Wheels of Time DIY 3D printed kit of the early FM H12-44 (Phase 1)

[dandopinski]

Nice work Jim.

[tehachapifan]

Nice work Jim.

Agreed!!

[Jim Starbuck]

I finished the FM today.
It has a LokSound 58751 Atlas Legacy decoder, a Soberton 8x12 speaker on a homemade enclosure and a TCS KA-N1 keep alive. The lights are prewired 0603 LEDs.

[SP-Wolf]

Making progress on my H12-44 project.

Starting point:
SP on the left - AT&SF on the right


Ready for decals:
(A side note - I flubbed the stripes on the AT&SF version - I removed the decals and repainted her)


SP 1489 Ready to paint the hand rails, grabs and sunshades:



Now - ready for a clear coat:



Thanks,
Wolf

[Dwight in Toronto]

Wolf - really nice detail work.  Just curious:
- did you fabricate all the handrails and grabs yourself?
- if so, what is the wire/rod size?
- am I correct in assuming you brush-painted all the handholds after affixing them to the model?
- do you prime the brass?

[SP-Wolf]

Wolf - really nice detail work.  Just curious:
- did you fabricate all the handrails and grabs yourself?
- if so, what is the wire/rod size?
- am I correct in assuming you brush-painted all the handholds after affixing them to the model?
- do you prime the brass?

Hi Dwight,

Thank you,

- did you fabricate all the handrails and grabs yourself? - I fabricated the hand rails. The grabs are from BLMA
- if so, what is the wire/rod size? - I used .010 wire
- am I correct in assuming you brush-painted all the handholds after affixing them to the model? - Yeah - I did.
- do you prime the brass? - I did not prime

Thanks again,
Wolf

[muktown128]

Jim and Wolf,

You guys both did great jobs on your H12-44's.  They look excellent.  Amazing what it possible now with 3D printing.

[tehachapifan]

Jim and Wolf,

You guys both did great jobs on your H12-44's.  They look excellent.  Amazing what it possible now with 3D printing.

Agreed! Amazing work! That SP unit is stunning!

[Dwight in Toronto]

- what is the wire/rod size? - I used .010 wire

Thanks Wolf.  I’ve been using .020 brass rod for grabs etc., which I shoot with Mr. Primer at the same time as the shell or whatever is being done.  I then airbrush them with the finish colour.

They turn out pretty good, but no matter how long I let them dry, and no matter how carefully I handle them, they always seem to need a wee bit of touch up after fixing them in place.  At that point, I’m usually dismayed at how they are never as thin and fine as the factory handholds on, say, some of my Rapido, Intermountain and Atlas models. 

I will have to search my LHS for .010 wire, which might, hopefully, make a big difference.

Thanks again.

[peteski]

My first attempt at soldered brass handrails (over 30 years ago) was fabricated from 0.020" brass rod, replacing the really crappy (and very thick) plastic handrails on a Bachmann's (toy quality) U36B loco.  They looked 1000% better than the plastic ones, but that was before I even considered that 0.020" scales out to 3.2" in 1:1 scale.  That's a wee bit too thick.  0.010" scales to 1.6" which is more realistic.  Now I know better.   

[Dwight in Toronto]

The .020 I’ve been using was something I found at an electronics shop a couple years ago, and was the thinnest material they stocked.  All this time, I didn’t know any better.

Picked up some .012 brass wire at the LHS yesterday (they didn’t have .010).  It is SO much better/easier to work with - game changer for me.  Thanks guys.

[skytop35]

This was a great kit to work with compared to the shapeways shell. Since I already have two in Milwaukee orange and black, I decided to do the Milwaukee, Wisconsin depot switcher in the yellow and gray scheme. Actually Milwaukee had two switchers in this scheme but not at the same time.

[jwaldo]

All these great looking H-12s are making me jealous! Everyone's knocking it out of the park.

 I'm not really familiar with Wheels of Time, do they re-run stuff? Or am I SOL if I want one of these kits for myself?

[Lemosteam]

The .020 I’ve been using was something I found at an electronics shop a couple years ago, and was the thinnest material they stocked.  All this time, I didn’t know any better.

Picked up some .012 brass wire at the LHS yesterday (they didn’t have .010).  It is SO much better/easier to work with - game changer for me.  Thanks guys.

Brass wire is easy to solder, but one miscue and its mangled.

I prefer 0.008" Tichy Phosphor Bronze wire, or this lifetime supply of 0.008" stainless (harder to solder) wire from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-316L-0-20mm-0-008in/dp/B0CP2P451S

Don't be intimidated by the fact that it is on a roll.  It is very easy to straighten wire with a bench vise and a pair of vice grips.

[bbussey]

I used stainless steel wire for the handrails on my Piggy Packer kit by N Scale of Nevada back in day. The kit was the first craftsman kit that I successfully built. Harder to solder stainless steel yes, but nearly indestructible when assembled.