Garden Railway Forum

No, the neighbours aren't throwing footwear over the fence, the long awaited completion (well nearly) of my Quarry Hunlset pdf kit occurred last night and I got her out for a quick spin - still needs some tidying up and clutter like tool boxes/oil can adding

Great model tp put together and another learning experience building a chassis - Peter who produces the kits has bene great at providing help and advice via Messenger when I got stuck on various bits

Will look at some of his other locos to add to my fleet!

Cracking job Mark, you have a lovely finish on that, hard to believe it is 3D printed. A friend has one still to be made and I have seen the kit..... very impressive, and tempting! Do you have any pictures of the build or any hints and tips to pass on?

You've made a lovely job of that, well done.

Cheers for the feedback Peter and Phillip

Yes I’m pleased with the finish – I actually think in real life the bodywork is better than the photo shows on both sides in the photos, the area above the nameplate looks odd, a trick f the evening light maybe as in real life that area looks just the same as the rest of the body – the secret to get this finish is hard work but also using the XTC 3D that I used to some extent on the other recent kitbash I did.

Firstly, and this was my biggest tip that I forced myself to do, was take your time – (You guys know this) but the old Mark would have tried to build this in a few days – rushed it – and it would have looked half baked – someone tipped me off that to get the best from 3D kits, you have to take your time and a do ‘a little, often’ – so this is what I did – this kit was a Christmas present and ignoring the time its taken for me to sort out the RC, it took me around 3 months of evenings to build this – some evenings just being 5 mins of painting etc – with a few more intensive sessions.

So onto my building tips - Using 3 grades of wet and dry I took all the kit parts and rubbed them down till smooth – as you will see with some people’s 3d builds, even when its smooth, you can still see the filament parts when painted – this is where XTC 3D comes in – the best way I can describe it is that it creates a layer that sits on top of your part - which when dry and sanded to provide a key, creates a plasticard type surface that can be primed and painted as per other surfaces. Best results are got by applying the layer thinly and EVENLY – it will self-fill to a degree but watch out for ridges and runs – where ever possible use this stuff whilst you can lay your part out flat - so its best used before you start construction. I also added my usual rivets at this point too!

In terms of building the kit, Peter Farley from pdf has done two videos on line at Youtube which take you visually through the build – its simple enough but do watch closely and don’t get carried away – I’m the sort of person who sees things once , thinks I can do it all and then gets stuck 10 mins later as I’ve gone off script – this is most important when building the rolling chassis – lots of similar looking parts that have to go on in a particular order – I kept running ahead here and getting a binding chassis – HOWEVER, one of the big plus points is that Peter is super helpful, always happy for you to contact him with queries – on a couple of wet Sunday afternoons, we were swapping Messenger messages where he was helping me out – a great positive for using pdf kits for a relative newby like me.

His current kit has an improvement with a pre-built motor/gear/axle unit which will save a fiddly bit I found and to be honest, I still need to fettle the motor housing on mine to get it truly meshed every time – a bit of a wobbly to sort.

Also, the current kit includes laser cut metal rods rather than the plastic ones mone has

When it came to painting, again I did this as separate parts after I was 100% happy with the XTC 3D layers – about 3 layers of primer on each piece – rubbed down each time and then I reckon 6 or 7 layers of the rattle can burgundy – I find that it takes that many layers to get that nice shiny finish – those producing a work-worn model, won’t need as many.

Only once I was happy with the finish of all parts, did I start the build of the body - it’s a great kit as all the parts properly fit into ach other so only the firebox is screwed to the chassis – the boiler and smokebox and just held there – makes access easy, just makes you pick it up with the chassis, which is no bad thing as it saves mucking up the bodywork – I may pop screws in under the smokebox once I’m 100% happy with it and I have a permanent battery solution sorted.

My other tip involves fitting RC and the Battery – motor wires come up through the firebox, I have used a wiring loom which includes a recharge socket – this neatly fits pointing out from a hole under the smokebox which I drilled out a little.

Here’s a photo of the underneath so you can see the socket and where the DPDT switch went With the switch in that location near the front of the boiler, there is sufficient room JUST in the boiler to get the Deltang receiver and a 9V rechargeable battery – you’ll notice there is another hole near the centre of the boiler – TOP TIP – if you put your switch there, you won’t get everything in! Schoolboy error but happily the only example on this build of me crashing ahead without properly thinking a solution through

So in summary, a great build that gives you a great model that you can bling up with additions as you want – and can be popped straight on the line and run, especially useful for sudden visitors or when you want to sit back with a glass of something cold and watch the trains go by! I may actually build another with no cab to see what the kit enhancements are like

Thank you Mark, very useful and informative. A nice looking loco and well priced for the kit in my view.
I see from the website that motors and gearboxes can be made to order. A 12v motor has been supplied to my friend (Just Julie of this Forum) to install in her loco, although probably a wagon may need to be permanently coupled as there is little room for the batteries inside the body.

Yes - for 12V I think that maybe the only solution unless a LiPo battery may help as they tend to be smaller that the NiHM solution i tend to use - sure Rik our resident battery expert will be able to advise!

That looks great Mark.

Are you going to bring it along Sunday to the 16mm Kent steam up?

Cheers Tom - sadly domestic engineering works look like shunting my plans to attend into the unfit wagon siding of life! Have fun - Tony's line looks a cracker!

Congratulations, that loco's a beauty!

I'm not much of an engineer, but I must admit I'm tempted - slate wagons kind of need a quarry Hunslet to pull them... And if they continued their Ffestiniog range with an England I think I'd be even more tempted...

