murrayec

Hi Nelson Looking very nice, I like the use of wood. Now for the other 5! eaah... murrayec

Hi cg No, No- Broken 'N', Squinty 'N', & Bent Buffer- classic. Some chaps go to great lengths to do that! Love them all murrayec

On 3d model copyright control;- I somehow feel that the big boys would not be happy with a facility to download the source code for printing by subscription. Suddenly their would be and incredible amount of models available to print off and I reckon they would be based off existing RTR models or the big boys would believe so. This is when power takes over, a bit like what the music industry has gone-n-going thru! Microsoft and Mac promote their own media players and have resisted attempts by other media player manufactures getting onto their platforms- this is an example of the 'power' murrayec

Oh and... There are free models available, though you will find on the more complex ones- they have errors! I have not seen any passable model train models for free yet. Other thing on these free models is read the fine print, its like 3d modelling software or google- prepare or get your model you do not own the rights! the site you downloaded it from or the software you use does! murrayec

Yes Fran With 3d solid modelling, EDM, and CNC machines, the model industry has come on incredibly. They now have the facility to proof the proposed model in 3d computer models before the drawings go out to the manufactures EDM machine shop. Also with EDM it is quite easy to re-do the tooling after the drawing info is updated if changes are made. They also use high end 3d printers for proofing. The royalties are paid on the tooling manufacture, based on the number of units the tools will be used to make, and the manufacture holds the tools for future runs. The brunt of the charge for manufacturing a model is on the tooling, usually up in the hundreds of thousands of pounds for the like of Hornby & Bachman models. Of course with the big boys- all things are negotiable BosKonay Design companies who specialise in tool design do get royalties. It is a huge industry- injection moulding is used in nearly every product for sale! I looked at getting a few books on the subject and was stunned to find the cost in the region of £500.00 to a couple of grand! murrayec

BosKonay If I was commissioned to do a 3d model of say an A Class, the charge would be in the region of €xxx.xx, as Glenderg points out- if I issue the file to someone for printing, its out in the free world, I have no more control of it. Anyone can print from it, even people that will charge for prints- that's not right, I should be entitled to some fee but I cannot 'control' that any more. murrayec

Hi purple Delta arm printer- cool Looking forward to seeing the buffer stops murrayec

It is a great idea, but it will have problems- the main one is how can a producer of a 3d model control how many prints are made from the 3d file! CJ Ward quote for producing a 3d model, if I remember correct its about £300.00 to do this and then they will quote for printing each model. ShapeWays buzz is printing for you from a file and you pay for each print- copyright control by holding onto the file, just issuing prints. Some clever programmer will come up with an interface program that a purchaser of the file can only print what's paid for and then the file is deleted or locked. murrayec

Excellent Glenderg Every time I see photos like that, I think how scarce paint was in CIE! murrayec

Cool garfieldsghost I must get the kits down out of the attic and I'll be ready... murrayec

Hi purple How's it going with your machine, have you anything to show us? The other thread came to an end! I trained people in 3d modelling, most had 2d drawing skills to start with and it took them about a year to hone the skill. Key thing is been able to see the thing in 3d in the head and then translate it into a 3d model on the computer with the sometimes non intuitive tools of the program their using. murrayec

Nice one Fran Nothing wrong with those modelling skills, when I saw that post first I bought a few of the kits, stored for a DARTless day of making! What exactly needs to be done with plastic card and a craft knife to make this kit Irish? murrayec

Yes Glenderg There is the main point- constructing the 3d model, not all can do this and probably only a very few. What good is a 3d printer for modelling engines and wagons if one cannot computer model it Even digitized info will need editing, calling on computer 3d modelling skills. murrayec

Yes Nelson It's not there yet, purple has a printer set up and printed this;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2165-Desktop-3D-printer?p=33913&viewfull=1#post33913 Also on this thread are examples of buses printed, I saw them in the flesh at the blackrock show and they need a lot of filling and sanding. murrayec

