ikcdab

Having surmounted most of the 3d printing issues, I have successfully printed some 009 wagons. This is using water washable elegoo resin. The first batch were a failure as they warped and broke up horribly after curing. Maybe because I was printing flat sides 1mm thick. Second attempt I added plenty of internal bracing along the top of the inside edge of the wagon. This was far more successful and the wagons have been stable for two of three weeks. Yesterday I decided to paint and add loads. I undercoated with Wilco rattle can primer. This says "contains acetone" so I guess it's cellulose paint. Then topcoated with acrylics. Last step was to add a load of sand fixed with sheet water down PVA. All was fine, but today the wagons have started splitting. It's pretty much happening as I watch them. One wagon which was ok 5 mins ago, is not splitting. Out of 12 wagons, 8 have split. So what is causing this? They were ok until I painted and added a load. Is it the cellulose and acetone based paint reacting with the water based resin? I really can't believe that the sand and watered-down PVA had caused it. I don't think it's expansion of the load. Any ideas? Ian

Obviously I cannot make any comments on this incident. But in general terms, I have read that gated crossings are thought to be dangerous. How can that be when the gates must be securely bolted before signals can be cleared? Apart from a car crashing through the gates, how can an accident occur at a gated crossing? Ian

Hi Andy thanks. They do look good, quite pricey though..... Ian

Hi Keith, thanks for the feedback. I need to update my thread again! For passenger stock, I use rigid couplings such as the roco or Hornby close couplings or (increasingly) the hunt magnetic couplings. These both give nice close couplings with no loose movement. For goods stock I stick with the small hook and bar couplings as that gives me the loser movement of goods stock. Ian

I am restarting 009 after an absence of many years as a feeder to my 00 layout. What are the current best couplings to use? I am tempted by the Greenwich CPL1 but would like to know about alternatives. Thanks Ian

Obviously is poor driving, but enhanced by the name of the reporter...

Are you sure about this? My understanding is that there is now a six week appeal period, then the order is granted. The decision letter says that the order will authorise compulsory purchase powers. So what is the new legal pain that has to be gone through? Ian

I am still a fan of 3mm cork and I stick the track down with copydex. This holds it firm but is removable. I have tried closed cell foam,but I found it dented very easily which spoiled it. I have also used double sided tape to stick track down, but found it degraded and gave way. You can buy the cork online in big rolls. It is easy to cut. Ian

Ok so it's an odd email but a charity benefits. But why do I need to buy two GT3s? I only want one!

Hi captain, I think there's something on Everard Junction YouTube about this. I haven't looked it up, but thete is some solution he dunks his bodies in for this. I'll look it up later and see. Ian

I'm not really sure what you are after here. It seems to me there are three types 1. Locked harbours where they is an entry gate so that when the tide is down water is retained. Preston, Bridgwater and portbury are examples. 2. Tidal harbours where the water level goes up and down, but it doesn't dry. Fishguard, Douglas etc. Very common 3. Drying harbours where all the water disappears at low tide. Watchet, Minehead, Lyme Regis. Which one are you looking for? Ian

I have thought about using miniature neo magnets. One pair glued to the baseboard and another pair in the building, dangling loose with the wires soldered to the magnets. When the building is placed, the magnets attract and hey presto. Orientate the magnets with the baseboard pair one north and one South so that they connect up correctly. I haven't tried this. Can you solder to neo magnets to attach the wires? And can you fix the signalbox pair firmly enough such that they don't pull off when detaching? Ian

Ok. So back to my original question. Why am I seeing so many singles today? Am I due really bad news, or are the partners sat on the nest?

Wow...I thought it was always magpies https://blog.gardenwildlifedirect.co.uk/magpie-rhyme/ If its crows too, then I am really in trouble. Ian

I am a slave to the magpie saying "one for sorrow, two for joy". And I do feel uplifted if I see two together. But this time of year I see lots of singles. This might mean that I am in for a whole bucket of sorrow. But I wonder if at this time of year, one half of the pair is busy sitting on eggs so that is why I see lots of singles at the moment. If I wait until the eggs have hatched and both parents are out foraging, will I be happier again? Ian

Thanks, duly requested. Ian

Hi all, i have just bought a E188 Lew from Rails on their special offer, its a good price, £129.50. However, two faults: 1. the valve gear on one side fell out. the crankpin has come out of the wheel. I have tried to push back in, but to no avail and i dont want to apply to much pressure. 2. intermittently, when power is applied, the motor whirs, but no movement. Sounds as if the gear wheel is loose or not engaging. I am just sending it back to rails. However, i don't know whether to just have a refund or to request a new locomotive. I am not sure if they do repairs. If these are inherent faults, then I will get a refund, despite the good price, and buy something else. But it you think this i s arare one-off, then its a new loco. What do you think? Ian

Is it yet known which services will stop here? Just the Paignton trains ( as per St Thomas) or are any mainline trains going to call here? Ian

I remove supports before curing. It seems impossible to remove from the build plate with supports in tact. I normally just cut through the supports with scissors to release the model. Then I gently remove the remainder while washing. In any case, I don't have supports across the width anyway. Maybe I should add some crossways bracing at design stage. Ian

Thank you for your replies. Trial and error means that I can now get a more reliable result. But now to my next issue, warping. Here are some 009 open wagons. They printed fine with water washable resin. I then wash in lukewarm water and then about 10 to 15 mins in the UV curer. This is a home made curing box. The prints are static in this, ie no turntable, but I move them around every few minutes. At that curing stage, the sides then warped out. I found that if I heated them with a hairdryer, they would go back into shape. Great, I thought. So then under coated with rattle can and top coated with acrylic through the air brush. Then I added a sand load fixed with PVA. Now look at the result. Massive warping to the extent that one has cracked at the corner. This is not the first time this has happened, this is the second print. Those did the same without the painting and sand load. The cured resin just seems to keep moving and I don't know why. Is it on the printing process? The curing... Do they need to be constantly moving on a turntable? Subsequent temperature changes.... Or are my wagons just too thin with sides 1mm thick. My next move is to print them with reinforcing sprues. The sides are only 1mm thick, so maybe I should thicken the lower sides below the load for added strength. Any comments? Ian

With a resin printer the limiting factor is the bed size. If you Google any of them, you will see what that size is and whether your print will fit. Bear in mind though that you can incline the print to get a greater length in. No doubt you will get a much better result from a resin printer. My experience is that a resin printer is not plug and play. It takes a lot of fiddling to get it working correctly. I have had a lot of issues with thinnish resin prints (such as coach sides) warping and I do find them brittle. But it is worth persevering as when it does work, it's great. Ian

See here. Any advice gratefully received. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/176833-resin-printing-problems-what-am-i-doing-wrong/page/2/#comment-5100454

Yes. Thats straightforward. There is a function in templot that takes you direct to the nls website, allows you to specify the area you want then it will download it for you and import it. Ian

If you need any help with the templot side of things, let me know and I'm happy to help. Ian

All of that pointwork is curved and each designed for its individual location. You won't ever get that from any commercial product. To get this looking right, the track will need to be handbuilt. You can design it yourself on templot and either commission it or build it yourself. It's a great looking layout and it will look fantastic! I look forward to following it! Ian