thibaultron

Along this line, are the old Yellow Box Model Expo/Shipways parts cast in lead or something else. I have a couple of these kits, and would like to know.

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/ss-atlantic-the-white-star-lines-first-disaster-at-sea_greg-cochkanoff_bob-chaulk/740038/#edition=7066393&idiq=13100360

Fantastic work! I had trouble doing the gun tackle on my 1/24th Model Expo Navel Cannon display!

What book(s) are those illustrations from?

Ok, Thanks!

How do you want me to send the files?

I have 4 files for a 6 wheel passenger truck model I purchased that are in SolidWorks .sldprt format, that I need converted to the SKP file type. Does anyone have SolidWorks, that could help me? I need to modify this truck to a Santa Fe specific 4 wheel truck. The other file format that was in the download was the STL type, that while I can edit it, is difficult to do so.

Thanks for all the help, guys! I'm 3D Cading a set of 6, 9,12,18, 24, and 32 Pounder Brown Pattern cannons. 1624 to 49. Have all but the 12 pounders done.

I bought the series of books on the San Juan whaling vessel, a great read!

I've been CADing several early 17th century British cannons for a project, and I just finished printing out the first test set of the 6 and 9 pounders (long and short barrel) in 1/24th scale. It took almost 24 hours at 35um layer heights, but the files checked out! Presently the 18 and 24 pounders are printing. I will have to reprint the first set, as I did not have the supports all correctly set up, but the cannons printed OK, so the original STL files are good. I just need to add a few more supports for the final printed set. These prints are for my use, to go on display along with my 1/24th Model Expo Naval Cannon displays. The barrels and cypher emblem came out well, but the trunions are warped. I also have to figure a way to better clean the bore and touch hole out as some resin was still in them, and caused blemishes when I cured them. That is the great thing about resin printers, I can just make another set. The lighting is poor on the picture, as I had to go with ambient lighting. The flash washed out all the detailing, at such a close distance. The longest cannon is a little less than 5" long, in this scale.

I'm CADing a set of Brown Pattern Cannons 1625 to 1649 for a project, and figured I might as well 3D print myself a set, also. I have the old Model Expo Naval Cannon kits, and These printed in the same 1/24th scale would make a nice co-display with them. I have tried to find information on the carriages, with little success. Even "Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War, 1600-1815" has just a drawing for one from "A small ship" and an old woodcut that has a weird drawing style. Does anyone have better information? The cannons I'm drawing run from 6 to 32 Pounders. Is there any information on carriage size to gun size that I could scale drawings to? Even latter era data may allow me to make SWAGs.

If using pure water based acrylic paints, don't use IPA! Tamyia(sp) paints have a alcohol base, so the above might work with them, but all others react badly to IPA! For these others you use IPA as a cleaner, not as a thinner. Adding the IPA to these types of paint, is like adding lacquer thinner to enamels. The IPA will either cause premature drying, or prevent adhesion. The other three ingredients can be used with most acrylics, but the Flow improver and retarder are better added to the bottle airbrush cup as you use it and in small quantities..

Unfortunately, my present camera, will not focus on these small prints, I did of my cannons for this project, but I can give some results from my first prints. Here are graphics of the two heights I tried. My cypher was shown on the drawings as the one I used, not the Royal Seal from the posts above. Please ignore the length shown in the taller cypher graphic. Due to limitations in SketchUp, I do all my drawings in feet (in equivalent to full size inches) and inches, instead of full size inches. So the 166 foot 8+ inches, really scales to ~166 + inches, when I'm done. SketchUp does not like items that are smaller than about 1/32 inch when you draw directly in just inches, which makes small items like the cypher difficult to work with. I rescale the model in Netfab, when I create the STL files. I printed one of each cannon in 1/48th, 1/64th, 1/72nd, and 1/96th. They were printed on an Anycubic Mono 4K with a 35um pixel size and at a 35um layer height. In any case, the taller cypher scales out to 1/2" tall at the anchor ring, and 1" over all. The lower one scales to 1/8" and 1/4" respectively. When I printed them the tall cypher stood up way too much, for the three larger scales, but was still clear, if still too tall at 1/96th. The lower cypher looked better with the shorter offset for 1/48 to 1/72nd, but was almost invisible at 1/96th. At all the scales even this lower resolution cypher is lacking in visible detail, but can still be recognized, due to printer limitations. I had a couple of the cannons fail, but my FEP needs replacement, of the cannons that did print (and stayed on the base), these are the best pictures I was able to get. The first is the cannon with the lower offset cypher at 1/64th scale. The second is the taller offset cypher at 1/64, 1/72, and 1/96. The lower offset cypher looks more reasonable for those on a real cannon.

I spent the last few days drafting the frame for the Superintendent’s Car. The frame is finished as far as the major assemblies. I’ll add the various levers, equipment boxes, tanks, etc. as separate pieces, and as I get more information on items like the brake system. The pictures of the frame show two strap assemblies. These also are separate parts, and will be printed as such. I had to draw them in place, though, to get the proper angles, so I’m showing them as if installed. I still have to place the blocks for mounting the couplers, but will do that after I’ve printed and assembled a car. I have a set of the correct type trucks for another car, so I can make the proper measurements using them. I initially drew the frame members overlong, and the floor overlong and too wide. Then I placed the frame in place under the sides and ends, and marked the areas that needed to be cut. This saved a lot of detailed measuring, and gives me a perfect fit. This is the frame from the side, with the straps. And two others showing some close-up details. Lots of rivets. This picture shows the frame in place, with a close-up of the observation platform. The various bosses at the end of the platform are mounts for the railings. This platform area sits a few inches lower than the interior floor. The last picture shows the assembly from the underside. I volunteered to draft some of the cannons for the NRG Cannon project, and will turn my efforts to them for a while, then start on the complex roof for this car, and any other Pullman Heavyweight passenger cars I may tackle in the future.

