Pre-announcement announcement: N scale school bus kit

[tom mann]

How about a translucent smoke color?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Smoke would work but might look funny for the front windshield. I suggested a light green tint to Dave.

[Chris333]

Tint the clear with school children color 

[DKS]

I'm going to try a blue-green tint. There may be some inconsistency in its strength from batch to batch; we'll see.

[Sokramiketes]

Chris has described it correctly in principle. In practice, it takes quite a bit of, well, practice--on both ends: getting the drawings right, then fine-tuning the laser to successfully generate the masters. You can create a surprising amount of depth this way, assuming the right materials and techniques are employed. As it happens, a school bus is ideally suited for the process as the overall form is blissfully devoid of large, compound curves. The body is comprised of about 33 flat parts assembled to create the full form.

An actual product is better than no product... so I'm just curious: Since the laser causes a "layering" effect similar to cheap rapid prototyping, why not just draw the bus in 3D and have Shapeways produce it?  It could be hallow then...

Or spend the bucks on a Perfactory or FineLines master for casting with virtually no visible layering.

I can appreciate all the time invested and the back and forth with trying to complete this with a laser... but it probably ate up the ~$200 an excellant RP master would have cost, no?

[Chris333]

Dunno I think this looks better than RP:
http://www.nztproducts.com/images/tbs_z02b.jpg

And it might be harder to smooth out a whole RP piece at once.

[DKS]

An actual product is better than no product... so I'm just curious: Since the laser causes a "layering" effect similar to cheap rapid prototyping, why not just draw the bus in 3D and have Shapeways produce it?  It could be hallow then...

Or spend the bucks on a Perfactory or FineLines master for casting with virtually no visible layering.

I can appreciate all the time invested and the back and forth with trying to complete this with a laser... but it probably ate up the ~$200 an excellant RP master would have cost, no?

No. Granted, there's almost always a number of solutions to a given problem; I chose to use those skills and techniques with which I am most familiar. If I was really proficient at 3D rendering, I might have done this with Shapeways. But I can draw laser cutting art in my sleep. The bus took perhaps a cumulative total of a couple of days to draw, with three iterations of revisions, and less than a day to assemble the master. The larger block of time (the span of a few months) was spent honing the technique principally for other purposes: the bus is just part of a much, much larger project (to be launched by the end of the year by Stonebridge Models) that involved a lot of seriously complex 3D laser cutting which could have easily consumed months of 3D drawing time (even if one was proficient), but instead took only weeks to draw as flat art. When you see this product line, you'll hopefully realize that the laser was the right choice.

[Sokramiketes]

Dunno I think this looks better than RP:
http://www.nztproducts.com/images/tbs_z02b.jpg

And it might be harder to smooth out a whole RP piece at once.

I was looking at the grain in the actual bus casting, particularly the windows: 


A lot of the structure is layered flat art versus 3D laser sculpting. 

[Blazeman]

I know nothing of the technical aspects of the production, nor squat about bus models, but simply say these will make a really distinctive flat car/TTX car load.

[Sokramiketes]

No. Granted, there's almost always a number of solutions to a given problem; I chose to use those skills and techniques with which I am most familiar. If I was really proficient at 3D rendering, I might have done this with Shapeways. But I can draw laser cutting art in my sleep. The bus took perhaps a cumulative total of a couple of days to draw, with three iterations of revisions, and less than a day to assemble the master. The larger block of time (the span of a few months) was spent honing the technique principally for other purposes: the bus is just part of a much, much larger project (to be launched by the end of the year by Stonebridge Models) that involved a lot of seriously complex 3D laser cutting which could have easily consumed months of 3D drawing time (even if one was proficient), but instead took only weeks to draw as flat art. When you see this product line, you'll hopefully realize that the laser was the right choice.

Bryan Bussey and Robbman will probably agree; you need to take the time to learn a 3D modeling package!  I had ~14 years experience drafting in AutoCad before I learned Solidworks.  AutoCad was/is comfortable.  But, I've since realized how cumbersome traditional 2D drafting is compared to 3D modeling.  For example, the bus as shown would take Bryan or Robbman half a day tops to model.  Likely less.   I think I charged 7 hours for this O scale truck:



Anyway, can't speak to the secret projects in the works without more info, but the bus would be an interesting exercise to compare methods and time between the two methods.

[DKS]

I hasten to add that the project to which I referred was conceived, developed and executed entirely by Karin at Stonebridge. My bus (and a few other goodies) just came along for the ride, so to speak--I slipped my art into the workstream, and voila. NZT will be doing the casting work for the new Stonebridge line.

As for RP, I am working on developing my nascent 3D modeling skills (I am working on the ProtoMate in 3D); I just didn't want to get bogged down in the learning cycles required and delay the product any longer. I have no doubt whatsoever that 3D would be the superior method for something like the bus.

As you say, an actual product is better than no product, and I may one day re-release the bus based on a Perfactory master.

[Sokramiketes]

I hasten to add that the project to which I referred was conceived, developed and executed entirely by Karin at Stonebridge. My bus (and a few other goodies) just came along for the ride, so to speak--I slipped my art into the workstream, and voila. NZT will be doing the casting work for the new Stonebridge line.

Ok, cool.

[Alaska Railroader]

There is a huge difference in the two methods. RP models are very thirsty, some materials more than others, and to use enough paint to fill in the porosity inevitably causes loss of detail. After having painted literally hundreds of the RP I would much rather paint resin. The depth of the "layering" on this bus model is much thinner and more paint friendly.

For the project I am doing, as David mentioned, I will do one of two methods. I happen to like the clear transparent myself so I may spray a base coat of glossy over the whole model. This will help to give a smoother finish before you start adding color. But I am favoring the full body decal. I did this with Stony's GM fishbowl bus in Z and it was more than acceptable. Every one I made sold immediately. Here is one I did posted on Stony's site http://www.shapeways.com/model/176128/gm-fishbowl-bus-z-scale.html?gid=ug4375 .

Even as a generic bus I am so glad to see this on the market!

[Sokramiketes]

FUD does soak up paint, but it's nice for brush painting since it hides brushmarks!

But I was only suggesting Perfactory or Finelines for a master to then be cast in resin. 

[daniel_leavitt2000]

That Fishbowl is in Z? Why can't we have these nice things?