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thibaultron

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About thibaultron

  • Birthday 04/11/1955

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Warrenville, SC
  • Interests
    Ship, plane, and train modeling, history, science.

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  1. Considering that you can see the background through the ship and sails, Photoshop!
  2. Part_019 This picture shows the upper LED wires in the slot, after the Canopy Glue dried. I installed batteries and tested the LEDs, before continuing. I still can’t find the acetate glazing sheet, so I fabricated a new window for the bookstore window, using plastic from a tool package. I wish I had thought of the plastic I used later for the window in the top cover, but I had already glued in and trapped this window. My fear is that the cheap plastic used in the tool cover will yellow over time. Oh well, time will tell. First, I glued the acetate to the back of the front cover, like in a real building. This looked good, but caused problems later, as will be detailed below. I used scrap wood to wedge it in place until the glue dried. While waiting on the window glue, I installed the rear diorama mirror. After removing the protective film from the “glass” side of the mirror, I slid it into place, and glued it. Here you can barely see the effect of the mirror. If you look behind the railroad cross arms, you can see the reflection, making it look like there is another one on the other side of the tram. It also looks like there are more buildings going down the street. There is also a reflection that looks like there is another tram behind the first one. This would be weird, but the second one is mostly hidden by the tree branch, and the second tram would be hidden if the diorama was above eye level, anyway. This is a picture of the mirror, from the side. The next day, I took this photo of the first installation of the window. These are pictures of the right-hand cover. I don’t know if I showed a picture of the corner brackets, they are shown for this wall in the second picture. I damaged the lower tab on the left cover when I installed it. I used three rounds of building up layers of Canopy Glue, to fill it in. When I went to install the right cover, I found that the bookstore window glassing interfered with the joint. I carefully pried it away from the wall, using a steel ruler. I first tried trimming it narrower, and reinstalling it. There was no room on the right side of the window opening left to glue that edge down. The inside surface of the right cover fits flush with the inner edge of the window opening! I retrimmed it to fit over the inner book wall, which does have a lip on the right, as per the instructions and glued it to that wall. Once again, scrap wood was used to wedge it in place. I cleaned the canopy glue off the glazing using isopropyl alcohol, before gluing it in the second time. As I did on the left cover, I glued the front edge of the right cover to the right side of the front cover first, and clamped it. Notice that the cover is angled, slightly, away from the rest of the assembly, to clear the other mounting tabs. Once that had dried, I dry fitted (not glued) the rear/book spine cover in place, and clamped the back edge of the right cover to it. I then made sure all the connecting tabs between the base and right cover were inserted, and ran a bead of glue along that joint.
  3. Part_018 The next operation is to install the left-hand side/book cover. When I test fit the wall, I found the gray wood trim strips interfered with the “stone” steps of the retaining wall mounted on the base. If you build this kit, temporarily install the wall and base with the retaining wall/steps attached, and then glue in these strips, so that they will not interfere later. After that continue with installing the other pieces, as per the instructions. There is room to move these and the brown wall trim up a little. I used the ruler to guide the hobby knife when I trimmed the bottoms off the strips. This picture shows the trimmed parts. I mixed another batch of the gray color paint, and painted the exposed edges. Next, I glued the front cover onto the right-hand inner wall, and the base, camping the parts to give a good fit. I then, fit the left wall, and also glued it to the front cover only, at this time. Once again clamps were used until the glue dried. After the glue dried, I connected the other tabs into the associated slots, and clamped the side until the glue dried. Here are pictures of the installed side. The wiring for the LEDs has to be connected, before the right-hand cover can be installed. First the wires for the LED in the top of the diorama are fed down through holes in the horizontal base of the LED support assembly. I decided to glue the wires into the slot, to prevent them from getting caught between the support and the top cover, when installing it. I glued them in place, then clamped them down, using scrap pieces of wood. I also used clamps as weights to keep the wires taut during the gluing and to help hold that end of the wires down in the slot. I installed the screw that secured the top corner bracket, between the left upper corner and front covers, while I was waiting for the glue to dry. The next step was to glue in another wire guide staple, and run the wires down through it. The instructions say to twist the wires together, then use the supplied tape sections to insulate the exposed ends. I soldered the wire ends, to make a good lasting connection, before adding the tape. This shows the taped ends. To make sure that the ends never touch, and keep the wires from interfering with the right-hand cover installation, I glued the ends to the inside of the inner wall. I added weights to hold them in place, and let it dry overnight. Here is a photo the next day.
