Bigelov's projects

[Bigelov]

I am very much a builder. Maybe that is one of the reasons I am in TT scale after all? So I thought I would start a thread and post projects I am working on or have finished from time to time. I will also link here to my MRH blog posts when I post them irregularly.

A few months ago I got an Anycubic Photon printer and have been working on some TT stuff since then. A lot of it is experimental and has involved a lot of refining of designs, but I pulled a group of prints together into an ALCO RS1:



This is a bit of a cross over with my interest in Russian railways and North American prototypes.
Russia received a group of RSD1's (called DA for Diesel ALCO) as lend lease during the war. This was basically an RS1 above the frame (but with lower profile cab), with three axle bogies and different tanks below. Post war the Russians made their own version (TE1), which was a metric-ated welded version of the RSD1.

The bogie side frames are slipped onto a Tillig BR218 bogie in a similar way to the EMD ones that ConducTTor designed as seen in the Lionel F3 + Tillig BR218 thread (thanks for the idea Alex!). The frame is designed to set the bogies at the right height and have provision for the motor to be screwed in place. It is very tight under the hood and needs to be refined a bit more before I can get it running. The idea is to get the frame machined to this design to provide a solid weighty foundation for attaching everything else.

I'm afraid this has been in the process for a while and I am a long way from the end, so don't expect to see it running any time soon! But it is a lot of fun

[areibel]

Nice work Steve!
If it helps I have some castings of a pilot with steps that were originally built for the Kemtron TT RS, they're brass but if you want something lighter you could cast some resin copies. I'll dig one out and post a pic if you're interested
Al

[Bigelov]

Thanks Al,

I would certainly be interested in seeing some photos of that pilot! I have drawn one up but haven't printed it out at all.

[areibel]

OK!
If you would like a set just PM me your address, I'll send a set along
For reference they're a hair under 23mm wide, 22.9 to be a bit more precise

[Bigelov]

Al,

Its always interesting to see how other people go about making things. I probably wouldn't use those pilots, but they are good to see. Thanks for the offer of posting them my way.

That width (23mm) is very close to the frame width that I have, whereas the pilots were a bit narrower. I noticed the pic in the RS2 thread showing the same pilot installed on a running loco.

[ConducTTor]

Something that always bothers me on models that you can fix in 3D printing:
The truck brake cylinder(s) arm - make it freestanding...you'll love it.

[Bigelov]

Hi Alex,

Yes I noticed the brake rods on your EMD bogies were free-standing and they certainly look great that way. The reason I did it like this was so that I could make a mould of the bogies and cast them in resin, rather than printing more of them. I experimented with resin casting a few years ago on a few items with some success, but need to buy some more material.

Originally I drew up roller bearings and plain bearings as separate items with the idea to just glue the appropriate bearings on for the loco that I was making. If you look at the bogie under the cab, it has separate bearings glued on, but it isn't the most perfect fit, so on the other bogie it is all printed in one piece. A brake cylinder may fit better as a separate item, or I may be able to work out how to split the mould around the rod. I will experiment some more!

[TiTan downunder]

>>> I may be able to work out how to split the mould around the rod. <<<

It's not that hard when doing a 2 x piece mold. You just use plastisene or Blu-tack to fill in the holes when doing the first half of the mold and remove them before you create the 2nd half of the mold. For small gaps you can also just use Vaseline / petroleum jelly . Once you've got your casting it's fairly easy to clean the flash away to create the gap.
If we come down for the show in May I might still have some old molds in the shed I can bring down to demonstrate.
Ian

[Bigelov]

Ian, I am always interested in seeing how others do things, but I don't see the local show being on this year. Another time perhaps.
I did make a two part mould some years ago, but it was more inside and outside mould sections, rather than over the outside of an item.

But I have been slack recently and not delved into trains much these last couple of months. I have only just started getting back into it weathering a few of my Russian rolling stock:


I accidentally refitted roller bearing trucks under this early wagon, but that has since been rectified! Still got about half my Russian fleet to weather (mostly Peresvet of course).

[Bigelov]

Inspired by Bill's work on his latest TT-Tracks modules with industrial buildings I have started work on a narrow gauge loco depot. Quite a few months back I had drawn it up on some scrap paper, and decided to start with a mock up just to see how it would all go together.
Mocked up from card and using Auhagen windows and door:


It is based on the truck garage in the computer game Spintires, but wont be made as an exact replica. Spintires was one of the inspirations that led me to model a Russian narrow gauge logging line. Screenshot of the garage below:


This should progress well over the next few weeks. I plan on making it as a small diorama/photo base, but track will be powered and lights functioning so that it can slot into the layout when it progresses that far. (In X years time!)