used as a brake van chassis, I think. The chassis of my old GWR brake van is certainly very similar. But yes, it's a good idea. Can you recommend something specific (and readily available)? The good thing about the Dapol wagon chassis is that they are available off-the-shelf with no body attached, so no piece of rolling stock has to be butchered to make a coach.

Thanks Gary The most promising of the two designs is the one for the Dapol 9' chassis. The footboards and their support are part of the moulding print, and they have to be forced over the chassis frame. Once they have been forced over they hold the body onto the chassis. This all involves a little too much forcing for my taste. I had breakages with the first attempt, but not with the subsequent (reinforced) attempts. I could offer the design for sale at zero markup, if that would suit you. My markup is pretty tiny (Shapeways gets most of the money) but this seems like a good way to satisfy the honour of all concerned. I'm about to go away for a long weekend, but I'll attend to this when I get back.

The coaches: I was motivated to make coach-bodies-for-commercial-chassis after making my first ratio 4-wheel coach. It went together pretty nicely, but it doesn't run at all well, and it seemed to me that this entry-level kit wasn't quite entry-level enough for me. I'm still undecided about the little two-compartment coaches. I like the proportions, but the technicalities of the footboard and the attachment to the chassis need some refinement. But the two longer coaches are approaching completion. I'll need to do at least one more print of each (with alterations) before offering them for sale, but they're very straightforward to paint and attach to the chassis. They're made of Shapeways' White Strong and Flexible plastic, so there are some chunky detail / rough finish compromises, but I don't mind. I'm operating at the "colourful toy trains" end of the "freelance pre-grouping" spectrum. So for my purposes they're fine. They wouldn't do for a more serious modeller, except perhaps as a temporary measure. But then I suppose the same applies to the locomotive.

Dear Pugbashers I'm not going to post my pictures here, since I'm planning to offer models for sale (eventually!). But I hope you won't mind me posting a link: And I'd be grateful for your opinions.

The cab details are intended firstly to be easy to paint, and secondly to be reasonably plausible. And I must do something about the smokebox door - I hope that a smaller radius would get rid of those concentric rings.

And here are some painted pictures. They're fairly self-explanatory, but I will just mention: The engine and tender are brush painted (with sprayed varnish). The lining is home-printed waterslide transfers. The coaches (apart from the Hornby 4-wheeler) are part of an on-going project (also with Gibbo's help) to produce coach bodies for commercial chassis. Two of them are on the Hornby 4-wheel chassis, and the other two are on Hornby and Dapol truck chassis. The other engine is (as I'm sure you recognise) Hornby's 4-4-0 County.