Received my shipment of one each of the H10 and H12s. Into the Bestine to dissolve the wax. It is a great looking design job, with many delicate features. I do have some concerns about whether the rear coupler mounting pad will be robust enough for operations. Anyone have thoughts or experience on this? This is a great design and I look forward to finishing these models. Best wishes, Dave
Thank you. The whole kit was very easy to put together and, as it turns out, FUD seems to love CA so even when I made a mistake it was easy to fix. That switcher is the main motive power on a short industrial branch and it looks great pulling a 7 car train. I still haven't hunted down a good headlight lens though. For anyone who has been considering one of Matthew's kits but hasn't taken the leap yet... I can't recommend them more highly! The detail is great and it is fun to have something unique to look at and run. Throw in the fact that you are supporting a new phase of the model train economy, one where producers are more responsive to the market and you can have a hand in the creation and design process, well you simply cannot lose.
Thanks! I'm glad to hear that they lived up to expectations! I didn't have any problems with the rear coupler pad (although I'll admit that I never tried to pull more than about twenty cars with my sample). Do let me know if you have any problems... Thanks for the endorsement! I'm still impressed with your awesome finishing job
I soaked the shells in Bestine overnight and they mostly came out fine. I did run into an odd issue with the back cab wall of the H10-44. It had a very different texture than the rest of the model, with a very rough appearance. I thought that perhaps this was due to precipitation of the wax out of solution as the Bestine evaporated. It tried scrubbing it with a brush soaked in Bestine, but it didn't do much. So, it went back into the Bestine overnight and here is the result. Note the difference in texture between the cab wall vs. the roof. Really, no change. There are other parts of the shell were it looks like the wax redeposited, but that brushes off easily. The H12-44 shell looks better, but has similar issues on the pilot. door and sand hatches. Question: Any opinions on whether this is a cleaning issue or a printing issue? I also noted that the cab handrails on the H10-44 are missing. They are not in the original bag or the Bestine bath, which suggests that this may be a printing issue? Best wishes, Dave
Hi Dave. This is a printing issue - I get this on one end of the NKP caboose shells, too. Try this: take a hobby knife with a new #11 blade and scrape lightly with the very tip of the blade where you see this fuzz. If it's like the cabeese, the fuzz will come off with some light scraping, leaving behind a smoother finish. It will take some time and care around the details, but about 10 minutes of this really cleans up the end of the caboose. Another thing you can try is a small wire brush, particularly in areas that you can't get to with the knife. But I've destroyed a lot of details this way, so I stick to a knife and patience. John C.
Thanks for the advice John. Any thoughts as to whether Shapeways would agree to reprint this shell or is this "to spec"? Best wishes, Dave
The back of all 3 of my H10-44 shells look the same as Dave's. I haven't tried to sand down the area because I already have a crack in one of the shells. The material is a bit flimsy on the back... but Matt did mention he has changed the spec's to thicken the area.
An iPhone3. I did rub the lens with my t-shirt beforehand. No, really! How did your H10s look before painting? Best wishes, Dave
Dave - what you have photographed there is fairly standard FUD "support wax fuzz." If you have heard people complaining about the lack of smoothness on Shapeways models - this is what they are referring to. As for its severity, I'd say that this level of roughness is perhaps a bit worse than normal but certainly not unheard of. You could probably ask Shapeways for a reprint, but I'd say there's about a 40-60 chance that you would end up with a shell that is comparably coarse. That said, I really do recommend that you try your hand at smoothing the surface before you give up entirely. I think that you will be surprised at how easily the stuff comes off (there's a much harder/smoother surface just beneath it). If that isn't working for you, I'd also suggest trying an add an additional few coats of primer/paint. As Randy's pictures show (looking great btw ), you can certainly achieve a much smoother surface if you work at it for a while. I hope that answers your questions
My engines looked exactly like yours. I primed them with floquil primer, sanded them lightly and painted them. My finish came out very well. Randy
Thanks for the replies Matthew and Randy. I wasn't sure if Randy was the person who painted the shell without removing the wax first. It is great to see what can be done with some work. Matthew, I fully plan on giving these a try. I came into this project knowing that Shapeways has these types of issues, and wasn't expecting a completely smooth print. Best wishes, Dave
Thanks Dave Do please post pictures of your progress! I for one am always happy to hear what new tricks people come up with for finishing the models!
Yes, that was me. That paint job was on an ALCo S-4. The paint simply would not dry on the shell !!! I stripped the paint off the ALCO and used Bestine and everything was fine after that. By the time I got the FMs I was using Bestine so there were no issues . So far Bestine is the only usable way that I have found to clean the shells. I have a total of 7 of the FMs to do now, counting the ALCo's thats 10 locomotives. I take my time with the FUD shells, priming and sanding a little at a time and so far I am satisfied with the results. I also have some rolling stock in FUD and used the same methods on these and so far I am pleased. Its a great way to get hard to find models!!!! Randy
Thanks for the followup Randy. I must have missed reading the part where you stripped the paint, wax and repainted. You have done a nice job on your models and I was curious how you did it. Thanks for the details! I have also been thinking about the use of CA to help strengthen certain parts. Specially, the thin window frame on the back cab wall of the H10, the coupler pockets, and the frame side beneath the walkway. Any thoughts about this? Will it help? What viscosity of CA? Hopefully I can accomplish this without gluing my fingers to the shell! I did some sanding last night, starting with the roof to gain some easy results. Those puppies are shiny smooth now! Did some light scraping of the H10 back cab wall. Thing are looking up there as well. Thanks everybody for the information. Best wishes, Dave
You can't go wrong with CA, as people have said, FUD loves the stuff. Thin CA will rapidly flow into the part (which should help add strength if needed).
I didn't do anything with the rear cab wall until I glued in the window glazing. After that I was able to drill out the holes for the wipers and the grab irons. I did apply thin CA to the coupler mounting pads on the front and the rear. One trick I used was glueing small bits of sand paper to bits of small dowel and other wooden shapes using 3M adhesive and using them as little sanding sticks to get at the spots between the engine room doors, under the radiator shutters and other rough spots. I also sanded the front cab window area using the same little sanding sticks. More to come I'm sure , I still have 6 FMs left to build . Randy
I'm just starting one of these (H10-44), in FXD. Anyone have a template for handrails? Also, has anyone tried Mr. Surfacer 1000 on these shells - if so, would you recommend it? George
