3D printed loco bodies

[Stephen Rainsbury]

I am a bit nervous about buying anything else 3d printed because of the 3 things I have so far two are effectively unusable. One has a herringbone pattern down the sides and the other looks as if it was carved from balsa and is for want of a better word, very hairy. The third was OK after considerable rubbing down, which defeated the whole object really, I could have bought a Dundas kit for only £1 more and it would have been quicker.

Am I being unreasonable to expect a better finish?

If not how do I make sure I am getting a good job, because all the ones I bought so far looked OK in their pictures. :(

[engerth399]

Good question.  3D printing is not always an easy answer and the models always need work, sometimes a lot.  If you're happy to build Dundas kits, go that way.  I think you'll get more pleasure and satisfaction from the hobby that way.

Peter

[Hobby]

You pay for what you get in 3D printing. If it looks cheap then it will be made of the base type plastic which gives a ridged, hairy finish. That's fine for stuff like couplings or underfloor detail but not for body sides and boilers and chimneys/domes. It is possible to make them presentable if viewed from a distance but it involves a lot of work. You need to pick the "Smooth Fine Detail" finish for best results. You'll still have to do some work but it's mainly cleaning up and possibly some filler to smooth things out, but nowhere near what you'd have to do on the older material. 3D printing still hasn't reached the type of finish you get on resin, whitemetal and plastic kits, though it is now light years ahead of what it used to be! You will note that Narrow Planet, for instance, although they use a base body from the 3D process they still use thin metal overlays for detail such as doors and ventilation louvres. that should tell you what to expect.

My only advice is don't buy the cheap stuff however tempting.

[Stephen Rainsbury]

My only advice is don't buy the cheap stuff however tempting.

I was, I did, and I binned it. Life is too short to shave a bogie.  :(
Stephen

[Hugh Norwood]

I run a (surprisingly large) number of printed locos on Angst; some are bodies from Chris Ward (when he still ran the company) Others from Shapeways. Do get the finer detail print if ordering from Shapeways.

Others here have noted how you may mitigate the roughness on prints. I don't bother - I may have been fortunate in my purchases.

It also probably helps that my locos are all painted matt; there's nothing like a gloss finish to show up surface issues, I think.

Hope this helps

[Hobby]

Good point about paint. It's one thing that shouts "toy train" to me is a gloss finish with gloss varnish on top! OK you may see the odd photos with a truly gloss finish in Real Life (usually outside the place it was built/rebuilt) but how long did that finish last? An hour or two until if rained (UK and Northern Europe) or (for those layouts based in hotter climes!) the first dust storm... Tone the gloss down, folks! ;) :)

[Stephen Rainsbury]

Good point about paint. It's one thing that shouts "toy train" to me is a gloss finish with gloss varnish on top! OK you may see the odd photos with a truly gloss finish in Real Life (usually outside the place it was built/rebuilt) but how long did that finish last? An hour or two until if rained (UK and Northern Europe) or (for those layouts based in hotter climes!) the first dust storm... Tone the gloss down, folks! ;) :)

I am a bit torn on this. I am collecting stock to build a modern day preservation line, but these are often only open a dozen times a year and the "hero" locos are immaculate so I need to model that without it looking like they have been given 64 coats of varnish.
The maintenance loco and rolling stock are fair game for weathering, so time for the airbrush.

[Hobby]

Even immaculate preserved locos don't tend to have a deep varnish finish. They are varnished to preserve the paint but because of the size of the loco it doesn't look that bright and some parts won't be because of their use, the smokebox for instance. That's the trouble with the models which use a high gloss because they are so small they just look ridiculous...

[Stephen Rainsbury]

Even immaculate preserved locos don't tend to have a deep varnish finish. They are varnished to preserve the paint but because of the size of the loco it doesn't look that bright and some parts won't be because of their use, the smokebox for instance. That's the trouble with the models which use a high gloss because they are so small they just look ridiculous...

Agreed, any ideas how I could reproduce this level of shine?

[Graeme Dunbar]

It has been mentioned before and is the only thing that really matters - it is your railway so model it as you wish.

Another aspect is consistency. I remember one large exhibition layout where the railway aspects and the scenery were subdued if not well weathered, but all the road vehicles were diecast, mint out of the box. The contrast was just so stark. That is not to say all aspects of the model must have the same level of either weatheredness or glossy newness but one approach is to work out the range of you find satisfying.

