I've just come across "jamie's 009 Scale Model Railways" in Shapeways and their VoR/SAR NGG13 Garratt locomotive and Welsh Highland Rly NGG16 Garratt loco NO.87. These were quite new to me. Has anybody got one, or any thoughts about them?
No, but I see he has a Facebook page. It's a pity there are not more actual photos of models rather than computer graphics. There are some videos but they are rather dark.
https://www.facebook.com/jamies009gaugemodelrailways (https://www.facebook.com/jamies009gaugemodelrailways)
Somehow this enterprise had escaped my notice until now. I am interested in the Garratt, but I'm also waiting to know more about the Bowaters NGG16 I've heard is in development.
It may be the rendering of the 3d print file so it might be worth looking at photographs of real prints and making your own mind up, but having just looked at the link my feeling is that if that faceted cylindrical taker on the front page is anything to go by you may be better off scratch-building, sorry.
I also have a feeling that Ben Powell (our TLO) may have had a go at some of his stuff so it might be worth asking Ben's thoughts.
His Shapeways shop appears to offer a choice of plastics, price and presumably quality. He has some photos of real items.
It looks like there is a thick coat of paint here, but it looks quite reasonable:
(https://scontent.flhr2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/66758867_1180026502121037_8118303069290102784_o.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_sid=110474&_nc_ohc=zKCe-FpgMh0AX-pbsvx&_nc_ht=scontent.flhr2-1.fna&oh=7e3ae93d9dd63d0ebde52559cf6455fd&oe=5EBB732C)
This one less so:
(https://scontent.flhr2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/34088182_739889449468080_4468571497601957888_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_sid=110474&_nc_ohc=hgcHF-swNX8AX_TzUxm&_nc_ht=scontent.flhr2-1.fna&oh=d6a62a5733b1036bc959f6b0d5bcbda8&oe=5EBCAF94)
Hats off to him, it looks like a fine body of work he has produced, but the Shapeways prices are well beyond my means and I would be looking for something closer to perfection for those prices. It would be interesting to see what they look like home printed on something like any Anycubic Photon (assuming they would fit one).
The majority of his designs are unfortunately full of errors - dimensional inaccuracies (some extremely wrong - see for example his WHR tool van!) or very deep panelling (that can be seen in the image posted in a previous post) etc. There is no attention to detail. To call them scale models is appalling in my view. He does not seem to have compared his designs to photos or drawings in almost all cases. He also does not respond to comments requesting errors be reconsidered.
Bron Hebog did a piece on this issue here https://bronhebog.blogspot.com/2019/01/venting.html
Real shame and I hope it doesn't put off other designers from creating scale models of these prototypes as many have no kits at all.
Thanks Colin; this is good critical thinking.
That's a good point Colin. Agreed they are most certainly not "fine scale", but I'm a little less critical. Being generous to him I wonder if it might be that his work has been overtaken by technology and the designs (such as exaggerated detail) are as good a home 3D printer from a few years back might produce. Also given the crudeness of the printing on the real as opposed to rendered models shown, fine detail would be completely obscured by the excessively thick paint or other finishing needed to smooth the surface.
I see from the Facebook page it dates from 2015, though has been adding models this year. I wonder if he has just not moved with the times?
Looking at the number of freelance 009 models around it's clear that not everyone is too worried about counting rivets... Many will be just happy that it "looks" the part.