Here is a progress report on the SW1500 model I have been working on. The 3D modeling has been complete since Thanksgiving of last year, 2018. Designing and testing the etched metal handrails is the reason the SW1500 is not available on Shapeways yet. However, the next version of the handrails should be the final one so the SW1500 will be available within a week or two. The final version of the handrails will be available at the end of February at the earliest. There will be two versions of the SW1500 frame. There is a "Basic" version and an "Advanced" one. The basic frame is just like the old SW1200 frame. You mount the motor and use the circuit board from a single shorty. The advanced frame is for the enthusiast. It requires two shorties and you have to acquire the Rokuhan dual shaft motor. This will give the SW1500 four powered axles and mount a Digitrax DZ123Z0 decoder. You can also mount an AZL circuit board from a GP9, GP30, or GP38 if you want regular analog control. By using one these circuit boards you get directional lights. The shells have pilot holes to help drill out the lights and mount fiber optics. I have used 1/2mm fiber optic wire to transfer the light from the circuit board to the shell (seen in the photo). The shell has been designed to thread the fiber optics through the long hood to the top of the cab. The advanced frame requires copper strips to pickup power from the trucks. These copper strips will be available as a kit in my store in a month or two. You can also cut and bend your own if you wish. I will release a template to help you make your own power pickup brushes. The SW1500 shell will be available in both brass and plastic. The basic frames will be available only in brass. The advanced frame is a two part design that requires both a brass print and a plastic print. All of this will be clear on the Shapeways website with links and directions to help you with your purchase. You can see the advanced frame and latest handrail design below. The handrails mistakenly did not have pilot holes for the couplers. In the images below you can see holes for the couplers in the etched metal because I manually cut them out with a razor. This will be fixed ASAP and the design will be submitted for production. Notice the advanced frame has an AZL circuit board mounted on it.
That is a beautiful engineered chassis! Well done! Great concept. These might also be interesting for narrow gauge N. Verstuurd vanaf mijn ANE-LX1 met Tapatalk
Handrails attached and first coat of primer. This is SP version. The standard version will have fewer lights and there will be no number boards above the cab windows. Modeling SP's light packages has always been a pain until 3D printing came along.
This is Z! Simply amazing!! Never dreamed I see this even a year ago, now I really want one BUT, I'm really wanting an MP15AC in Milwaukee Road!!
The revised design for the SW1500 etched metal handrails has been submitted for production. Also, last minute revisions to the 3D models were uploaded to Shapeways yesterday. The design for etched metal power pickup strips(brushes?) for the advanced two part frame is nearly complete. This project is only days away from going live. It will be 30 days or more before the shipment of the handrails arrives. They will available at www.thezmaker.com when they get here. For those interested in this model, I thank you for your patience. I think they will be worth the wait.
SW1500 is open on Shapeways. The first run of etched brass handrails was faulty but they still work just fine with a bit of trimming. Those will be on sale for half off until they are gone. The revised versions will be here around the end of March. I also have a preformed copper pickups that will fit into the advanced frame. You can also cut and bend your own by following the instructions in a downloadable document. The document will be completed late tonight (gotta wait for the family to settle down to work on this stuff ) and available in the SW1500 shop at www.thezmaker.com. The instructions for assembling the advanced frame will be posted on the website soon. The basic frame is assembled exactly like the SW1200. Some back story: I spent the last couple of weeks trying to get the copper pickups manufactured by several companies. All these companies move slower than molasses in winter and I was unable to sit around waiting for them to come up with a quote, never mind the actual manufacturing process. I guess I have been spoiled by 3D printing and it's inherent speed. Still, if they were a bit more nimble with customer interactions I would have held out and waited. Being impatient I went ahead and designed a tool that will shape the copper pickups like a mini press. I'll be making the pickups myself after all. What interesting times we live in...
The revised handrails are here! Also, the website now takes all major credit cards in case you don't want use Paypal. I am still working on the instructions for the basic frame and shell. The advanced frame instructions are complete. Unlike the SW1200, the handrails don't come with wiring and a resistor. They are sold separately. The two different options for the frame made me split up the wiring products. Welp, thanks everybody. I wish i could get things done faster but, all thing considered, progress hasn't been too bad. Enjoy! www.thezmaker.com
I'm selling a locomotive on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Z-Scale-SW1500-Ready-to-Run-Norfolk-Southern-Analog-DC/352638952811 Whew! Due to a major project at work, I've haven't had a day off since February. Now that it's all done, I can get back to developing more Z scale stuff. What switcher do you guys want next? SW1, NW2, or Alco S2? I'll be ordering more decals for the SW1500, too. If you want specific road names, let me know. Thanks!
Southern Pacific SW1500 is up for auction: go there I have three more sets of decals on order for the SW1500. For every new decal set I order I will make an SW1500 to show off the model using those decals. After I am done I will be auctioning off those models, too. The next model I make will be in Seaboard System livery. CSX is after that.
CSX and Chessie would be indeed very nice! Let me know when the Seaboard goes online, please. Thank you!