About those stems...

[Chris333]

But spray some clear UV blocker on the insulators so they don't become brittle 

[rodsup9000]

Do the insulators have the groove profile as well?  I'm hoping one can wrap EZ Line exactly as would be done on the prototype.

 I can't see it, but can feel it. I just tried some thread on one and I'm sure it will work.

 I need to get some poles drawn up and printed to see how they look. I wonder if I can mix different colors of resins to make a wood color to print them with???

[peteski]

   On the first batch I printed, I was using a medium stiff paint brush to clean them and some came off with the brush action.
 
  I have about 40 palettes/platforms that I went on ahead and did the post print cure. Then I have another 20 that were just cleaned and dried.

NICE!

[Mark W]

And here's the results!


https://i.imgur.com/GnXXKEk.jpg



They look amazing when back-lit!


https://i.imgur.com/TtpbtvI.jpg

[peteski]

Those insulators do look great!

@robert3985
Bob, in case you haven't been following this thread (I don't blame you if you didn't) take a peek at the post above this one. You can now have N scale transparent green insulators!

[robert3985]

Those insulators do look great!

@robert3985
Bob, in case you haven't been following this thread (I don't blame you if you didn't) take a peek at the post above this one. You can now have N scale transparent green insulators!

Hell yes, I've been following this thread!  I'm frankly a bit jealous that it wasn't me producing these first since I've been working on N-scale prototype ROW utility pole crossarms for many years.  3D printing and translucent resin have finally made my plans possible...and I'll be acquiring my own 3D printer very soon so's I can do this project as well as make those U.P. CA-1 cabooses that nobody has ever produced since I need a shirt-pot of 'em.

I've made plenty of comments about this subject on the current weekend thread...and will probably be starting up a tutorial as per Dave Vollmer's request concerning ROW utility poles.  I need a kick in the butt to get this project going and I can thank Mark W's backlit photo for doing just that!

There's definitely a need for this in N-scale that has been ignored for decades...

Nice work Mark!

Merry Christmas!
Bob Gilmore

[peteski]

Hell yes, I've been following this thread!  I'm frankly a bit jealous that it wasn't me producing these first since I've been working on N-scale prototype ROW utility pole crossarms for many years.  3D printing and translucent resin have finally made my plans possible...

Hey, that's what happens when multiple people collaborate on an idea.  Mark was thinking of using the leftover stems as insulators when I took it one step further and proposed to print the entire arm with insulators using the green transparent resin.  It sure is easier to just paint the cross-arm brown (simply leaving the insulators unpainted) than it is to glue individual insulators to a wooden or plastic cross-arm.  Plus a single piece cross-arm/insulator assy. will likely be stronger too.