Wantage Road 1880 4mm Broad Gauge

[Charlie586]

51 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:

I’ve got my Anycubic Mono set at 50mm/min lift speed, I can’t remember what the default is though

 

Ive also changed the lift height from 5mm to 6mm to make sure the layer releases from the FEP

 

You might find these interesting

 

https://youtu.be/BluqWRkBRHw

 

https://youtu.be/aklWU2edioU

 

Chris

 

I think the default lift is 150, not sure if the first few layers has a different speed. Thanks for links to videos.

[Charlie586]

16 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

Gibson does main frames for two 517 and a 1400 Charlie. Might be a better way to go mate.

Regards Lez.

Thanks Lez,  I forget they do frames and castings and other bits. I'll take a look.

[chuffinghell]

24 minutes ago, Charlie586 said:

I think the default lift is 150, not sure if the first few layers has a different speed. Thanks for links to videos.

 

I think the bottom lift speed and lift speed are usually the same

 

hope the videos help

[Charlie586]

Thanks again for the video links, @chuffinghell , they were very useful. 

 

Had a little bit of time the past few days to watch the videos, tweak settings and do some tests etc.

 

 

this was the original settings. The lift speed was 65mm per min for the peel part, not 150 as I'd thought. I took it down to 50 and increased both the lifting distances to 6mm then tried a test.

 

Springs and axleboxes,  printed fine.

 

did another test. I found this by chance a week or do ago, it converts a photo to a 3d lithograph thing that you can print. Basically it converts to grey scale then assigns a height to create the 3d bit. It's much better explained on the site. It is something you can spend many hours fiddling with. 

 

https://www.instructables.com/How-to-3D-Print-a-Photo-Lithophanes-101/?amp_page=true

 

 

Anyway,  it printed fine. The eyes were very dark in the picture which is why they haven't come out well in the calculation for 3d.  This is quite a thick solid print, so if it was ever going to fail it should have on this.

 

 

The back of the print is fine, this is the first layer printed as it hangs upside down while printing. There's no holes either, if the lights were failing or part of the matrix not working then it would be flawed. Maybe the holes are linked to the lift speed being too quick? 

 

 

One thing I have noticed is some of the vertical lines match up with the supports,  but not all of them. I don't know if that's linked or not. 

 

I think I need to try the metro and brake van again with the new settings over the weekend. I've also ordered a small bottle of the original resin, I've been using eco resin as it was on offer. And I've downloaded the latest version of the slicing software, chitubox, just covering all the bases really.

 

 

[Charlie586]

Re printed the brake van over the weekend. It takes nearly 7 hours to print and I don't like to leave it and go too far away in case something disastrous happens. 

 

 

As you can it's peeled a little from the base during the print, but it's not ruined the print. 

 

 

However,  still got a few vertical lines,  which is a bit annoying. 

 

 

Next to the original you can see the improvement. I do think the proper, normal resin works better. That and the settings changes have definitely helped.

 

The only thing I haven't done that may improve printing is change the film at the bottom of the vat. It's worth trying as I've got a few spares. Last time, you might remember, I had problems with the hex bolts disintegrating but shouldn't be a problem now as I replaced them.

 

I have to admit, the thought of a new printer with a much larger build plate and can print in 2 hours instead of 7  is very tempting. I'll have to get saving my pennies or give up smoking or something. 

 

There's a community Makerspace opening near me soon, it's part of a school though it now seems to be called an academy and not a school. I'm not sure exactly what will be in it yet, but I'm hoping for 3d printers and lathes. I'll hold off anything drastic until I know exactly what's there and what the deal is. In the meantime I've got more than enough to be getting on with.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Charlie586
Spellin'

[chuffinghell]

I’m no expert by any stretch of the imagination, I’ve watched a few video tutorials but I’ve still not cracked it 100%

 

Looking at what you’ve done there I think I put far too many supports on my prints, I put that many supports on I end up with a stickle brick (if anyone can remember those)

 

 

I tend to print 0.02mm layers so even with a photon mono with 2 sec exposure time my last few prints have taken 24hrs….I’m definitely still doing something wrong though