Yes. SketchUp 2017. For future projects, I may have to switch to another software package, as I recently found out that I can no longer install addons (extensions) due to security concerns and lack of available ones that work with my version! Even though in December, most of them were compatible and were offered by 3rd party vendors!

Well after a couple years I finally finished mostly) the 3D body for my Santa Fe Superintendent’s Car! The drafting would not have taken so long, but I kept finding better references, to correct detail mistakes in the original drawing I used. The drawing was well done, but was hand drafted by a modeler over 50 years ago, and the hundreds of rivets laid out on it were not always correctly placed. Also many details were not clear, without the photographs I found from various internet sources. Next will be the underframe, roof, and interior. For now I have a donor car for the underframe and roof to make a mockup. Here are a few views of the CAD file. First a perspective view from the front of the car. Note that the front wall/vestibule is and angled surface, making placing the rivets interesting. The window glass is filled in here as support during printing. I am rethinking the way that the final window glass/ frames will be designed. They may be a separate assembly that pushes in from the rear. Next is a similar view from the back of the car. If you look closely, you will notice that it has a main door and a screen door. The main door is a separate piece, and will not be printed in place, as shown here. This lets me install both the main door windows and the screening on the screen door. This wall is set into groves in the side walls to locate it. Next is a view of the observation end of the car. There will be an observation platform/porch floor, designed into the underframe. The roof line shown will likely change after the prototype roof is drafted. The roof line shown on the wall marches the interior lines of the donor car. This is the front/vestibule wall. This wall fits into matching ledges in the side walls. You can see the inside observation main door at the other end of the car. The inside of the observation wall also has the interior trim. This is a top view of the body. You can see the angling of the outside of the vestibule wall, as well as the locating ledges between the four walls. I also redesigned the tender oil bunker I drew several years ago. Most of it was correct, but when I placed the rivets I spaced them too closely. I used 1 1/2 inch spacing as I had to guess, having found no info on this. I found out late last year it should have been 3” spacing. I bought reprints of 10 years of the old “Santa Fe Modeler” magazines, and found the new (too me) information in them. I’ve gotten a 3D print of this latest version from Shapeways and will be fitting it to my 2-8-0 tender in the next week, or so. I was planning on 3D printing it at home, but I still haven’t got the supports right, it keeps distorting during printing. Once I verify the fit, I’ll offer it through Shapeways, as it will be more readily available to the public. The next Oil Bunker project is to convert a Bachmann 2-10-0’s tender to oil. This is much more of a SWAG, as there are only a handful of under exposed photos of these. Santa Fe acquired the locomotives from a smaller railroad it purchased, and did not use them for very long. They were too small for most of their operations, and in poor repair. Hence the lack of pictures. The old 2-10-0 bunker is on the left, and the new 2-8-0 version on the right. You can see the difference between the old and new rivet spacing.

For those of you (like me) who use the free 2017 version of SketchUp (the last one that let you do all the work on your computer, not online through them), they have disabled the Extension Warehouse feature, due to "Security Concerns". This even though 90% of the offered extensions still worked with that version. I'll have to back up my operating system onto another drive in case mine dies, My files are far to large to do them over the net, even if I wanted to allow SketchUp, or someone hacking them, access to them.

The copper/iron problem, as at the beginning of the era of coppering. the ships were built with iron fasteners, and when the copper plates were first used on these ships, the galvanic action did bad things to the original ship's fasteners. I don't remember the complete solution, but they did find ways to prevent this. I think it was a combination of adding a intervening layer of wood to the hull between the ship's bottom and the plating, and using bronze fasteners on new ships.

Were you using Tamiya Thinner? The Tamiya paints are alcohol based, the Vallejo paints are water based, which should not be thinned with alcohol. The alcohol causes them the dry rapidly, at best, and can cause the paint to fail. Alcohol is one of the things you use to clean your airbrush when using Vallejo. Get some of Vallejo thinner (preferred), or use distilled water.

I have the Red Bay book set too. Quite interesting.

I've spent more for a book. If you need info on an unusual (to the general public) subject, you pay what you need. I try to get used books, but sometimes even they are not cheap! I just bought a book on the Santa Fe's first passenger diesels the "One Spot Twins", for $75 used, and it was the cheapest, one of the copies was over $150. Depends on your needs. Other times I've gotten $75 books used for $10, luck of the draw.

Welcome aboard!

Yes, the pool is full of water, and yes, he is barefoot!

After the first Iraq war the Iraqis set many of the oil wells in the occupied countries on fire as they retreated, prompting stories of the coming apocalypse of the wells burning for decades, as there were so many, and standard methods took a lot of time per well. Well as you can see that didn't happen. One of the most innovative ways to put them out, was a Polish (I believe) company that thought way outside the box, and built a frame with one or two jet engine mounted with the exhaust pointing toward the rear. They would back the running engines toward the flames and the oxygen poor massive flow output would smother the flames, while massive amounts of water cooled the metal end of the well, so the oil would not be reignited,

Well, thanks! I can now remove that one from my wish list on Amazon! Glad It didn't waste my money on it!