Posts

LSWR G6 0-6-0T (in progress)

Image
This is my first try at a loco. My prefered era is ca. 1980, and I am put off doing locos of that time because of the windows - how do you get flush windows? However, I am making a small layout set in Dorset/Hampshire between the wars, so thought a steam engine might be fun. The model is designed to fit a Graham Farish chassis - which I already had - and the prototype was selected on that basis. Details of the prototype can be found here . This image is by Ben Brooks, and on wikipedia, so I assume I am okay to reproduce. This is the model in Blender with details added, but before consideration of the chassis. It is basically a whole bunch of cylinders and cubes, plus one sphere and a few Bezier curves. The trickiest part was where the chimney, steam dome and safety value meet the boiler/smoke box. I accomplished this by extending the chimney outwards a significant way, and then down, and then beveling the corner. I then selected all the vertices at the bottom of the chimney and assigne...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Modular Mill

Image
This is a set of STL files that users can print out, and put together as a mill, warehouse, etc. in any number of configurations. It has been designed to make assembly as easy as possible. It will appear on Cults3d... All the parts are sized for N gauge, but can be readily scaled up to TT, HO or OO.  For this example I will be making a small, low relief warehouse in OO.  Ground floor pieces are taller; the STL files all start "bottom". All other storeys are the same size, and you can have as many as you want, or none at all. I am just having one. The STL files all start "middle". The top is just a wall, and you need one for each column. The STL files start "top". I printed the parts upright, except for joins, which I did on their side. Here then are the bits I printed out, laid out where they will end up (as first planned anyway). To put them together, assemble in columns, face up, from top to bottom. Use a straight piece of wood to ensure they align strai...
Post a Comment
Read more

Eggleston Abbey

Image
 Egglestone Abbey is a mile or so southeast of Barnard Castle. It was founded between 1168 and 1198, but largely rebuilt a century later. It was a Premonstratensian abbey, and was technically run by canons, rather than monks. It was dissolved in 1540 by King Henry VIII, and much of it pulled down. The main church was laid out like a cross on an east-west alignment - as usual - with further buildings on the north side, including cloisters to the northest. I have modelled the east end of the nave in one section, and the presbytery and alter in the second, and not bothered with the rest, as it is quite large! I had to scale it down to 80% to fit it in the printer. A couple of photos of the real thing (I did not quite get the colour right, but this is about the 3d design, not the painting!):
Post a Comment
Read more

Petrol Station

Image
I created some petrol pumps several months ago. A couple of weeks ago I decided to do the whole petrol station. This is available to download from Cults3d for €2.50 . It is loosely base on Middleforth garage, as it was a couple of years ago with a Spar attached (it is now an Asda). I designed it so it could be lit up. There is space in the shop for two LEDs, and and another two in the canopy. The pillars are hollow to allow wires - though I had to use a pin drill to open the hole up.
Post a Comment
Read more

Milk Floats

Image
I remember milk being delivered in an Express Dairies milk float as a kid. There used to be a line of three of them parked outside the nearby pub (itself a work-in-progress) after they had finished their rounds. D6 Electricar This is a D6, which is I think what I used to see, though I have not found much evidence Express Dairies used that model. It is kind of the classic model of milk float, and has appeared in numerous TV shows and movies, including Father Ted . Nevertheless, I have not found out much about it at all. It was built by Morrison Electricar in 1966, and possibly as early as Septemer 1964, at their factory in Leicester, which later moved to Tredegar, Monmouthshire. The company went through a number of name changes, including Crompton Leyland Electricars Ltd. but was still making them in 1974.  The earlier D5, which seems to have been the model in 1964, had a flat windscreen , but was otherwise quite similar. The D4 looked quite different and may date from 1954? As far ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Exposure time

Image
Exposure time is how long each layer is exposed to UV light during printing. It is not something I have worried about much because the default settings seem to work fine. I am using Elegoo resin in an Elegoo printer, and Chitibox has built in settings for that. The only thing I have adjusted is to increase the exposure of the bottom layer slightly to help adhesion to the build plate. If exposure is too high, you will get fatter pixels and hence loss of detail. Some recent prints were supposed to have a small hole through them for wires to go through, and this was getting blocked, and i wondered if high exposure was the problem. If exposure is too low, you will get thinner pixels, and possibly loss of structural integrity. Some places recommend reducing exposure for small, detailed models, and raising it for larger models. I found a calibration STL by AmeraLabs here . The default exposure time for my system is 2.5 seconds. I also tried 2.0 and 1.5. In the top image, the 1.5 exposure is ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Corfe Castle

Image
Corfe Castle is a castle in a village of the same name in Dorset. Originally Norman, and much extended later, it was destroyed during the English Civil war.  What remains of the keep is a prominent landmark on the top of the hill, overlooking the village. It is this that I modelled.
Post a Comment
Read more