Westlake Publishing Forums

That is really impressive!

Bernhard

Yes, Like Bernhard said: That is really impressive. Not just the appearance, but also the method of installing it.

Hi Lawrence.
Those castings look both beautifully cast and very well thought out.
Great.
cheers Kim

Back to modelling West Coast (NZ) things...

As is often the case a bit of distraction has come along.  We377 has featured here before, but I really need We198 as well.  These projects take time though and some things need to be prepared, sent away or otherwise gestated.  Hence some preparatory work for a build some way in the future. Some of the castings appeared in another thread, but I've also been working on resin prints for the cab.

The We firebox is a bit of a challenge as I have not unearthed photos and exact drawings have not emerged.  So this is based on standard practice, interpolation of drawings that are to hand and some sketches from a gentlemen who used to drive them back in the day.  Most likely it is not entirely accurate, but should be fairly close to.  I'm not too worried as it is tucked away largely out of view.

The CAD model here is a slightly earlier version than the print.  The print isn't perfect either and I've made a few changes, but I wanted to use some rejects to play around with some painting ideas.  The firebox diameter is around 23mm (less than 1"), so it isn't very big. I find actually seeing the thing, let alone getting a brush into all the crannies, can be quite a challenge.

Many of the steam pipes were lagged with asbestos string.  I mixed a generous amount of talc into the acrylic paint to make something that looks a little softer than unlagged finish.  This worked quite well, but it's a bit hard to manage and next time I'll do it earlier in the sequence to make correcting any mishaps a little easier.

There are things to improve but, as a test piece, I've invested enough in to it.

I doubt anyone could do better in that scale. -- Russ

Quote from: finescalerr on March 10, 2024, 09:13:07 PMI doubt anyone could do better in that scale. -- Russ

Maybe, but I'll keep trying.

Hi Lawrence

If I understood correctly, this is a resin part, not a brass one! If so, it seems to me, you have some small and smallest diameters there, e.g. the spokes of the handwheels.
At my current work I had tried not to go smaller then 0.5 mm at parts that are not connected to a wall etc. as most of such parts had broken away while diconnecting them from the supports.
Are you able to print smaller then 0.5mm?

Cheers, Peter

Hi Peter

Yes, resin.

0.5mm is a pretty good working minimum value, but smaller is possible.  Some of the pipework here is 0.3mm, some details less.  You'll appreciate that this only works in restricted orientations, short spans and with support.  The same constraints as always - just more so.

Resin choice has a bearing too.

I'm prepared to do things on backheads that I'd avoid in other circumstances.  While they are surprisingly robust, they are far from bulletproof.  However, once done they'll be mounted in an etched metal cab, so robustness is not a major requirement.

Quote from: Lawrence@NZFinescale on March 11, 2024, 09:20:51 AMYou'll appreciate that this only works in restricted orientations, short spans and with support. The same constraints as always - just more so. Resin choice has a bearing too.

Hmmm, it seems that I really should consider purchasing a printer too. All these parameters are not in my hands and it's rather annoying making compromises here and there.
Thanks for your reply!

Was that backhead printed as a single piece?

Quote from: Ray Dunakin on March 12, 2024, 10:04:10 PMWas that backhead printed as a single piece?

Normally yes, but I tried something new here and the front half of the lubricator with it's bunch of little taps was a separate part.  The lubricator is printed upside down to avoid support on all the little details. The rear of the lubricator is part of the main piece so that the pipework and mounting form correctly.

I see absolutely nothing to apologize for here! Outstanding work.

Stuart

Lawrence that's a fantastic print. Printing the lubricator upside down to avoid supports on the tiny details worked really well. And the talc/acrylic paint for the asbestos lagging is perfect.

The only thing that is a little off to me is the tiny metallic flakes in the "brass". That shouldn't be a problem, however, when the firebox is installed in the cab.

I'm probably overly aware of it only because I had a similar problem with a sign on my pharmacy. All of the paints I tried had flakes and even though the sign was HO scale, it was right on the front of the building, so very noticeable - at least to me.

After many attempts I finally covered the raised lettering with real goldleaf. That was a challenge, and wouldn't work in your situation. I haven't seen how any of the high end acrylic metallic paints look could one of those perhaps have no flakes in it?

Quote from: Bill Gill on March 14, 2024, 06:03:54 AMLawrence that's a fantastic print. Printing the lubricator upside down to avoid supports on the tiny details worked really well. And the talc/acrylic paint for the asbestos lagging is perfect.

The only thing that is a little off to me is the tiny metallic flakes in the "brass". That shouldn't be a problem, however, when the firebox is installed in the cab.

I'm probably overly aware of it only because I had a similar problem with a sign on my pharmacy. All of the paints I tried had flakes and even though the sign was HO scale, it was right on the front of the building, so very noticeable - at least to me.

After many attempts I finally covered the raised lettering with real goldleaf. That was a challenge, and wouldn't work in your situation. I haven't seen how any of the high end acrylic metallic paints look could one of those perhaps have no flakes in it?

Full frame camera, decent macro lens and focus stacking will reveal every flaw!  This one was always intended as a test piece, so I didn't spend as much time as I might otherwise have.  Stuck inside a cab, any additional effort would likely never be seen anyway - but that's not why we do this stuff :-).  On the plus side, a piece that looks OK under these conditions generally looks really good on the layout.

In the context of results from modelling paints, I was quite pleased with the brass, but I completely agree that it doesn't work for a show off piece.  I have some other things to try, that initial results suggest will be better.

It's been a one forward, two back kind of week with the printer, but my last batch of prints are where I want them to be.  I'll work up another couple for your perusal.

A tip From one of the greatest Loco painters - defiantly NOT ME but a friend going way back - and one of the best professional painters of our times - For metallic finishes first spray a matt grey bass coat - then lightly dry brush the metallic paint over the casting you end up with an amazing finish for  brass or steel he always used an Enamel paint for the dry brushing Humbrol polished steel or brass being one of the best products to use - if the dry brushing process is done correctly by that I mean a DRY BRUSH no pigment will show - some people have better results using a short flat stumpy brush others use a longer haired flat brush Give it a go it does work
Barney