Yes but it's nose is over 100 inches, not sure of the actual measurement, but the Mid-Production is a 88 inch nose I believe but it has the brake wheel.
I would like to see a SP whaleback tender to put behind my B-1. My scratchbuilt one could be improved upon.
I've been begging for a whaleback...ANY whaleback tender for quite awhile now. I hope you get your wish SPsteam...
Wave of the magic wish wand. SPsteam/JMaurer, as you may have noticed I have been doing a tender of two of late, which makes it easier to do more. So Whaleback, 2 axle truck, 3 axle truck, what do you want? If you can sort out some photos or even better some drawings with dimensions on I will make it happen. (After Marks per-rebuild excursion tenders that is). If you want to, PM me for my e-mail address, that is the best way to send pics etc. -James
James, you might have just opened up a floodgate....The Bachmann 2-8-0 is real close to many SP/UP/IC locos, and I am sure that there would be a conversion market out there....swap out domes, cabs, and tenders to make the loco that you want...
You are the man. PM coming your way. I'm looking for both the larger and smaller whalebacks (have to look up the classification numbers). I'd like one to fit behind the 2-8-0 and one for the B-1s.
ANOTHER second/third for a Jordan Spreader Alco/EMD MRS-1, intially for the US Military, can be found on countless Shortlines and tourist roads now. GP-20 High hoods U30Bs
Well gentlemen, I have read this thread and would say that whaleback tenders along with some nice SP Vanderbilt tenders would be nice. How about an SP water bottle to run with the KATO GS-4. Nothing prettier. I would like to preface my comments by saying that IMHO, we the N scale model community have some very talented, artistic individuals creating some fantastic programs (if that's what they create) to send to the 3D printers. I'm gong to mention 3 that I can think of real quick. James Norris did an outstanding job on the UP water bottles and DD35. HuskerN has created many superb 18 wheeler trucks for us and Mark Watson has a fabulous dry bulk trailer, stagecoaches, and other items. There is absolutely no shortage of talented people designing now and there will be more in the future, I am sure. No lack of modern or older era items if we want. Can I praise these guys any more? Now, it is approaching Christmas and I will be the Grinch. The way I see this 3D printing is that the process is just not there yet. The process is pretty much in its infancy stage and IMHO, it shows. The material used for most all of these items is FUD because it prints the detail better. Right? Well I, as robert3985 (Bob Gilmore) wrote earlier, think that there are way too many quality issues with the print jobs and the fact that the printing company mails out junk in some cases. That leaves all the correction to the purchaser if the printer will not accept a return. Why should we pay quality price for junk? I am sure that these 3D printing companies will develop a new version of FUD or a completely new material, but that hasn't happened yet. I and you have seen pictures of 3D printed steamers posted that look good with paint and weathering but when you really look at it you can see the layering on the boiler and domes, actually any and most curved surfaces. That really does not look good. Many pictures of rolling stock, vehicles, and accessory items, the finished product looks like it has been run over by a track team in full spikes. Does not look good. I think the 3D printing is probably "the future" but it is not ready yet. Maybe if some of our usual manufacturers see the handwriting on the wall, they will jump in and begin to develop this process "in house". That would most likely hasten the perfection of the process. Ok, I'm off my soapbox. I am not directing this at any individual or company. Just general observations on my part. I'll put on my flack jacket now. Carl
Jason, when you say "there are other printers that are ready now" do you mean the device that prints or the company that does the printing? ? Perhaps they need to be mentioned or did I miss some other thread that mentioned this? ? Carl
I wrote about this back during this past summer. There has been an enormous investment in development. TPT has leapt way ahead. Both equipment and materials available. The present most noted company should take heed. They need to be upgrading, now. They could be left in the dust quickly, if they stay in place.
The device that prints, some that have been around 6-7 years already. But there are companies using the same printers as Shapeways that will yield better results due to being able to orient the model correctly and by having a properly calibrated machines. But they also cost much more to have your model printed. Oneof the problems is that these machines are so expensive and the best way to get your money back may be to focus on the rapid part of 'rapid prototyping'. I have a 3D model of a caboose shell. It costs me about $15 to print on Shapeways. If I upload that to another on-line service the quote may come back at $800 and that's for really only one step up from the Shapeways machine. But part of that is because the system is set up to turn your part around ASAP and you're competing for machine time with projects that don't mind paying that much for their part. IMO, the resolution at the lower end won't get better as quickly as people think. And the costs will go up 2-3 times what we're paying now with Shapeways. But there will be a ton of great models available so it will be worth it. Jason
With the new machines and formulas which flow much better, it is already here. First roll out of pre-production models was early last summer. Look for more coming on line mid-winter and into spring. One focus was for use in the micro-electronics industry, so what can be done in small model railroad detail parts should be amazing. As for cost, if the industry is competitive as it grows, that should come down fairly rapidly.
I think it will be offset by material cost and product demand. And you're still going to be competing for machine time with people who are willing to spend a lot more $$$ than anyone here will be. Let's see, N scale box car vs. replacement heart valve prototype... LOL As for the machines, they may be coming, but how many are going to invest another $100,000 at this stage if they have a working machine that's making them money? Like a lot of technologies, you may have to skip two generations before people the current market are willing to upgrade. But this is just my opinion obviously. Hopefully there will be a new start-up like Shapeways but with the latest and greatest of everything. I just don't see Shapeways changing soon. Jason
Hard to say how many Shapeways type firms might step in and buy, but the equipment will definitely be in heavy use for other purposes. An enormous amount of venture capital has backed these improvements, and I doubt they'll be passive about seeing them get into use. It is not that they are coming, they are already in production and out there....
It's all perspective, I suppose. A lot of the issues right now are from a product and process still in a relative infancy, much as in any technology. Let's remember the deelopment of the PC as one example, and of audio/video technology as another. I'm sure there are many here who remember 8 tracks and Betamax; and in a (relatively) short time we've gone to iPods with colossal storage and DVD's. The printing technology will, no doubt, progress similarly, and again, remember what has happened with costs of the now-established technologies.
Not sure what you mean by a 'regular' product. I have a resin SW1 shell that's adapted to fit on the NW2 sill. The problem is, of course, that there's no mechanism made that is short enough to go under there. I've worked with the LL chassis (unbelievably difficult), the old Con-Cor chassis (both versions, neither runs well enough), and the kato NW2. The NW2 chassis can be successfully cut down to fit it, and I've done.... hmmm... probably 30 of them. The deal is that you buy the NW2 and ship it to me, the shell is fitted to the sill and the frame milled to fit. You can then finish it yourself or we can discuss a full custom build. It's kind of an Aztec-style approach. It runs very well, I think everybody that's got one from me has been pretty satisfied with the end results. And even if somebody does come up with a RP shell, you still have to hack a frame under there. One of the real limitations in RP for diesels isn't just the banding, it's the handrails, grabs, steps, details that have a really thin cross section, or are so brittle and fragile at that cross section to be relatively worthless. While the body shells themselves can be done pretty well (and are getting better every day) the best designs will incorporate etched metal details. If you're good enough on CAD to draw the shell and have a run of at least 50-100 parts, you can also work with a photoetcher to get the add-on parts and rails right. On steam it's all about the weight. If you can't figure out a way to get the weight up, you've got a really nice static model. Either design in your weight cavities, or see if there's a way to do the basic boiler shape in a metal material and use RP add-on parts for all the goodies. And I think there's a need for etchings here as well, particularly for piping details, steps, etc. that may be applicable across multiple models.