 

 

[chuffinghell]

Oh another thing, if using chitubox try using a ‘skate’ instead of the individual pads, it will stick to the print bed much better and less likely to peal away

 

 

Chris

[Charlie586]

1 hour ago, chuffinghell said:

I’m no expert by any stretch of the imagination, I’ve watched a few video tutorials but I’ve still not cracked it 100%

 

Looking at what you’ve done there I think I put far too many supports on my prints, I put that many supports on I end up with a stickle brick (if anyone can remember those)

 

 

I tend to print 0.02mm layers so even with a photon mono with 2 sec exposure time my last few prints have taken 24hrs….I’m definitely still doing something wrong though

 

 

Thanks Chris. Sometimes chitubox puts too many supports on and other times it leaves large pieces without any.

 

I will try a skate on next print, I used them by default years ago but after I upgraded chitubox about a year or so ago I just used individual supports which sometimes form a raft, sometimes not. 

 

I use 0.04mm as I read once, maybe on reddit or even here, that 0.04 equated to a specific fraction of the screw thread turn on the z axis for the original photon so was the best height to use for that model. Could have just been a myth though. 

[Charlie586]

Been a while since last video 

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/-5Xs8KZ-nXM

 

Video won't embed for some reason?

 

Just a little trundle along. Excuse the mess and touch from above. I'm slowly testing the track, amongst all the other things going on. The hawthorn needs pickups on the leading wheels as it keeps stopping at different points.

 

 

There's a ridiculously large, near 6 inch scale gap in the track just before the frog,  that needs sorting. Wheels still go over it, which is surprising. Above that is the 2 stretcher bars getting ready for the 2nd point on the board.

 

 

I changed the printer's vat fep screen, you can see the marks on the old one. No disasters with bolts this time. Did a few little tests

 

 

Axlebox and bits for the brake van and brick arch for signal box. Didn't have time for a long print though. 

Parts of the spring hangers broke off when I removed it from the plate, partly me but it is fragile. I think brass w irons might be a better way to go with 3d boxes and springs as it has to hold the axle too. I made some carriage irons, in pic, a while back but they'll need to be smaller. You can probably buy them but, as you probably know by now, I'm tight and I prefer making that kind of thing.

 

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by Charlie586
Spelling

[Charlie586]

Just like buses, you get no videos for ages then 2 come along at once 

 

 

Hughes tram chassis on a short lurch. Because it's tiny, the pickups are a bit of a struggle but it's slowly improving. Don't know how all the lead is going to fit in though.

 

 

I might be better off coupling to a wagon with extra pickups in the short term, it's going to be a few years before it needs to do solo things.

 

 

Tried to print a broad gauge wagon and it half worked. The left hand supports just never stuck to the base. There are some vertical holes / marks around the other side snd one in the floor but you can't see it in photo. I'm saving up for a new printer,  I don't really need to print anything as I've got a huge backlog so I'll try and hold out and hope the price comes down in a few months. 

[Mikkel]

On 22/05/2022 at 18:00, Charlie586 said:

 

 

Tried to print a broad gauge wagon and it half worked. 

 

That's a dramatic way to go about gauge narrowing 🙂

 

On 22/05/2022 at 18:00, Charlie586 said:

I don't really need to print anything as I've got a huge backlog

 

I can see how that can become a challenge with DIY 3D printing. There's a temptation to print all sorts of interesting stuff and it must easy to forget that it also has to be painted, detailed and finished.

 

BTW I've received the prints from those Shapeways designs of yours. They've come out well as far as I can see, though I've yet to prime them. And for once it paid off to be on the continent, quick delivery and no import fees. 

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Mikkel

[Charlie586]

1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

 

That's a dramatic way to go about gauge narrowing 🙂

 

 

Maybe I should patent a self convertible wagon, or one that only goes from left to right.

 

1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

 

I can see how that can become a challenge with DIY 3D printing. There's a temptation to print all sorts of interesting stuff and it must easy to forget that it also has to be painted, detailed and finished.

