Mill Creek HOn30

[davefoxx]

 . Wow!  That looks really nice.  Video showing off the moving side rods, please.

DFF

[Chris333]

I'll get a video up. The paint is still wet in the photos. And those side rods are Jeff's laser cut masterpieces.

[Chris333]

So the 3D printing rabbit hole. I should have been happy to finally have a finished Davenport, but I wanted to paint the inside of the cab seafoam green. It would have been a pain to try and get a brush up inside there because with the frame it is shaped like a T. So I chopped up the 3D model into two pieces. Now I have a frame plate and a hood/cab.



I have probably printed this locomotive 20 times now. First was just to see if it would work. Then I changed a few things to get it perfect. Then I got the Toma chassis in hand and made a few changes to better fit the chassis like a glove. Then I printed a few just to practice painting on. Luckily these prints are less than a dollars worth of resin.

[JeffB]

Such a "professional" looking model!

The Toma chassis is really nice...  It's pretty incredible how small manufactures have enabled us in narrow gauges to build things that 15yrs ago were unheard of unless you were a master model maker and had access to all kinds of tools and manufacturing processes.

Nothing wrong with doing something 20 times...  Each iteration gets better, though the improvements tend to become very small changes toward the end and somewhere in the middle you are at the point that 99.5% of the people looking at it, can't tell the difference between it and the last version!

Jeff

[Chris333]

Well things were going backwards, but are now going forward. The frame wants to sag in the center with no body on top of it. I revised the frame 2 and printed it 3 times now.

The cab/hood wants to spread apart at the bottom now without the frame to hold it. So I keep adding bracing to keep it all together while it cures. Braces they will later be cut out. I have revised the cab/hood 5 times now and printing #6 right now.

I now have 2 screws that go up through the frame into the cab to hopefully keep it all straight.

The upside is these are smaller parts that print quicker.

I could just paint the cab interior of the red Davenport, but figuring out crap like this makes designing future stuff much quicker.

[JeffB]

That happens (going backwards instead of forward)...  Almost always when you're reconfiguring how you do things.

My printing experience is nowhere near yours, but I include a lot of sacrificial bracing in some of my 3D prints (cab, hood, boiler, etc...).  Sometimes to the detriment of the surface finish (we've discussed this privately). 

If you recall your Toma Monson Forney kit...  Toma, or whomever he uses to do his 3D modeling/printing, uses a different way to support his prints.  Instead of tiny supports, he uses rectangular sections, though very thin so the parts snap off easy.  I've been meaning to try this, because it might be a good technique for adding supports that don't cause ripples in the surface of the parts.

Anyway...  Got off topic there a bit.

Worst case, go back to printing the cab/hood attached to the body...  You know it works, so there's a good fallback.

Jeff

[Chris333]

I think I'm ready to paint the new 2 piece body now.

Question: Should I add some white to the red to tone it down and make it look faded?



Theme music:

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I think it looks spot on as is. Maybe add some highlights like worn paint on the door handles, etc... to brighten it up.

[wazzou]

I think I'm ready to paint the new 2 piece body now.

Question: Should I add some white to the red to tone it down and make it look faded?

I wouldn't add white to the paint mix.  I think it would start to look pink. 
I would just add thinned washes, wait until they dry, and repeat until satisfied.

[Cajonpassfan]

What he said. I like the red, it's a nice red: who wants pink trains...
A touch of weathering and your all set. Nice job btw.
Otto K.

[CRL]

I’d use some weathering chalk on it.

[Chris333]

OK here is the "new" body next to the old body.


And the chassis I bought years ago to make this exact locomotive next to the new chassis.


And in between making mods to the new body I cranked out a HOn30 copy of the Bachmann On30 18' boxcar.

[coaltrain]

i am glad you show images of your prints with the supports on so I can see that you are supporting your models like I support mine.  sometimes I wonder if I am OCD about my supports, but after I see yours I feel better, unless maybe we are both OCD.

[Chris333]

I have learned over time what will come out of the printer. I have a bunch of inner supports inside the cab side walls to keep it from distorting around the windows.

[Chris333]

OK here is the new 2 piece body on the left. I gave it a few dirt  and white colored washes. Since I was able to now paint the cab interior I added a figure and a few little things so it looks like there is something in there. Also got windows installed.



And here are those side rods spinning!    (video might take a bit to get full res)