Making a MA&PA Bobber

[narrowminded]

I think that flat trim board under the ends needs to be pushed back to the wall.

I wasn't getting what you were talking about there but I just realized what it was.  And yes, it definitely goes back and I don't think it even belongs there at all.  If you look at the drawing I was working with you'll see it but even while drawing it, it didn't feel right.  The Strasburg pictures show nothing like that at all, pushed back or out front.  The wood goes right up to the inner arch of the roof... I think.  What is there is an outer brace that extends from the body to support just that corner on each side.  Also, It looks like the cab corners are curved metal and might have brackets on them for corner marker lights.  There's a LOT of detail to do.

[peteski]

@Ed Kapuscinski If you want to do something it's not too late.   And is this what you remarked your Dad needed?

I played with the little bit of info I had, the one PRR ND drawing, to see what I might be able to do as I haven't done any boxed/ shell cars of any type so this seemed as good as any to get some practice.  So far, the dimensions are accurate per the drawing, the ones it has, and a little bit of scaling for things like window size and placement, and I'm generally happy with what printed.  For this test print I assembled it all and printed it in one piece but I have drawn all of the window frames and doors as separate components, as well as roof and cupola, to aid in sanding, paint, and assembly as well as choosing best print position.  Notice there are a couple of lines evident straight down the sides in the lower body half.  Those are from pausing the print to confirm it was staying attached with the supports I had placed, not something you would normally do and those lines wouldn't be on a final printed piece.

Here are a few pics of the test printed part as well as the drawing used.  I think I've at least got the proportions correct.

That's amazing Mark - must nice to be retired. 
Now for some questions:  Is this done in SketchUp?  Any idea how many hours you spent on the drawing so far?  I'm always interested in the amount of time it tales someone to create a model drawing (for 3D printing).

[Chris333]

I wasn't getting what you were talking about there but I just realized what it was.  And yes, it definitely goes back and I don't think it even belongs there at all.  If you look at the drawing I was working with you'll see it but even while drawing it, it didn't feel right.  The Strasburg pictures show nothing like that at all, pushed back or out front.  The wood goes right up to the inner arch of the roof... I think.  What is there is an outer brace that extends from the body to support just that corner on each side.  Also, It looks like the cab corners are curved metal and might have brackets on them for corner marker lights.  There's a LOT of detail to do.

It is there. Just the top piece of trim where the vertical boards end. Either way the 3D model looks good!

[narrowminded]

It is there. Just the top piece of trim where the vertical boards end. Either way the 3D model looks good!

Thanks, Chris.   There's a lot of info to gather to see a really detailed, accurate version of this.  That's just one. 

FYI, I started a build thread for these exchanges to avoid clobbering up Ed's kit bash thread.  It's really two different animals. 
The new thread is here: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=46587.msg609822#new

[narrowminded]

Now for some questions:  Is this done in SketchUp?  Any idea how many hours you spent on the drawing so far?  I'm always interested in the amount of time it tales someone to create a model drawing (for 3D printing).

Yes, it's done in Sketchup.  As far as hours to do a drawing?  That's a tough one.  The actual act of drawing, like doing a redraw once the data is down and you've managed to get some messes going on in the drawing, it's generally not much.  Something simple like that port hole piece was probably a half hour, maybe forty-five minutes, from start to finish.  That includes the drawing, export the STL to the slicer, slice it, down load to the thumb drive, load it into the printer, and let it rip.   At the end there's cleanup and handling to package so it's not something you do to make your fortune... or even lunch money.   But it'snot the end of the world for what you can do with it.

Now, something like the bobber I'm starting work on, that will consume massive hours.  Most of that time will be the research, thoughts of what you want and how it will work, edits, etc.  To try to guess that time, I just don't know.  I've got at least two strikes against me in this regard.  My experience at this level is minimal so the first hand prototype knowledge is weak, the sources to gather that knowledge is weak, and the least trouble but I'm sure a factor is my minimal (but growing in leaps and bounds) experience with the 3D process from start to finish. 

So to say what it takes?  I'll bet this one will ultimately be hundreds of hours, BUT, as much as 50% of that might be attributed to being new at it and also pursuing some pretty good detail.  The tipper cars I did, the first thing I drew and made, was probably 8-12 hours for the frame but again, from the scratch concept to a printed part and with NO experience with any of it. 

Bottom line, I am still  not a good measure of this yet but to do a real project with some detail could easily consume 20 hours and adding complexity could easily get in to the hundreds of hours.  And again, it's not the actual act of the drawing/ drafting, but the whole process of the design.  And for all I don't have, I DO have extensive experience designing and building devices that work, just not tiny models.  In that regard, I've got a head start over many so...     Is that helpful?

[peteski]

Yes, very helpful Mark - thanks!  I am just trying to wrap my head around the man-hours involved in a project like that.  Actually the fact that you are a SketchUp novice is a plus, since I'll be in the same boat.

While the initial time investment is rather large, the model can easily be duplicated (printed) multiple times.  Seems like it would be a natural small business opportunity.    But that comes with its own time investment requirement.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Yes, very helpful Mark - thanks!  I am just trying to wrap my head around the man-hours involved in a project like that.  Actually the fact that you are a SketchUp novice is a plus, since I'll be in the same boat.

While the initial time investment is rather large, the model can easily be duplicated (printed) multiple times.  Seems like it would be a natural small business opportunity.    But that comes with its own time investment requirement.

Not just that, but once you get a library of common parts, you can combine them in new ways.

For example, a PRR NC caboose, a PRR ND caboose, a PRR NDa caboose, a PRR N6B, etc...

[nkalanaga]

How does the time required compare with traditional scratchbuilding? 

[narrowminded]

How does the time required compare with traditional scratchbuilding?

It would vary with the complexity of the part you're scratch building.   Many of the highly detailed complex parts are nearly impossible to scratch build while this doesn't know or care how many complex shapes or fine details (to a point) are involved.  At least for me it definitely has its place.

[OldEastRR]

Looking at the drawing, aren't the cupola siding boards vertical and not horizontal as the model has?

[narrowminded]

Looking at the drawing, aren't the cupola siding boards vertical and not horizontal as the model has?

Yes, they are.  In this very incomplete test only print no board seams were drawn on the cupola or anywhere other than the one side.  Those are alias lines that won't be evident in any actual finished model.  There is a new thread in the scratch build forum to keep from clobbering up Ed's thread here that has some discussion on this.  Here's the link.  https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=46587.0