 

BTW I've received the prints from those Shapeways designs of yours. They've come out well as far as I can see, though I've yet to prime them. And for once it paid off to be on the continent, quick delivery and no import fees. 

 

 

There's several boxes full of okay prints and another box of rejects. I haven't done a list of things 'on the go' but I think it would cover more than one page. I'm having a play with my airbrush over next few weeks so it gives me something to practise on. I've had the airbrush two and a half years and so far it's not even been out of the box.

 

And thanks again for buying the bits.  Hopefully the finish is okay, but it's not always to see until it's primed as it's translucent.

[Charlie586]

I went around the printer checking the bolts,  a few moved slightly but I don't think they were causing any problems. 

 

 

This part of the z axis screw didn't seem to have any grease on, it would be near the start of a print. So I greased it up (as the actress said to the Bishop etc). Tried the wagon again 

 

 

But the other side

 

 

Although it's improving, I think it's a lost cause. I think I still need to print a few windows so I'll just sort them out and axleboxes while I look at a new printer. 

 

Other stuff wise, I had to travel up and down the country again last week, but I did do a drive by viewing of what remains of Wantage Road, which, isn't much.

 

 

From Google maps. The volunteer Inn is pretty much the same as 1880, except the outbuildings are gone, so should be easy to model. This will be right at the back of possibly the last board to be built so there's no rush. Maybe I ought to get dimensions just in case.

 

 

Sorry about the electric stuff in the distance. The only other real remain is the brick building, now tune rite, formally the Lockinge estate goods siding that became a goods shed. Top left of this map from 1898 gives a good idea of its position 

 

https://maps.nls.uk/view/104196040

 

Luckily, the wiltshire and Swindon  history centre has a copy of the agreement for the siding (though not online)

 

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/cf9fd7ec-a593-430e-9c25-ceb83531f9b9

 

I'm not sure exactly when the shed was built, the 1875-77 map only shows a siding, but I'm hoping it will be fairly easy to find out. I may not need to build it for 1880.

 

The Berkshire record office also has this from 1875 which may be related to the siding or the start of tramway.

 

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/2b3e2b56-0514-443f-9933-7ea268cd638f

 

So, I need to contact these places and find out how to get hold of the documents. I imagine it's a visit in person, but I've not done that kind of thing before so who knows.

[Charlie586]

Have to go a bit back to last year for the start of this one.

 

I was running out of rattle grey primer and wanted the same brand so everything had the same base. But I couldn't find the cheap stuff I normally use, but did find a different brand of white filler primer, do I thought I'd try it then do some test painting.

 

If you can remember back a few years, I've got some old, 15-20 years railmatch.

It was kind of half solid half liquid and wouldn't mix well. I started painting but it looked too shiny. On the next coat I had an accident and spilt half the cream bottle down me and in a tray. I tried to use as much as I could, even on non primed prints but all I did was give myself a massive headache for a day that tablets wouldn't shift.

 

 

Here's the result. As you can see, very shiny and it didn't go on the white primer very well. I decided to abandon oil based and go acrylic and use my airbrush that hadn't made it out of the box at that point.

 

The old primer I was using eventually returned to the bargain shops and I had a go at the airbrush during the week.

 

 

I converted my hi tech spray booth type thing to close off another side and started playing. 

 

The paint came out too quickly over the test carriage side, but I altered the flow a little and got the first coat on the hughes 

 

Can't upload more photos so I'll do another post...

 

 

[Charlie586]

 

And another coat plus the internarly bits

 

 

Wherever I take the photo it looks a different colour,  it's actually a bit darker in real life.

 

I've watched a few videos  but need to watch more. The flow needs reducing more and I need a lot of practice but it's a start. 

[Charlie586]

I've got in another pickle by having too much on the go at once. Recent things I've done little bits to are :

 

 

A chassis for the Grantham tram and building a gearbox. 

 

 

I did have to move the axle hole a tad as I bent it up about half a mm out. I think it's better for me to build two ends flat and drill through both before spacing next time.

 

 

Nearly ready, just need pickups and wiring sorted. Also done a chassis for hawthorn tender. The centre of gravity will be quite high for this as it's very open at the bottom in the photo below. I may need to scrap the chassis and use outside bearings, it would be nice to add extra pick ups though so would prefer inside bearing chassis.