  4. Not all 3D resins are brittle. If you need a more durable resin for a project, here is a link to a model railroad Podcast, where one of the members is 3D resin printing an entire HO scale diesel locomotive, and discusses the durable resins he uses. He crushes and earlier print with a standard resin with his fingers. He then shows the more flexible body he printed with the better resin. The discussion starts at about minute 25. He used: Siraya Tech Fast Resin for body, which is a bit flexible, and their Blue Resin for the gearboxes for the power trucks. The Blue is strong, but stiffer, as is needed for a gearbox you want not to flex.
  5. Ive drawn several types and sizes of cannon, and posted the STL files on this thread, if you are interested.
  6. The only drawing I have for the carriages is this one. Armstrong Frederick Pattern 1760.DXF I've been concentrating on the cannons.
  7. I'm about 3/4s of the way through the Borgad cannons. Here is a graphic of one of the 12 Pounders. Here is a closeup of the King George 1st cypher.
  8. Sakura Densya “Cherry Blosom Train” Part_017 Before the front masonry piece is installed, the LED power switch circuit board has to be screwed on. Here is the part installed. I had to use one of my regular sized clamps to hold the streambed edge of the part flush with the stream, until the glue dried. The front to back length was too long for my modeling clamps. This shows the progress so far. As I have had ant problems in the shop, I glued the plastic water piece down along the front and back, to make sure they don’t get under there if they show up in the future. I used the clothespins to spread the weight of the glue bottle, to hold the edge down while the glue dried. The weight of the clothespin on the far right was enough to hold down that section. It turns out I was wrong in an earlier post; the model does have a second LED. It goes at the top of the model, in a dedicated holder. Construction starts with a base that spans between the left wall and the inner right-hand wall. The base has two wood staples that align the three center standoffs that the LED lamp globe attaches to. This shows the base with one of the staples installed. The photo shows the base and three standoffs glued together. The top standoff is shown being installed with the colored side facing toward the base, but I decided to leave the colored face exposed. The part is symmetrical, side to side, so the parts still line up. Next two more staples are installed to hold the wires that go to the LED. The LED globe is designed as a press fit, but I added glue between the globe and standoff, on the inside, to make sure it stays in place. To hide the LED support, there is a faceplate installed I had to clamp it in place while the glue set. I used the clothespin clamp for the section that had the slit for the wires. Hard clamping this across the slit risks breaking one of the arms off. I broke an Atlas lathe belt tensioner assembly a couple of decades ago, making that type of mistake. Luckily, I was dealing with a used machine tool dealer, back then, that sold me a whole newer, better designed, belt tensioner assembly for a reasonable price. After the pieces set, I panted the colored areas and the staples white, to hide all the raw edges, just in case any of it is visible in the finished model. There are two support pieces for the LED assembly that need to be glued to the right-hand inner wall. I had glued and clamped these in place, then found much further back in the instructions, that there was a trim piece that locked into this support! The glue had set already, and the clamps had distorted the support slightly up at the back. I had to break the glue joint and then install the trim piece, then reglue everything. In my defense that trim piece was rather hidden in the instructions, still I should have checked. The piece is the lattice work part on the right of the pictures. I painted the raw edges of the upper front face piece white to match the color of the part. It took three coats to fully hide the edges, on this majorly visible area.
  9. Just about any type of the self-healing mats will work, In the US they are available from craft stores, and Walmart. Generally they are in the sewing section. Hobby stores should also carry them. My present one is 12X18". I also have a thick plate glass ex-shelf, that I use. This tends to dull my blades quicker than the plastic mats. It does make a good flat surface for assembling models though. The glass plate is also nice, in that you can slip a drawing under it, while modeling for reference. No worry about damaging the drawing, or photo, while also making sure it stays in place.
