Blefuscu

I'm another Blender user... but would I recommend it? Well, it's free I guess, but like all this software you will need to put a bit of time into it before you know if you gel with it. It took me years to get the hang of it - but that was back around version 2.6. They have done a lot of work to improve the user interface since then. It's quite different from CAD, and I don't just do 'hard modelling' with it, I also free sculpt more organic shapes... cloth.. .people... etc. It might be my personal workflow but I also spend quite a bit of time nursing vertices and cleaning geometry. I find this strangely therapeutic for some reason. For me, it feels more like modelling than engineering, (although I'm still able to take measurements when I need to.) For chassis and bogie mechs it's probably not the right tool... but I know it well enough now that I would use it in preference to CAD software. I will use CAD software if I need require .dfx drawings for cutting or .step files for CNC and my preference there is for FreeCAD (3D) and libreCAD (2D). Preference might be the wrong word. I don't know either package very well and find both pretty horrible to use. This is in part due to lack of experience, although, from what I understand, Fusion360 IS hands-down better. I only use them because I didn't really understand the Fusion license agreement. If I did more CAD work I'd probably look at the design spark software from RS, also mentioned above.

Thanks, I had completely missed that!

Yes, I saw a nice 55 body on one of the Facebook groups. Although i print my own bodies, and will probably have a go at a 31 before Hornby's turns up, I think they are good value too.

Those lincoln locos bodies are really nice. Halling got back to me - they are having problems with there webshop at the moment but are happy to take orders and sort out the details later, or take orders via email.

I don't think you'd need to resort to DCC to reduce the speed electronically. A potentiometer might do the job. Presumably you're running at a lower voltage in RC, so they would be slower anyway. I hadn't considered RC for 1:120, I will probably go down the DCC road eventually with one of those Arduino projects. Physically, I offered up their 3D model of the 21mm bogie against my 313 model and it looks encouraging. (There's a screen shot of it in the 313 thread.) Yes, it was too hard to resist for me. Once I'd caved in, I went for a fair handful of options.

OK, I've dropped them a line. Their 21mm powered bogie looks really nice and I could see a lot of applications for it. Meanwhile... I went in for the 9.1 and 8mm Mosskito wheels, and some 8.3mm wheels from muellerradsatz. So I shall have plenty to play with soon. I also ended up taking a punt on a 1015 motor and some M0.2 metal gearsets from china... more just to see what turns up. At £2.50 a go, I won't be too crestfallen if all I get is a puff of black smoke out of it. I also saw some 1.5mm ID bearings, but forgot to add them to my basket...

That's good to know. Who do you recommend for sourcing Halling gears? I tried to order that 21mm Halling bogie earlier but had no luck. (I couldn't seem to select any kind of shipping for it.. ?) I did manage to order a Tramfabriek 1015 though... and some worms. So it begins. I don't know how people feel about Aliexpress... Anyhow, my search for coreless motors threw up these... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004824606265.html Gears too... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000852987637.html I haven't used Aliexpress myself, but I guess the fact I haven't snapped those up indicates I have very mixed feelings.

I'm thinking about having a go at this for one of my TT120 projects. I will probably just use a Halling bogie for my 313 EMU, as it looks to be a good fit. (H0m trams save the day!) However, for the 55 I am looking at these 9.1mm Mosskito Wheels... https://www.lightrailwaystores.co.uk/collections/mosskito/products/mosskito-wheels-9-1mm-12mm-gauge?variant=40378791231554

...and the ST. The front bogie shown is the 210mm Halling H0m https://shop.ferro-train.com/hallingShop/Article/ANT-ALX-210-H0M I'm not intending to put a powered bogie on the second trailer, I was just offering it up for a look see. You can find the 3D models of the Halling bogies here (they are in STEP format but easy to convert to .stl using freeCAD) https://www.halling.at/Drehgestellantriebe-.html

I have had half an eye on this thread with the idea of using hunt couplings for my 313 units. I had originally intended to gut an ICE3... but I am going to have trouble getting the ICE3 kinematic couplings to fit, (and, it turns out, I quite like the ICE3 and might want to keep it intact.) Would these be the right sockets for the hunt TT120 couplings? https://westhillwagonworks.com/oo-9/34-ntt009-narrow-gauge-nem-355-sockets-pack-of-16.html Or, alternatively, what about the symoba 110/111 combination kinematic couplings. Would these provide tighter coupling? https://www.petersspares.com/p/103654-dcc-supplies-symoba-110-nem-362-short-pocket-pk2 https://www.petersspares.com/p/103642-dcc-supplies-symoba-111-nem-conversion-sliders-kinematic-coupling-pk2 I'm also assuming the Hornby TT8040s use the same socket?

The underneath is taking longer than expected, but this is what I currently have for the DM. I'm going to start on the ST now! .

