Gold Rush Bay models - Victorian houses & Old West

[OldEastRR]

Anybody here bought anything from these guys? They make both N scale and HO stuff, all of it very ornate Victorian style structures.

https://www.ebay.com/str/goldrushbay?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

They look kinda print-ridgey but with Victorian style architecture and all that gingerbread the ridges fit in. Very cheap prices, too. Looks like he used real buildings to model.

He has a lot of HO stuff, including a stagecoach. I basically checked out the N stuff only.

fixed the link - gfh (p.s.: lots of filament residue on the models; might make good haunted houses though)

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, I don't know about the quality of the models, but his designs, while over the top, seem quite good architecturally. I did place a bid on the barn, so we'll see what we get, if anything. Very creative stuff, if not exactly useful for most layouts...I prefer the ordinary.
Otto K.

[peteski]

These are 3D printed and judging by the starting price, these are made on a printer that uses a hot filament material.  I suspect that there will be quite noticeable artifacts of the printing process.  Plus, if you thought painting the DPM kits with all the details molded in was a pain in the butt, just imagine trying to detail-paint this:



Viewed in full size, you can see some thin leftovers of the filament in the window openings, and in the railings.  Don't get me wrong, these are miniature masterpieces that must have taken long time to draw, but the printing process will likely leave lots to be desired.  A DLP printer would have done much better job (but also pricier). Also, if details like railings and windows were printed separately, that would make much easier to deal with kit (again, pricier). Just my opinion.  YMMV.

[Chris333]

I wonder if you can dip those in a strong chemical to melt off all the hairs?

[screeh]

I've bought two houses - the Victorian mansion shown in Peteski's post (which came with a full interior) as well as the vendor's version of the Pink Palace Apartments from the film Coraline - and I'm quite happy with both.

They will need a little work to clean up the odd stray filament but, seeing as some came off after a go with my fingertips, I anticipate mine should only need a light pass with a soft brush.

My sense is the mansion is closer in scale to 1:150 but the Pink Palace seems about right for 1:160 - not a big deal for me but something to consider if you need the scale to be bang-on.

The mansion has a few printing artefacts that I'm not fussed by: lines on the flat rooftop that could easily be floorboards,  and thicker stringy filaments under the eaves balconies that I could probably pass off as sagging boards (and if anyone can contort themselves to see that angle once it's on the layout, they're welcome to comment!)

Apart from some stepping in the stairway handrails, the Pink Palace print has few obvious artefacts, I wouldn't be surprised if the complex and many-angled design helps to mask them.   

The mansion came in an acrylic box so was well protected in transit: the Pink Palace was only packed in tissue paper and a few delicate roof and balustrade details got bent on the journey south (but are fixable).

As Peteski says, painting will be a little daunting (not to mention glazing!) but for the price they're nicely designed and detailed buildings that are destined to add something a little different to my layout.

[dem34]

I wonder if you can dip those in a strong chemical to melt off all the hairs?

Easiest way to remove strings is to take a heat gun and very quickly pass it over the model. The strings will then curl into little nubs that are easy to remove with a hobby knife. IMHO this is definitely something I wouldn't really try to do on my Filament printer because getting a good finish on the lines would be a PITA. But that said there definitely are things that render better on a filament printer over a Resin one, but final assembly needs more work in the end.

[peteski]

I wonder if you can dip those in a strong chemical to melt off all the hairs?

I vaguely recall someone (on TRW?) mention a quick dip (or spray) of acetone to melt/blend the filament texture and smooth out the print. But don't quote me on that as my memory might not be accurate.

[dem34]

I vaguely recall someone (on TRW?) mention a quick dip (or spray) of acetone to melt/blend the filament texture and smooth out the print. But don't quote me on that as my memory might not be accurate.

Also only works if the filament in question reacts to acetone such as ABS, most prints nowadays are done with PLA and PETG

[thbguy]

I bought the horse barn a while back and thought it looked great.
I like that the interior is separate, but it could do with fewer windows, which I intend to patch over.
Another winter project.