Colonel

Turned out rather well and look great in their scenic settings.

Gold dust, again. Being '53 no doubt all after closure of the Swilly, but interesting to see how well the lettering stands out on some of the wagons. Replicating the weathering on that T&D van would be interesting!

Separate cab roof - nice to both see and get at that lovely detail. Very well done.

Yep, an absolute joy to follow.

It is the detailed parts that interest me, particularly 7mm scale. Stuff like: Loco detailing parts, such as smokebox doors/darts, clack valves, springs, cab fittings etc. Underframes, such as bogie sides, springs, W-irons, buffers. Chimneys, domes and safety valves too - though have learned to turn these on my basic lathe. The reason I say this is the loss of parts suppliers. Laurie Griffin Miniatures is in limbo, following his retirement, while the older cast whitemetal supplies seem to be ever more scarce. These parts are all fairly complex shapes. I wouldn't fancy making one axlebox from scratch, let alone four or six - though resin casting is an option for multiple copies. Obviously drawing up the myriad of types used by post and pre group companies could be quite a task, but can't help thinking that without such small luxuries, fewer and fewer people will think about scratchbuilding. Basic body shapes are a mixture of tubes and rectangles that just need joining together it is all the details where it gets harder and this is where the growing dearth of small castings becomes a problem.

Interesting to see you've printed it as a set of parts. Coming from a kit/scratchbuilding background, this appeals more to me than a single print because it makes things like adding hand rails and painting easier. Others have said there can be issued with separate parts distorting, but doesn't look like it here.

Amazing work - the detail inside the cab is remarkable. It would be a shame to lose that work and great if it could be painted. Any way of enabling the details to be added separately?

And still has some of the best looking track anywhere.

Some gems there, Ernie! Am I the only one here who didn't realise the Donegal station at Letterkenny had such a fine canopy? The town and all the trees make a fine backdrop to the station too.

I must try harder when using those fine saw blades as your results speak for themselves. Have I said that I use a slitting disc in a Dremel for such stuff? Crude in the extreme, though sort of works in 7mm scale, even if it does feel like using a chainsaw at times.

Always good to see you Leslie. Swillybegs did pretty well over the weekend, which only goes to show that cleanliness and and proper maintenance is essential. You just can't cut corners. There's a knack to lining up the turntable. Get it wrong and it will bite - and narrow gauge stock can be very difficult to rerail... Anyway, the newly adjusted couplings stood up well and the to do list before Kempton Park in December is fairly short for once!

They are all great, but the 4-4-0 at Westport is a beauty. Shows I could do one for Northport Quay. It's on the list...

Mmm - longevity still an issue, then and while I suppose you can always print a new one, there's still the matter of painting and so on. A few hundred years hence, Starfleet will have developed the replicator, so our home computer link will be able to produce whole layouts according to our whim, though the Holodeck and/or time travel will enable us to experience the real thing. That or we will have all be replaced by machines anyway. Don't forget that The Terminator has already happened... Doomed, we're all doomed!

Commisserations - been there, got that T-shirt. With apologies to all the 3D printers out there, one of the many things I like about this thread is that it's traditional modelling - cutting, filing, fitting and so on - which for me is a lot easier to understand that all the computer stuff. Can't help thinking that, time wise, there is probably not much difference between scratch building a model in metal (or indeed plastic or card) and scratchbuilding one using CAD and a printer - though with the latter I guess you can then go on to replicate as many as you like and as big or small as you like too.

Presumably, a loco chassis could also be printed - semi solid, maybe, with a cut out for the motor gearbox and holes to take brass bearings? Keeping the body and chassis separate (to be bolted together later), might be better than trying to source a doner chassis which, like as not is almost always going to be a compromise. Would the axle holes be accurate enough to take preprepared coupling rods though and thinking of Tullygrainy's work could a printed chassis be done to accommodate compensation or springing?