Yes I saw a youtube vid of a digitizer working- a person stands in front and is digitised, then sometime later a action man size print is handed to you. Though it was slightly out of shape but stunning to see it's at this level. murrayec

Hi I agree there BosKonay, though the MakerBot is a good entry level. One thing I remember is the MakerBot had a much higher price tag in the past! I wonder what happened? murrayec

Love that second picture.... I have a book by Tubal Kain with plans to build a live steam crane as per the photo, he calls it 'Hercules'. I bought the sheet brass and a few other bits of brass-n-steel blanks to build it and stick it on an O gauge wagon. One of those long term projects Hey Glenderg, wrenie may have a CIE tarp he could lend you for curtains....!

Hi cg Solder does a better job than glue, glue sometimes lets go on brass kits after time! Brass can be hard stuff to glue, main thing is that it has to be very clean! Though do use low melt solder- 75deg. 145deg. & 185deg. and a temperature adjustable soldering iron- Maplin do a electronic unit that's not to expensive and well worth it if you plan to do more etched kits. It goes down to 150deg. The idea of the three solder temps- this gives you 3 soldering stages, first at 185deg. then turn down the iron, second at 145deg, and third 75deg. great temp for soldering white metal parts. If you plan out the soldering steps carefully and use the three different temps you should have no problems soldering on parts without previously soldered parts falling off. Phosphoric acid based flux is the best if you can get your hands on the acid- dilute it with water- 1 acid to 2 part water. Carrs do flux in small green or orange bottles but will cost far more than the acid idea Eileen's Emporium for the solder Soldering tips;- After cutting out the parts, use the leftovers to practice before you attempt soldering the model. Clean all parts with fibre pen or emery paper thoroughly, do not touch the faces to be soldered. Make a few small timber right angle jigs to assemble the parts on, and hold in place with thump tacks, pins n the like Sweat solder everything where possible- apply flux to parts, melt a small blob of solder on each component at their joint faces first, try to get it even, apply flux, then bring the parts together and hold fast with clamps or pressure from a hand held stick, apply the iron briefly to melt the solder, remove the iron, hold in place until you see the solder solidify, hold for a few more seconds- done. Work in stages, let the work cool down, wash thoroughly with water-n-washing soda and your off again. If things are not sticking- stop, clean the parts, flux again, and start again. If you do go to Maplin, pick up a couple of their heat sink clamps- they can be very handy when soldering close to small parts already soldered on. They are aluminium and will take the heat away very quickly. murrayec

Hi rebelrail here is the platform n station I was thinking of;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/67-Tara-Junction?p=47193&viewfull=1#post47193 murrayec

Hi rebelred Nice collection of orange and black stuff, cool To run trains all that is needed is track end to end, like your display board (but I don't think you have enough room to run a train- maybe the engines though, back and forward) or in a loop- but a loop is not mandatory. Regarding ends and a platform- yes go for both, I'd do tunnels at one end, then a picture at the other end of track running off in the distance, and a platform and thin station buildings- take a look at http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=49254 for some clever use of thin buildings and photograph backdrops I know you have done a fair bit of work on the display board, but maybe you should take a look at the thread 'Modular 00 Layouts' we are trying to get going! at;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2465-Modular-OO-Layouts?p=37052&viewfull=1#post37052 This idea may suit you to run your trains when the system is up and running?? murrayec

Thanks Tom Its done in Autocad, just solids extruded from the drawing with autocad colours. Autocad has a basic rendering facility, its not to complex if you don't get into mapping materials, playing with lights and cameras. 3D Studio Max is the one for that... I cant wait to start cutting foam and get the boards set up... murrayec

Hi Dave Its looking really great, a lot of hard work in that, well done. I love the fold-away control systems- innovative or what! murrayec

Hi Well done on the award, the layout is lovely, worth the award. The extension is looking pretty neat so far, great workmanship on the timber structure murrayec

Hi Richie Great, the dim is approx 900mm from the baseboard top to the MDF light mounting bracket. murrayec

Hi Dave I hope it show went well for you, I like that combined steam thingie. Little steam engines are cool murrayec