  10. Earlier in this thread I detailed my setup for the supports. I orient the cannons at 45 degrees (gives best detail), with the barrels pointed with the muzzle directed away from the build plate. This allows the resin to sort of drain away from the print, during printing. This also gives a better base attachment to the solid breach area, rather than the thinner hollow muzzle. I use Lychee for my slicer program. After angling the barrel, I raise the part up 5mm away from the plate. I use the Raft Form baseplate. The angled walls of the raft allow for easier prying of the parts off the bedplate. I see that you did use the raft in your prints. You don’t state the scale, so that makes this last a little difficult. From about 1/24th to around 1/64th, I use the automatic support feature with medium supports. After that finishes, I go back and manually place two heavy supports under each of the two trunnions (one at the trunnion to barrel area, and one at the tip). I then see if there are any more yellow areas shown, and may add more medium supports to those areas. For smaller scales, I use light supports, with medium ones at the trunnions. This graphic shows a 1_24th scale 32 Pounder cannon, after the medium supports have been auto-generated. In this graphic, I have added one of the heavy supports to a trunnion tip. I print with a layer height equal to the pixel size on the printer. In my case my printer has a 35um pixel, so I used a 35um layer height. Yes, the 45 degree and smaller layer height take longer, but you are printing these for yourself, so just leave it overnight to print. I have an AnyCubic Mono 4K printer. If yours is different, the manufacture’s site generally has the pixel size listed somewhere in the specifications for that printer. Each layer height requires a different exposure time. So, exposure times for the standard 50um layer height will be too long for a 35um layer. I’m going to assume that the temperature is 22C. If it is 22F, yes that is way too low. 22C or 71F should be OK, depending on the resin. Have you calibrated your exposure times? There are several YouTube tutorials on the calibration procedures. It generally takes me a couple of test prints to get the supports right, and I always print as many as the printer will hold. I still get some misprints, so this gives more chances to get good ones you can use. Look at the failure areas and add supports at the failure points. You may also need to bump up the exposure times slightly. 3D Resin printing is more of an artform than science, to get the settings right. So, some experimentation is often needed. I leave the cannons on the supports, if possible, while cleaning them, with small wood or plastic rod run down the barrels to force as much of the resin out of the barrels as possible, after the first cleaning, then I run another cleaning cycle. I also use my smallest micro drill to clean out the touch hole, before the second cleaning, for larger scale prints. Remove the supports before curing, as they will break away cleaner now, than once hardened. I let them dry overnight, before curing. This lets all the cleaning solution dry from those small interior areas. If there is still solution in when you cure, it can leak onto the outside surfaces and mar the surfaces. If all the above still does not fully fix your problems, try raising the temperature in the printing area. I am just a beginner, myself, in 3D printing, so I can not offer any better advice.
  11. Here is an example of one of the Bogard cannons. I've drawn one in each size to check that the cyphers curve properly on the barrel. I'll draw the rest now. This is an 18 Pounder. The line on the barrel, by the cypher, is an artifact of the drawing, it would not show on a print.
  12. Part_016 A few pieces of the top ply on either side of the tail fell off and were lost when it broke. I glued the tail in place, and let it set overnight. I then spent a couple days building up the surface with layers of the Canopy Glue. After the glue had completely dried, I painted the damaged area and the lasered edge with white paint. Here on the backside, you can see a slight bump of extra glue on the corner, after the paint dried, I carefully sanded this off. The cat was now whole again! Now comes the assembly of the wall and tram assembly to the base. This picture shows the three sections ready for attachment. The wall goes on first. No glue yet. After ensuring that everything lined up, I applied glue to the outside edges. In order to get the bridge surface and the front beam to sit correctly together, I had to clamp it. Sharp eyed modelers will note a problem with this picture. The cross arm on the crossing gate is missing in action! The arm broke off while I was trying to get the tram assembly in place. This made it easier to place the central clamp, but what a pain! The arm was located and will be glued on later. If you build this kit, I would recommend waiting until after the whole bridge is together to attach the crossing gate and the tree. I also had to clamp the pier that supports the porch, as the tab would not sit properly in its slot. Up until I repaired the cat, I have been using the colored pencils on the exposed edges, with fair