Like this? Nansen Street models. $12.56 for the set. I just can't remember where these are available...
Mark, If I may ask, what software do you use then to draw your parts before printing them out in 3D? if Solidwork or Solidedge is out of the question, certainly not Rhino or 3d studio? Then, there's not much left, Catia, UG? Thanks Ben
Why certainly not Rhino? For modern automobile models a surface modeling package is what is needed. Solidworks has some surfacing capability but it's rudimentary at best. It's primarily a solids package. The Ford Explorer and the 2 Fairmonts from Atlas were designed with Rhino. For most railroad items, however, a 3D parametric solid modeler is the best tool to start the job (I generally use Inventor) but these days I usually finish them with Rhino as it is more versatile, is able to manipulate STLs, can easily blend 2D and 3D and in many cases is faster.
Hi Dave, Yes, white metal castings are the answer. but we can do them for much less then $12. (unpainted) ! - Ron
I came across this series of threads while looking for something else and wanted to provide some info. First off, in the interest of full disclosure, we manufacture 3D laser scanners, but I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy scanners, or say how great our stuff is. However, we obviously do a lot of scanning using our equipment. We also own a 3D printer and frequently make 'copies' of things we've scanned. I cannot comment on whether this is a better process than starting from scratch. Obviously there are a lot of factors in that decision. However, I did want to post a picture of an object that was scanned and then 3D printed to give you an idea of what's possible. FWIW - the process of creating the model took about 30 minutes. That included scan time, process time, file cleanup and export to STL. The 3D print took quite a bit longer, a few hours typically. We printed this on a Stratasys Dimension 3D printer. Those are reasonably priced but not nearly as good as a Polyjet print or if were to do an injection molding from scratch. The Stratasys is an FDM printer which means it build up a layer at a time. As a result you do see the edges of the layers. Anyway, just thought this might help your discussion by showing the process that some have described earlier and the end result of that. Hope this helps.
Just to jump in and comment on original question, Yes Noch does still make vehicles, except the VW Thing, (or in German the Kubelwagon.) The VW Thing was in a picture in a catalog of their vehicles, but was not listed. I wrote Noch an email, and they said they would NOT be remaking this model. I would assume the mold is broken, and they used the old photo for advertising their cars. So Yes they are still making (or remaking) cars but not all of the ones they used to.
