Rob R

Doh! I didn't spot that!

Beware, there are a million and one more variables to play with in FDM printing than resin - you still need a bigger bin..... Unpainted, you can't see the layer lines in the flesh. Lets see what it looks like with a coat of paint. Might print a 4mm one tomorrow.

I can't see the layer lines in the flesh but the camera picks out every single one. I'll give it a squirt of primer tomorrow.

Thank you. As the old adage goes, the quickest way to make a small fortune with model railways is to start with a large one......

I will of course need to run it past Maitland, it is his file after all.

Oohh goody. Does that mean we have converted you to S?

At approx 3 times the volume, I am guessing a 14 hour print unless a 0.4 nozzle can do the detail in 7mm, in which case probably about 8 hours. Not impossible, let me think about it.

All in good time.

First print on the go. Enlarged 119% for S scale Elegoo Centauri Carbon, 0.2 nozzle, Sunlu PLA 2.0 filament in a fetching olive green. 4 1/2 hour print (ish) Will post another photo later when it's done.

I appreciate that they usually have to be made to fit but that one doesn't seem to fit very well...

It does seem to have an "I bodge it and run" quality to it. Was the saddle tank just lying around the works , off a long scrapped loco?

For those of you in the UK and going to RAILEX Aylesbury on the 23rd/24th May you will have the unique opportunity to see both of the late Trevor Nunn's layouts together. As part of the S Scale Model Railway Society's 80th Birthday celebrations, the Risbourough and District MRC have very generously allowed us to have 4 (yes 4!) S scale layouts with a display and demo stand. The layouts are East Lynn and Nunstanton, Trowland, Blakey Rigg, Arcadia. If you are visiting Railex please feel free to introduce yourself - if I am feeling really bored on Trowland you might get a controller thrust into your hand Regards Rob Rayner Hon Sec

Fingers crossed it all comes to fruition.

Just had a look at the .stl For a first attempt I think I will print it upside down, should get away with supports only on the top where they can be smoothed off and the louvres should print out from the body unsupported. There is a bit of framing across the bottom of the doors that may need supporting Only one way to find out but it won't be soon 'cos the Mars is mothballed while I try to dial in my FDM printers.

I would print it "as is". My resin printer is an Elegoo Mars 2 pro, about three generations old in printer terms and my go to resin is Elegoo water washable transclucent - usually green but other colours are available. For the S scale open wagon pictured below (GNR of england 4 plank) I went through a ton of prints trying to get it to print with a floor and in the end decided that for the sake of a bit of plasticard it was easier to do it floorless. As a bonus, it also sits horizontal to the build plate and reduces the print time. Screen shot of supported model a couple of views of one of my prints being turned into a work of art by Scott Willis And the finished article For your van in 4mm scale I would do the roof seperately, in 3 pieces, 2 end sections and the centre beam, not sure about the best way of doing the canvas roof doors. Axle boxes and springs easy enough to draw and print. Buffers print with steel heads (Gibson? Wizard Models?), W irons - use standard gauge etches but put a set in the W part, angle it out and then bend it staight down at the level of the bottom of the solebar (sorry that would be so much easier with a picture), it is only a mm each side. Brake gear, mixture of printed and commercially available etches. I am looking forward to printing your van in S, Paul Greene will need a dozen or so for Broombridge. Are you UK based? Are you coming to Railex in Aylesbury at the end of the month? If so please come to Trowland and we can have a chat. Cheers Rob