E33, E44, EF-3 Electrics in FUD (Shapeways)

[PGE_Modeller]

Thanks for the reply, Bryan.  Since "Bestine" is marked as a "thinner/solvent for rubber cement", I would expect that it would fairly rapidly attack a rubber gasket.  I think a screw top with some plastic wrap film would give the best seal, since the description of "Bestine" says that it doesn't attack most plastics.

Tim - if I had been thinking, I probably should have ordered a litre instead of 500 ml.  The difference would only have been $10 (plus tax)!

Cheers,
Greg Kennelly

[bbussey]

Agreed, which is why I went with the tin screw top.  There is a chain in the New York area called the Container Store.  I don't know if they are in Canada, but they have an online presence and a large variety of glass containers.  I picked up a wide mouth model (two-liter I remember correctly) so that I could both soak large models and multiple models simultaneously.

[Lemosteam]

Wonder if a canning jar would work well- wide mounth, silicone seal, metal screw lid.  VERY inexpensive.  Just a thought.

[bbussey]

That should work fine.

[peteski]

Pete,

People with prior experience recommended the heptane, so that's what I can attest to.  The Naphta should dissolve the wax without damaging the EX2000 plastic but I don't know of anyone who can verify that.  Please let me know if the results are positive, and I will revise the White Tower instructions to include that as an option.

Bryan,
I can report that naphta also works well in dissolving the wax.  Here is the White Tower after few minutes in an ultrasonic cleaner filled with naphta.


Interesting how the cleaned resin dulls down and shows its "grain". Actually, I suspect that heptane is a bit more aggressive than naphta (it probably dissolves the wax quicker).

Feeling a bit more adventurous I also tried out another idea which just popped into my mind. I thought that if I could carefully apply some strong solvent to the textured surface (using an airbrush), it might melt melt it slightly, smoothing the highly textured surface.  But before I tried that I figured I would apply the solvent to some hidden area (like the bottom of the interior).  Using a micro-brush I applied some acetone. Acetone readily dissolves polystyrene but the resin of the White Tower kit did not show any signs of being affected by acetone. Then I tried something even stronger: Methylene Chloride (stuff used in Ambriod and Tenax liquid cements). This stuff aggressively attacks polystyrene but again, the resin White Tower is made of didn't show any signs of being affected!  I applied both solvents several times over the same area, rubbing it in. This must be some really tough resin!

The bad news for me is that my idea for smoothing the resin's surface did not work. The good news is that it seems that the resin is impervious to even very strong plastic solvents.

Since we are talking about the White Tower kit, I noticed that one of the triangular corner pieces which is supposed to keep the floor interferes with the bottom corner of the grill part of the counter. Looks like it'll have to be cut out to allow the floor to fully settle inside the building.  You might want to edit your kit and either delete that part or modify the floor around the grill area.

I also noticed that you modeled a hollow quarter-round "conduit" in one of the inside corners. I suspect it is for routing wires when illuminating the building. That was an excellent idea!  But the wax inside that conduit did not dissolve easy (even in the ultrasonic naphta bath).  I had to push the wax out with some wire and follow with plunging it using a micro brush.

[eric220]

To get this thread back on track (like it will last long), my E44 came yesterday!



Overall, I like what I got!  I have yet to acquire any Heptane, so it's still got its wax coating.  Overall, the detail is decent.



I was curious about the banding/stepping issue, and it looks like it is noticeable on the sloped noses.





Keep in mind, I selected the worst possible lighting that I could find to highlight the issue.  I hadn't even noticed the lines showing the build orientation until I was preparing the photos to post.

Here it is sitting on top of the C628 mechanism.  I need to cut back the frame a little to make it sit on there correctly, but I don't have time to do that today.



It gives you an idea of what I will eventually have here.  It may not stand up to super-macro photography, but I think it's still a very viable way to have these unique locomotives on my pike.

[Leggy]

Hit it with paint and it should look a whole lot better.

[bbussey]

Once you dissolve and remove the wax, the building issues will become more apparent.

[eric220]

I'm not kidding myself that this is a Fox Valley quality shell here.  Like I said, when it's done it probably won't stand up very well to super-macro photography, and I'll have to be careful about lighting when I'm photographing it.  Regardless, I still get an E44 for my pike.  Even if it's a little blocky (bricky?) I'm happy.

[pennsyfan1361]

Eric thanks for showing your E44, I ordered a E33 and a E44 I should have it in about a week. I'm doing two eras PRR and CR. For the E44 the PENNSYLVANIA lettering microscale has looks too small, what are you going to use? Also what pantograph are you going to use? The E33 I will use kato GG1 pantograph.     Rich     

[eric220]

I have no idea what I'm going to use for pantographs.  The E44 had very distinctive pantos, and Somerfeldt doesn't make anything close.  As for lettering, I'm also somewhat at a loss.  I'll probably try the closest MicroScale's I can find and see if the effect is acceptable.

[bbussey]

Kato might make an acceptable pantograph in its Japanese product line.

[TiVoPrince]

Pantograph 
on the PORTRAM looks kind of similar to my untrained eye.  No idea if it is actually available as a part though...

[eagle5473]

The guy in the UK has also got an Osgood Bradley Coach he just posted.

He is going to run up the ol credit card

aaron

[havingfuntoo]

I know this is drifting from the thread again but I think it is worth noting.
I am not sure that you should be using products like Naphtha and Heptane (depending on where you live and who markets it, it can be the same product) in an ultrasonic bath, the soak method is by far the safest way. Further more I would not use an ultra sonic bath for anything made this way for fear of finding it breaking up during the cleaning process. Because it is made by a layering process there will be an uneven surface finish, the ultra sonic cleaning process will pick up on these layers and hit the low points harder than the high points, if there is an unseen flaw in the manufacturing the ultra sonic cleaning process could punch holes in the surface (depending on how you have set up your machine).  Has any one tried solvents from the Glycol Ether family for the removal of this wax? Always remember to look up and read the relevant Material Data Sheet before using any chemical products ….. get to know what you are using …