results. But one of the upcoming parts to go on is the front of the case. This has long prominent edges, especially were it meets the stream bed. The pencils just are not enough for this. I decided to mix a custom paint color using my stash of Vallejo paints. The Vallejo bottles have a very small opening, even after you pull of the dispenser tip, so manually stirring them is a losing proposition. To solve this, I put a small stainless-steel ball in each bottle, the first time I use it. The ones I use, shown in the photo below, are specially made for use with water-based paint. Regular SS balls can still rust, if left in permanently. I bought mine through the Web. I have 8mm balls I put in the larger bottles of primer. I pull off the tip drop in a ball and replace the tip. Shaking the bottle until the ball rattles around freely does the job. I put a large black spot on the label to show that bottle already has a mixing ball, using a Sharpie. After some experimenting, I used these three colors (Pale Blue Gray, Black, and Blue) to match the masonry color used in the kit. It is just very slightly a different shade, but on the edge it matches closely. The proportions I used were: 10 Parts gray 2 parts black 2 parts blue For the little I needed I just mixed them in the paint tray. The Vallejo bottles are designed so that it is easy to dispense them a drop at a time, and that is how I measured them out., using 10 drops of the gray to start with. If I had needed a large batch, I have several empty bottles the same form factor as the Vallejo ones, I bought on line. I bought these a few years ago, and have no idea where I found them. I think a search for 17mL paint bottles would turn them up. Here is a picture of the painted edge. I went back and painted as many of the masonry edges as I could reach, at this late stage of construction. The Vallejo paints had no trouble going over the colored pencil marked surfaces. The next step was to reattach the gate arm. There is not a whole lot of contact area, and the mirror will be behind the tram, so I don’t want to add a rear brace, in case it would show. I came up with this setup to hold the arm while a glob of glue dries on the joint. I used extra glue here, counting on it drying clear and sitting at the back of the diorama, to hide it. I wanted the extra to reinforce the joint. The clothes pin on the left is being used as a wedge to position the clamped tip of the arm. Here is the arm the next day. I may pull it a little forward and glue it to the back of the railing. I don’t know how well the glue will support the arm as time goes on. Yes, the trolley pole also broke off, I glued it back on today.
  13. The Bogard Cannons have the following sizes, at on the drawing I have: 4 Pounders: 84" 90" 6 Pounders: 90" 96" 102" 9 Pounders: 96" 102" 108" 12 Pounders: 102" 108" 120" 18 Pounders: 102" 108" 120" 24 Pounders: 110" (108"?) 121" (120?) 32 Pounders: 108" 114" 120" The 24 Pounders may be mis-dimensioned on my 2D drawing.
  14. I'm working on the 6 Pounder Bogards now. Will have your cannon within a week.
  15. Part_015 I returned to the area of the door, to continue assembly. A porch floor, with cherry blossom, is installed. This store has a book shelf display window, that is glued to the back of the wall assembly. This is followed by a print sheet of books. On the outside. of the shelf, there is supposed to be a window pane. Unfortunately, in order to protect the acetate pieces, I stored them in a “Safe Place”. Once I find that place again, I will install it! Here is where the poor cat lost its’ tail! The picture below shows the back of the wall and the wood staple for the LED wires. Here it is after I finally got it installed. A few posts back I said I was going to wait to install the bridge, until later, so I could have a little wiggle room to install the side walls. I might as well have done it then! The next section is building the bridge, and the parts lock it in so firmly, that there is no adjustment, even with none of the parts glued in! Below is a photo of the two bridge piers that go in first. None of the following parts were glued in until the whole bridge was fitted. When that was done, I ran beads of glue at the joints, to fix them in place. The pier on the left has marking to indicate the correct orientation. Here they are installed, without glue. There is a step to attach to the left side of the bridge beam, this forms the top step of the staircase on the retaining wall. I used the slate pencil to color the edges of this step, as well as the steps on the right side of the bridge. I glued this piece. The left-hand support was fitted, next. Once again, no glue at this point. The bridge has been fitted, and glue applied to the joints. It was at this point I remembered the two piers that hold up the lowest step on the right side! Much fiddling and bad words got the pieces in place! I had to do some clamping to hold the bridge to the support, and hold the lower step down while the glue attaching the bottom of the piers to the stream bed dried. Next, I clamped the top step in place so it lined up with the riser on the retaining wall. This was then left to dry.
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