Also, it makes sense if the locos are modelled clean and bright is not to model the layout to represent a dull and dark day in a run-down environment but as a clear and bright late spring day in well-tended surroundings. That will tone down the colour and finish of the stock. The lighting can have a big effect too as well as the background, which is why shops put such a lot of effort into it.

[Stephen Rainsbury]

Another aspect is consistency. I remember one large exhibition layout where the railway aspects and the scenery were subdued if not well weathered, but all the road vehicles were diecast, mint out of the box. The contrast was just so stark.

I agree, and its a dilemma. In reality the Locos on open days are cleaned to the point of obsession so are much brighter and cleaner, but a model would look unrealistic. It is like having a model of two shire horses all dressed up ready for the County Show, being used to pull a plough. Same horse, different situation, different result.

[Stefan Krebs]

I bought a joblot of defect 3D-prints to find out, whether they meet my expectation. And I tend to agree, they leave something to be desired.
This was further to visiting an engineering exhibition and discussing 3D-printed parts: you can get 3D-printed metal parts with 98% material density and 80% strength of a machined part, e.g. a gear wheel that can take the load and has a surface finish ready for use, i.e. no polishing required. Obviously there is a price tag...
To say, the surface finish is also driven by the software and the print machine; evident, if you study the Shapeways catalogue!
To me, it appears that 3D-prints in a quality that matches plastic injection moulding, is more expensive than injection moulded model. It is possible, but not at a competitive price. I have some road vehicles from Arsenal M, and their 3D-print quality is at level par with plastic injection moulded vehicles, their price is about double!
I have the small machinery from Noch, which is 3D-printed, it's sort of okay, but screams 'REWORK' at you; the surfaces are not exciting.
I have the white metal engines (Deutz and DEMAG) from Mr Hauser, who designed the Noch models, definitely superior surface.

I will consider more models in 3D-print, but only when I can look closely at them before buying.

Personally, I want engine bodies in metal for better traction!

My thoughts
Waldschrat

[Stephen Rainsbury]

Personally, I want engine bodies in metal for better traction!

I agree, I was not impressed with my first venture and thought that it would have been quicker, cheaper, and given better results to scratch build in every case.
I certainly wouldn't want to try and make a loco look as good as injection molded,it would drive me insane, and as you say I like a bit of weight to get grip.

[Hobby]

To me, it appears that 3D-prints in a quality that matches plastic injection moulding, is more expensive than injection moulded model. It is possible, but not at a competitive price.

That is true, but so far all the 3D printed locos I have bought have not been of a prototype that would justify someone producing a plastic kit so I am prepared to pay the price rather than scratchbuild stuff with some pretty complicated body shapes. A steam loco is usually fairly easy to reproduce but some of the diesel bodies have some "interesting" shapes! As usual horses for courses!

As regards weight, as mine are larger prototypes I can add weight inside the body but as Bachmann US's models of the Tallylyn locos prove for smaller locos a metal body is preferable.

That photo you posted Stephen would probably be best suited to a semi-matt finish in model form. I agree with Graeme that it's a persons own layout and so they can do what they want but I don't understand the need to use full gloss paint when there are suitable "toned down" alternative paints available. Ditto road vehicles. I'm sure someone did a thread somewhere on "scaling down" colour which explained it well but I can't remember where I saw it... At the end of the day the result can be the difference between making a toy train and a model railway...

[Stephen Rainsbury]

That photo you posted Stephen would probably be best suited to a semi-matt finish in model form. I agree with Graeme that it's a persons own layout and so they can do what they want but I don't understand the need to use full gloss paint when there are suitable "toned down" alternative paints available. Ditto road vehicles. I'm sure someone did a thread somewhere on "scaling down" colour which explained it well but I can't remember where I saw it... At the end of the day the result can be the difference between making a toy train and a model railway...

I read somewhere that a single coat of gloss at 00 scale is like having 76 coats of clear varnish on your prototype.  For my SciFi work I used mainly Games Workshop paints and their Matt "Ardcoat" was pretty good at killing reflections. Unfortunately if overdone it can obscure some details so has to be used sparingly, but then their models are designed to be used as game pieces so a tough top coat is pretty useful.

I was given advice many years ago that he best way to get scale colour is to get the photo you want up on the screen (or photograph) get a piece of card with a hole punched it it and use that to cover up everything else to isolate a small circle of the actual colour you want match it to the Vallejo colour chart https://acrylicosvallejo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/vallejo-model-color-CC070-Rev14.pdf

It doesn't help reproduce shiny surfaces like that loco though :-)