 

https://www.ssplprints.com/image/374746/gwr-2-4-0-hawthorn-class-locomotive-dewrance

 

 

Run out of photo room again. Must be a new limit as I used to upload loads more at a time? I'll do the rest tomorrow. 

[Charlie586]

Other stuff what I've been doing ...

 

 

Sprayed the Grantham body, but flooded it a bit as still not got the hang of it yet. I used a paint brush to spread the flood around but it's a bit streaky (the other side is worse). I should probably have used a cotton bud to soak it up while wet. I'll try some ipa to take some of it off.

 

I should have done the ladders and handrails first, but I got a bit overkeen to airbrush.

 

(Embedded pic from https://www.tramwayinfo.com/tramways/Articles/Grantham.htm)

 

I've got some etched ladders, but those handrails on top are going to be a nightmare.

 

 

Did a tiny bit of weathering to the hughes body, but it barely shows. Need to sort the glazing. 

 

 Run out of photo room again...

 

[Charlie586]

 

Put extra pick ups on the leading wheels of the Hawthorn 

 

 

 

 

Runs a lot better. The body still shorts against the wheels so I left it off. Need to isolate the splashers fully

 

As I kind of said yesterday, I've got too much on the go at once (there's other things I haven't mentioned yet, but I'll ignore them for know).

 

I'm going to concentrate on 3 things, the track, the hawthorn and a wagon or coach (not sure which one yet). I'm very close to being able to join both baseboards for a longish run and if I'm not careful a year will fly by before I get around to it.

 

 

[Mikkel]

The Grantham tram made me curious so I found a bit of info about it. Such a strange beast visually. The early engravings of the design seem to be a good example of how easily a modeller can be misled!  Good thing you've got a photo to work from.

[Charlie586]

15 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

The Grantham tram made me curious so I found a bit of info about it. Such a strange beast visually. The early engravings of the design seem to be a good example of how easily a modeller can be misled!  Good thing you've got a photo to work from.

The photo is before it went to Wantage, but there's nothing in the tramway books about any external changes. Must have been quite an experience for passengers to sit so near the boiler.

The engravers must have worked from the original patent and a misunderstanding about the roof. It makes you wonder what other early railway drawings, engravings etc are wrong.

[Charlie586]

Had a cheap last minute holiday on Norfolk Suffolk border. Didn't visit any of the preserved railways, but did go to Wroxham miniature world which has some massive model railways, along with lego and scalextric.

 

Anyway 

 

 

It's one of those rare occasions when the board is tidy. The temporary wiring is getting a bit Heath Robinson, not helped by me using different colour wire all over the place. So, I'm going to start wiring from underneath. I can also sort the bottom of the points while I'm under there and hopefully get the crossing wires in place.

The mass of wire at the bottom is from my might come in handy collection, most of it is too thick so I might have to actually buy some so at least I can keep colours the same. 

 

 

Did some paint tests and paint on a bit of paper (which looks nothing like how it dries on the models). The coach brown and rover tender green were single very thin airbrush coats, but I don't like the colour so I'll try again with different mixes. The red was thinned and brush painted, but again not right. I was trying to match them to the precision colours I've got and colour matches on various threads here and elsewhere. Needs more messing around, but I'm having fun which is the main thing. 

 

 

[Northroader]

See how you get on mixing black and yellow?

[Charlie586]

I'll try that,  I imagine you don't need much black.

 

embedded from https://www.scaleseven.org.uk/index.php?id=11&galItem=232&galAlbum=1&galTag=

 

Something like this (taking into account original photo lighting, my lighting, monitor settings etc)

[lezz01]

The way to go with colours is to paint the paper with what ever you use for undercoat first then you can see what the final colour will look like.

Regards Lez.

[Charlie586]

7 hours ago, lezz01 said:

The way to go with colours is to paint the paper with what ever you use for undercoat first then you can see what the final colour will look like.

Regards Lez.

 

Thanks Lez, I didn't think of that but it makes complete sense. Cheers.