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Building a Shapeways Tebee HOn30 Boxcab

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  • #1

    Building a Shapeways Tebee HOn30 Boxcab

    Hi there,

    the comments by others here on this forum about the Shapeways 3D printed models made me curious. So when it was time to get some motive power for my HOn30 micro layout http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/t...TOPIC_ID=33553 I decided to try one of those models.


    What I ordered and finally got after 6 weeks was a HOn30 Boxcab to fit a Kato 103 mechanism. This is one of a large list of models offered by the same designer, so check out yourself if you're interested:

    http://www.shapeways.com/model/21315...ml?gid=sg61704

    First obervations:

    Nice rivet detail

    Snaps right onto the mechanism

    The 3D Printing process causes the surface to be a bit rough.

    Today I browsed through my detail parts supply and picked things that would be appropriate and look good. Before I actually start building, I'm curious to hear about other's experiences with these models. I'm interested in hearing

    what glue you use for styrene details

    and about painting or preparation therefore. I'm a bit puzzled whether it is possible to smoothen the rough surface mentioned above.

    Of course I'll post pictures once I get going.

    Regards

    Martin
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Hi,

    tonight a spent an relaxing hour preparing detail parts and scratchbuilding a few things for the boxcab.

    I also took a picture of the model as it arrived from Shapeways with its mechanism:



    The rivets and the rough surface aren't visible in that shot. The small black spots are dust from my workbench and no faults in the casting.

    Tomorrow drilling and placing of details will start.

    Regards

    Martin

    Comment

    • #3
      Looking good Martin, what's your opinion on the rigidness of the part? Would it break or deform if it fell on the ground? Was this a one part piece? Can you take a close up pic of the details?

      Comment

      • #4
        Martin, what material did you have it printed in?

        I had some pieces printed in FUD (Frosted Ultra Detail). In this photo you can see the layering left by the printing on the brick surface ..



        I sanded those surfaces using water/wet-dry 600 grit sandpaper





        As I said, my prints were in FUD so if yours was printed in something else .. WSF for example .. then it may be different. In my case the layering was very very slight .. I estimate at most a couple thousands of an inch and easily smoothed. The other thing is that FUD is a acrylic while if you used WSF .. that's a Nylon I believe.

        Comment

        • #5
          quote:

          Originally posted by eTraxx

          Martin, what material did you have it printed in?


          This is printed in "Frosted Ultra Detail" as well. I could find out the differences between the materials, so I went for the most expensive option

          Did you actually sand your parts wet? I think I'll try that as well on the areas that don't have rivet detail. Hopefully paint or primer will cover those imperfections on the other areas. I can't think of a way to get rid of them without destroying the rivet detail.

          As requested I tried to get shots that show more of the detail:





          The whole thing as shown in these pictures comes as one part. It looks like it would be very fast to get a decent looking engine within one evening: add a bell and a whistle or horn, stirup steps and handrails. Paint it and add window glass - voila!

          The whole body is very sturdy. Dropping it to the floor wouldn't cause any damage.

          Too much work in real life today so there will be no progress on the model tonight.

          Regards

          Martin

          Comment

          • #6
            I would throw a coat of primer on that both the show the detail in photos and to see what you are sanding.

            Comment

            • #7
              quote:

              Originally posted by Chris333

              I would throw a coat of primer on that both the show the detail in photos and to see what you are sanding.

              Good idea. I did that tonight and plan to continue tomorrow with careful sanding.

              Thanks,

              Martin

              Comment

              • #8
                Yes. I used wet/dry 600 grit sandpaper. The lines .. are only a couple thousands .. they sanded out nicely. Good luck!

                Comment

                • #9
                  quote:

                  Originally posted by eTraxx

                  Yes. I used wet/dry 600 grit sandpaper. The lines .. are only a couple thousands .. they sanded out nicely. Good luck!

                  Ok, so I did as recommended by others here on this forum. I primed the shell using paint from a spray can. Then I carefully wet sanded the surfaces with 1000 grit sandpaper. It was an easy and fast job. It only tooks a few passes until the surface was smooth.

                  Now I started detailing the body.



                  The material is easy to work with. It's a bit harder than styrene. Drilling and cutting is similar to styrene so I made fast progress.

                  For glueing styrene strips to the shell I used CA.

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                  • #10
                    Martin, I have done the same thing with my printed parts; prime and wet sand.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      This is very interesting!

                      I wonder.. what are the means by which those designs are submitted to that company? I mean, could one of us build a model and then it could be mapped and then replicated endlessly?

                      Sort of like that T-shirt company where one person submits a design, and customers order copies of it, indefinitely.

                      Arthur
                      Arthur

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Hi,

                        finally I got around to finish and take photos of my boxcab.



                        Some info on the parts I used:
                        • Grab Irons: Detail Associates 2202 plus Grandt NBWs
                        • Toolbox from a military vehicle with Grandt Line hinge
                        • Hand rails from brass wire and NBWs
                        • Grille modified part from a Grandt Line Endcab diesel
                        • Headlight from Grandt Line Endcab diesel
                        • Bell from Grandt Line Diesel
                        • Brass piping, whitemetal tank and airhose from unknown source
                        • Steps from Westerfield Grab Irons #1198 and bits of brass sheet



                        Parts used:
                        • Engine compartment door frm Grandt Line Diesel
                        • Filler cab from Detail Associates part (unknown #)
                        • Brass casting from unknow (German?) source

                        Everything else has put together from strip styrene and brass wire.

                        Looking at these pictures I noted a few weak spots that will need at bit of work. Those closeup shots are cruel.

                        Detailing the shell was a straightforward process. The material (Frosted Ultra Detail) can be cut and drilled mostly like styrene. It seems to be a bit more brittle. I learned the hard way that large holes need to be predrilled. Otherwise the area around the hole tends to crack.

                        For detailing I used bits and pieces from my parts box. These were placed so the engine looks interesting and a bit homemade.

                        Next will be painting, not necessarily my favorite step of a project.

                        quote:


                        I wonder.. what are the means by which those designs are submitted to that company? I mean, could one of us build a model and then it could be mapped and then replicated endlessly?

                        Sort of like that T-shirt company where one person submits a design, and customers order copies of it, indefinitely.


                        You have to design the model using a 3D CAD program on your computer. One free example would be Google's SketchUp (http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/product/gsu.html). Once finished you upload the files to Shapeways and they print and sell the models. I noticed quite a few models available.

                        Regards

                        Martin

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          This is a very interesting project, Martin. You are out on the cutting edge of modeling technology.

                          George
                          Flying is the 2nd greatest thrill known to man. Landing is the first.

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                          • #14
                            Martin,

                            How about a parts list for the details you've added?

                            Jeff S.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              quote:

                              Originally posted by jschumaker

                              How about a parts list for the details you've added?

                              Jeff,

                              I updated my earlier entry and gave some detail on the parts used. Hopefully this is helpful.

                              Regards

                              Martin

                              Comment

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