Thanks - I'll probably use one of those ultimately. I think there is going to be a bit of tinkering with the design before I fit the bearings. I'm about to try a test print of the bogies... Meanwhile I've added the .stls to the Class 313 on cults3d and have also listed them separately as a free design in case anybody wants to have a proper look at them. https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/tt120-scale-bx1-bogies-for-class-313-emu

Oh dear, that's sad news. I was just on there website and don't know how I missed that.

I noticed that https://www.nbrasslocos.co.uk/ have n gauge top hat bearings too, which I presume would be ok. I made a note about accommodating a recess for a brass bearing on the designs... but there are implications there when scaling the model up or down, so I just have the pinhole marks as a guide for now.

Some BX1 bogie designs. I seem to have identified four variations... These are just under 3cm long at 1:120, so I haven't gone overboard with rivets and cables. I have also back filled some of the space between components to (hopefully) give them a bit more mechanical strength. Hopefully these will look ok when the empty areas are blacked out and the components are picked out with frame dirt and brake dust. The base I sketched out is mechanically compatible with a Piko one I had to hand. It's not very finished and subject to change, as I am thinking of use an M3 bolt to hold the bogies, or use an existing bogie and change the sides... Obviously, whatever I do here - I will make the free sides available.

Thank you! And I love the 3mm dreams! I think I mentioned somewhere my own dream is Hornsey station and depot, 1980, or trying to squeeze as much of it as I can into my loft - if I had a little bit more space I'd be tempted to print them in 3mm too... then i look at the railmaps and overhead photos i think it should be 2mm. Maybe that's how i ended up choosing tt, and modelling a deltic with no wheels 🤔 Whatever scale, it's great to hear other people take on these designs. As the number of designs out there increases, so do the possibilities... combined with the really interesting stuff happening with Templot, I think these are good times.

On the subject of their shops, one of our local ones (Barnet) has just closed down. Or, rather I have just noticed it has closed down. As a wargamer of old, now with kids, I have always developed a bit of a love hate relationship with warhammer that is beyond the scope of this thread. However, I think their shops are pretty stellar. Above and beyond the general management decision to pull most of my army list from the shops (oops...here we go!) I generally find the staff are excellent. They have to deal with everyone from cynical old farts like me, to young kids, confused mums... and they just seem to me to be uncommonly good at it. Paint wise i prefer valejo or p3, but I have nothing against citadel. Their brushes are crap though!

Thanks! I'm now laid up in bed after a minor op and can't do any modelling, so I've just been having a go at posting them on that Facebook instead. Normally I find social media too much like hard work. I'm only 50, so I think it must be neurological! too many notifications from too many directions. I don't think I will be able to maintain this flurry of activity, and look forward to a return to vertex shifting soon.

Yes, you have to get the deals when you see them. Although, I'm not so sure about the stuff I saddled myself with recently. It's great to have your support - we're on one income at home, and it isn't mine! 😂 The trains need to pay for themselves!

Oh.. don't get me started! Interestingly, they seemed a reputable shop. Even sent me nice catalogues. I used to do a bit of 3d printing on etsy and ebay... esty were asking me to shoulder so much responsibility for this stuff I just packed it in. Ebay was easier, but customers were paying and arm and a leg on worldwide shipping. It made me look awful, (compared to prices from China!), so now I just sell files. It's only pocket money to keep me in resin... and wheelsets.. after all!

I'm a bit nervous because I bought my ICE3 'on sale' on ebay... and then got stung with the tax and parcelfarce handling charge. 😂 That said, like you - i have been ok in the past.

https://www.muellerradsatz.de/p/100-tt-radsaetze-fuer-tillig-bttb-7-0-8-3mm-einseitig-8-3 They also looked interesting... I bet tax and shipping will be upsetting though.

Sorry, thats an oversight on my part. I don't really know the 507. Ok, if you are happy to do that, I won't rush into action - but I shall put it on my to-do list. That's not a bad idea, thanks!

Ah, well... I did have everything modelled I just needed to join them together and clean up all the boolean operations! The other bits will take a bit longer! I work in a lot of scales, particularly for road things using the weird scale 1:14, so I do it mathematically. I multiply by the source scale to get myself back to 1:1 and then divide by the target scale. To get from 1:120 to 1:100, I'd multiply by 120 and divide by 101.6. So, by that reckoning I think you should be scaling by 1.18 or 118% As well as scaling it in blender or [insert favourite slicer here] I get the dimensions of the model and scale them in excel to do a sanity check. Then I can be sure the dimensions match what I'm expecting. A virtual 10mm cube is a good thing to have lying around as a benchmark too, and known good models are useful too. For example, you could offer up the VGA wagon next to your scaled 313 as a comparison.

When I had a go at a 120 car I decided not to bother modelling the wing mirrors - similar thing happened to the wipers I tried to print for the 313. Those bodies look good though! Transit van is classic. Hopefully you got a message/email from cults3d about the new versions I just uploaded?