I contacted Indiana microetch and we went back and forth on the drawings because they could not open the version of autocad I had.. so I got a copy of the cad program they use. Just dont have the mind set to install and learn to use the program, Will do it some time later. Kim
Kim- Whatever version of AutoCad you have should be able to export or save as a '.dxf' file. This is a standard interchange format for vector drawings, and should be able to be read by most any Cad program.
The Marklin Santa Fe caboose should be a fine starting point, atleast as good as the Atlas caboose used for the N scale conversion. If you want to send me the drawings, I can take a look at how well they scale down to the Marklin caboose. Chances are good that a lot of tweaking will need to be done, including increasing some of the thinner cross section for end railings, and increasing window gaskets size, etc. May be easier to use the Trainworx drawings for reference and draw new artwork. It wouldn't take that long to do as it is a simple caboose.
Mike, I did save in all different options including Acad2004.dxf,2000.dxf and R12/R13.dxf. when they opened the files all they could see were lines and a square, so I got the Initellicad they are using to see for myself or use intellicad for my drawings. Soon... Kim
pat saunders at Trainworx will be sending me the drawings for the brass etching kit for a steel side Rio Grande caboose. these will still need to be reduced to Z scale and reworked to produce a reasonable result, but progress is being made. if all goes well we'll send the converted drawings to a pro-etcher and sell what is made. so ... who is interested, and in how many? these cabeese are specific to Rio Grande (3 windows on the side and a long side window on the cupola -- end rails will also have the round top "door"), but as a new limited offering in Z they could pass for Sante Fe cabeese and some others with had the steel-side, offset cupola caboose. the test copies will tell us a lot about what kind of quality they will be. one caveat -- these are sides/parts to go over a body. the kit (if it all works out) does not include a roof, so a box car (or marlin caboose, or other rolling stock) will need to be sacrificed for a "core", upon which the caboose parts can be glued. fyi. but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. dave f.
Hi David I'm interested in at least 5 of this Kits. Let me ask you a question. Because it's necessary to scale them down to Z why not make a complete kit with a few addition and some changing to the original drawings it's not longer necessary to use parts from a other Car. I hope you understand what I mean.
yes, i know what you mean jurg. it's just going to require someone to do a lot more work to make a roof. i don't know how hard (or easy) that would be so i didn't even think to suggest that to anyone. if someone had the desire and time to work on it, the roof, sides, and ends could be made into one foldable unit. that would make assembly pretty simple and minimize the amount of reworking to fit a plastic core. but ... we'll take what we can get, and getting this much is certainly a help. so let's see how far we go. good idea, though. dave f.
Etching Awhile back I did some drawing of a SP Bay Window International Caboose and did a test etch on the roof and found you need something a bit more uniform in delivery to get it smooth enough. I even considered doing a multi layer roof and then lay on some heavy filling primer to smooth out the layers. Right now I'm trying to talk my Parts Designer to make a program so I can CNC the roof pattern and make it look right..but it may cost me a 24 pack of Flat Tire.. ) Joe MTL
OH! i know where to get the Fat Tire! it's made right here in colorado in Ft. Collins where my son attends Colo. State Univ., and where i am a proud alumnus. Belgium Brewing, a large Budweiser plant, and several other smaller brewers in Ft. Collins make it the largest concentration of breweries per capita in the U.S. -- so i'm told. CSU thinks it has a student drinking problem -- imagine that! not my son, of course. oh horrors no! he just studies along with his PIKE brothers. now let's see ... this was about caboose roofs wasn't it. yes, that's it. go for it joe. dave f.
Joe, Just have your CNC guy dig out a mold for it... while he's at it have him cut the sides and an under frame along with gates for hot plastic to flow through. Then sell em! ; )
Dave, Here are a few photos of that caboose in N scale: http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35363
thanks chris, yes i've seen the pictures. trainworx seems now to have deleted the page which showed the parts before assembly, and guided through the assembly process. clearly a roof is needed. it's not unthinkable that a person could solder or glue the sides together, but that's not going to be easy for everyone. plastic "L" angle stock could reinforce the seams for glueing, but a person would have to keep the body straight during construction. a handsome caboose to be sure. i hope it can be done. dave f.
the good news is that the caboose etching drawings have been forwarded from pat sanders at trainworx and are now being evaluated for reduction to Z scale use. thanks to chris schmuck and mike skibbe for doing the initial reworking. to see what we are talking about here is an N scale forum review by erik welch of the original N scale offering. the etchings were made to fit over an N scale atlas steel caboose, so we'll have to be creative with our own application. but the end result will (hopefully) be a caboose that is accurate, available, and great to behold. http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=86055 more photos the the etched sheet here: http://therailwire.net/smf/index.php/topic,12151.0.html no idea what will happen or how much they will cost, but i think these can be done very affordably. keep posted. dave f.
