Grateful for Shapeways

[jdcolombo]

Even with the issues involved, this photo shows something I could not have but for Matthew Myers and Shapeways: my current stable of 1000-series NKP Cabooses, sitting in front of the engine terminal on my NKP layout.

John C.

[hegstad1]

John,

That is a beautiful sight!

[seusscaboose]

well done John!

[Chris333]

I was gonna bring it up during the FUD debate, but have you seen American Model Builders home page?

[jdcolombo]

I was gonna bring it up during the FUD debate, but have you seen American Model Builders home page?

Yes.  Not available yet.

John C.

[Chris333]

At any rate, your cabeese are some of the nicest completed models I've seen from Shapeways.

[Cajonpassfan]

Yes John, a beautiful sight!
Nothing like an appropriate caboose (way car, crummy, etc.) to put a bookend on the tail end of the train, one preferably pulled by a steam engine. 
Way to go!
Otto K.

[SP-Wolf]

Wow!!

Simply awesome!!

Wolf

[amato1969]

Great modeling of a unique caboose model!

  Frank

[OHCR 4218]

You need one without the high speed service logo just to chang things up a bit.

Brandon

[jpf94]

Can you post a close up shot of one or two of these cabooses so we can see what can be truly accomplished with Shapeways materials?

Joe

[jdcolombo]

Can you post a close up shot of one or two of these cabooses so we can see what can be truly accomplished with Shapeways materials?

Joe

Here's a side shot of 1085:



And here's a side shot of 1066, which I've weathered some with chalk.  The steps look crooked in this photo, but that is an artifact of the photo (they are straight - must have been from shooting at a slight angle at F/2..



You can definitely see a bit of the "texturing" resulting from the printing process when you're this close; but from any "normal" viewing distance on my layout (e.g., something like my first photo), they look great.

John C.

[seusscaboose]

for my $$$... they are more than acceptable...
thanks again for doing the project.
EP

[jpf94]

Thank you for the close up photos, much appreciated.  I agree with your statemetn that they look good when viewed under layout conditions, and they do.  I was curious on the large sides of the car what the printing would look like.
Certainly a good model of a unique car.

Joe

[jdcolombo]

You're welcome, Joe.  Hope it helps.

The Shapeways process certainly has its foibles, and I wouldn't use it for something that I was going to super-detail and enter in a model or photo contest.  But when your options are (1) not having the model at all; (2) scratchbuilding in styrene (and probably trying to fabricate the end ladder detail in brass, or perhaps doing brass etching for that);  or (3) Shapeways FUD, Shapeways seemed best to me.  I will say that the quality of the prints varies from "OK" to really good and the end ladder detail is VERY fragile; I've used up about half a bottle of thin CA on those end ladders.  But the process of cleaning, finishing and assembling one of these is pretty simple - I do it all in a single 24-hour period, starting with an overnight soak in Bestine; painting the next morning (using PollyScale acrylics); decals and final assembly in the evening.

Also no question that some other 3D printing processes would produce smoother sides, but they are not cost-effective at this time, unless you want to do one as a master for casting, but that's also a road I didn't want to go down.  For my purposes (seeing a 1000-series at the end of a 25-car train rolling along with a Berk on the front end, or maybe a 3-unit lashup of GP9's or RS11's), the Shapeways option turned out dandy.   I'll almost certainly buy an AMB laser-cut wood kit when those become available just to compare (their GN prototype looks fabulous), but I'm aiming for an even dozen of these before I finish, and the bulk will be Shapeways models.

John C.