Jeebus! Between the two of you guys the MILW base is havin' a heck of a year!! Oof! I'm pretty stoked, and I'm sure I'm not alone
Manufacturers should take note - if they won't do it, we will! Alright guys, I've set up the shop and have two models available right now - the early model with both functional cabs and late model with blanked out "B" cab. You can search for "Little Joe" on Shapeways and they should come right up, direct link is here: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/AlwaysSolutions In the coming weeks I'll add a version for South Shore as well as other MILW versions with roller bearings. Best Regards -Mike
That looks awesome! If you get some direction on how to get it powered, I'm all ears. Where's the bipolar? Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk
Thks is awesome! Will it come with directions on how to put the thing together? Sent from my Commando
\Wow! It looks pretty good to this point. May have to look into doing this. By chance has anyone checked out the project being done on the rail wire? http://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=32088.0 It sounds for more advance the way they are doing a Little Joe over there. Of note is the fact that it is being offered as a resin kit, not a 3D printing project, and it is far more advance in terms of modelling skills, including the need to buy a bunch of Arnold GG1 chassis to modify for running gear and turning down wheel flanges to improve running performance. Did anyone on this thread come up with a workable power chassis, so far.
I say our talented guys 3D-print a chassis/frame to hold the gear from a couple spliced-up KATO GG-1 chassis to make it work. I am certain that's feasible. Util then, I plan on stretching a GG1 chassis and running it just so I can have something close-enough to pull my Superdome Hiawatha! NLAempire has some crazy-nice Milwaukee cars in the running, and with Bill Denton's recent car additions I can't wait!! Your Little Joe is amazing, brother! [video=youtube;oQupCrYLLbk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQupCrYLLbk[/video]
The other model you mentioned looks pretty decent. Currently, I'd say around the same level of effort would be required for the one I'm doing. I'm taking a different approach on the mechanism where I plan to base the trucks off the Kato SD80/90 model - the parts are readily available and offer "close enough" wheel size. Plan is to design a 4 axle truck to drop-fit the Kato wheels and gears. From there I'll move on to chassis and try to design something that will allow you to mount whatever motor you have on hand and mate up to the trucks. This is all future state, the shells however are available now for those that aren't afraid to just dig in. You'll still have to do your own grabs and rails, and my model will offer variations of the Joe so you can customize to whatever era you're planning to model (or do the South Shore version.) Looks like 2014 is going to be a good year for MILW modellers. -Mike
Yep - you're reading my mind, except as mentioned above going try with the SD80/90 as a starting point. I've ordered from Kato parts and hope to start in a couple weeks. Thanks!! -Mike
Thanks! Once I have a "system" down I'll try to translate that into instructions so others can follow along with what I did if they choose. Right now it's just a shell and some truck frames, the rest is in your hands. -Mike
Maybe it's just the angle of that photo, but the nose of that shell seems to appear quite vertical. Not showing the sloping effect of the prototype?
Yeah it's just a bad angle. The nose of the Joe is interesting in that some angles look really slanted, others show much less slant. I'm away from my "real" computer right now but I have a cad image on this one that I've put on top of a prototype shot for comparison. The slopes are pretty close. Getting that nose right on the model consumed me for quite awhile due to the complexity of it. It's not perfect but it's pretty darn close. -Mike
I was wondering if my eyes were deceiving me. Due to the time frame these were designed and built, they carried a steeper nose pitch, such as the E6 and earlier. Only the E78 was different, post-wreck rebuild. I have seen many a pseudo-Joe built, using F unit noses, and those just never look right.
How different are the GG-1 pans from the 'Joe pans? I recall someone here suggesting doing a custom-etched set for just this model.
They are at least similar. Except that MILW versions had added "bows" as they called those pipes. Bows were to prevent snagging the trolley, if the pans and wires were misaligned for any reason.
The cross-brace (?) patterns also match as far as I can tell. And while I could find measurements of the GG1 pans, I couldn't find any for the Joes. I did a very unscientific match-up scaling two profile shots using known carbody length/height of GG1 and EF4 (MILW) to see size comparison. The image comparisons below show they are very close. GG1 is the black and white pic, EF4 the color version. The GG1 pans may be just a hair larger. I'm pretty sure the South Shore pans were smaller as they appear to be able to snug down behind the cab on the roof line when retracted, while the oversized MILW versions hover above. In project related news I received my SD80 trucks, extra wheels and gears from Kato so I'm playing around with that. I've also added renders for the versions being offered on Shapeways. I've received orders for each version so I hope we get to see some customer pictures in the coming weeks! Cheers -Mike
The bows I'd mentioned were not used on a GG1. I don't recall ever seeing them on any other railroads pans, but it is certainly possible. They are mandatory for any MILW Little Joe.
No you're right... I meant the "X" pattern connecting the left and right arms. I've seen some pans out there with a single "/" bar and had the GG1 been equipped as such it wouldn't have been a deal breaker but just one more thing to modify. The bows are going to have to be done - it's what makes these uniquely MILW for sure! -Mike
Hmmm... now that's interesting! I'm honestly not sure as I'm not familiar with the Centipede's measurements. If however it's like most of the other 6+ axle locos I've looked into it just might. The spacing seems to be suitable. Here's where I'm at with my journey on the truck problem - rather than redesign a 3d print of the entire SD80/90 truck for 4 axles like I had originally planned, I'm thinking of doing a conversion/upgrade of the Joe sideframes such that they'll snap on to the Kato trucks, just as the Kato sideframes do. There will be an extra axle of course that would be a part of this plan, but I figure this will be the easiest solution for most of us. So all you'd need to do is order the Kato trucks, pop the sideframes off, snap the Little Joe sideframes on and you'd have yourself kato performance on a Little Joe. This doesn't take into account the pilot trucks, but we gotta do this one step at a time to do it right. There are extremely tight tolerances for this to work so I'm measuring very carefully. I'll keep everyone posted as I make headway. Meanwhile, if any of you have ordered and gotten your shells already, I'd love to see what you've been doing with them! -Mike
I haven't ordered mine yet. I suppose I'm awaiting the truck sideframes for the SD80 trucks. what wheels do you suggest for the lead and trailing trucks? Fox Valley BLMA or something else? Are they being designed for a snap-in wheel from a specified source?