Any idea of how powerful it is?

Well done on a lovely model,

Andrew.

markoteal wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 3:08 pm Yes - for 12V I think that maybe the only solution unless a LiPo battery may help as they tend to be smaller that the NiHM solution i tend to use - sure Rik our resident battery expert will be able to advise!

Not sure how much space is available, but if you want 12v from li-ion then you have a few alternatives.

3 x AAA sized (10440) or three AA (14500) 3.7v unprotected batteries wired in series with a protection board - eg https://www.ecoluxshopdirect.co.uk/by-s ... 40-battery
3 x 3.7v flat lipo batteries wired in series - eg https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183249576425
One of the above with a voltage step-up module eg - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332670223082

I'm not sure about the efficacy of wiring three flat lipos in series as the built in battery protection might get confused unless you balance charge them. You can ask Norb at Ecolux to weld solder tags on any of his unprotected batteries. He does it free of charge. The voltage step up solution is ok but, of course the battery will run down quite quickly.

Rik

Lovely looking loco and thank you for the feedback and tips. I've had a Ruston kit in a box for 9 months asking to be built but will buy some 3d paint first, I wasn't sure whether to before but seems like a must do job.

ge_rik wrote: ↑Sat Jun 09, 2018 8:45 am

markoteal wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 3:08 pm Yes - for 12V I think that maybe the only solution unless a LiPo battery may help as they tend to be smaller that the NiHM solution i tend to use - sure Rik our resident battery expert will be able to advise!

Not sure how much space is available, but if you want 12v from li-ion then you have a few alternatives.

3 x AAA sized (10440) or three AA (14500) 3.7v unprotected batteries wired in series with a protection board - eg https://www.ecoluxshopdirect.co.uk/by-s ... 40-battery
3 x 3.7v flat lipo batteries wired in series - eg https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183249576425
One of the above with a voltage step-up module eg - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332670223082

I'm not sure about the efficacy of wiring three flat lipos in series as the built in battery protection might get confused unless you balance charge them. You can ask Norb at Ecolux to weld solder tags on any of his unprotected batteries. He does it free of charge. The voltage step up solution is ok but, of course the battery will run down quite quickly.

Rik

I knew you'd know Rik - Peter in terms of space I currently have a 9V PPV in there - if I was more neat with my wiring you might have a bit more space

Rik - while I'm writing I have a general battery question, I've used the 9V PPV on this occasion because it fitted the space where as the 4 x AAA rechargeable ones I've used on my other Deltang battery locos wouldn't fit in - I thought with the battery being 9V it would be plenty powerful but I'm finding that whilst the deleting is working fine, the motor seems to lack guts and the engine starts then stalls almost immediately - It gets better with a brand new battery but soon that seems to fade (and the battery gets really hot)

Is a PPV battery not the right sort of battery for running a rc train? Is it more suited to low ongoing discharge - like a smoke alarm - sorry for the question but I'm not very clued up on electrical stuff.

Thanks

Hi
The internal resistance of an alkaline PP3 is quite high compared with AAA batteries which is why you're having that problem. It will struggle to supply the amps needed. You could try a rechargeable PP3 if you can't fit in the AAAs, it might work.

Rik

Cheers Rik - thats really useful - thanks - will try a rechargeable one first and then if still having issues will look at reshaping the 4xAAA block to fit

Ta


Mark

Mark,
I'm interested to see your recommendation of XTC-3D ( I know you've mentioned it before).
I have considered it for my own prints and it seems to be hellishly expensive, but it's difficult to get a feel for how much is actually needed. How much would you say you have used on this loco, and guestimate cost if poss?

Hi Philip

Good question re XTC-3D - I've just looked at the two bottles the product is made from (you mix the two parts together for it to activate)

I'd say to do the Hunslet and the cab of my other build (so lets say 1.5 small locos) , I've used one sixth of the product. So at that rate of usage I'd suggest you get six per small bottle at least, maybe eight if you employ the product carefully without any spillage/wastage.

I bought the smaller (6.4 oz or 181g in new money) of the two bottles on offer at 4D Models - https://modelshop.co.uk - which currently retails at £13.50 - however P&P is relatively expensive ( I think it has to go via a more premium service because of what it is - deffo wear gloves when using and use in a well ventilated room!) so P&P was about a £5 - so in total £18.50

Working on six small locos, thats about £3 a loco which I think is not bad

I think its good for bigger things where you want a nice flat smooth surface (locos, coaches etc) - for some of the smaller more intricate items you produce, you might find a well used piece of wet and dry and a needle file equally as good.

Hope that helps - shout if you have more questions

Cheers

Mark

Andrew wrote: ↑Fri Jun 08, 2018 6:19 pm Congratulations, that loco's a beauty!

I'm not much of an engineer, but I must admit I'm tempted - slate wagons kind of need a quarry Hunslet to pull them... And if they continued their Ffestiniog range with an England I think I'd be even more tempted...

Any idea of how powerful it is?

Well done on a lovely model,

Andrew.

Hi Andrew - just sorting my battery issues out so will reserve judgement on power till its working properly - I have seen other peoples locos on YouTube pulling good length trains - may need extra weight to maximise that - will update once I have the power working right

Excellent, thanks, I look forward to hearing about it.

Good luck with the electrics,

Andrew.

After a bit of fettling with the gears and a rechargeable 9v battery - we are getting there - a quick video of No6 on trials at the CHLR