Taconite Ore Car - FUD

I've seen FUD before, but today I received the first of my models that I was able to re-design for the thinner wall specs. Of six cars, two of them had a bit of breakage on the ladders, (most of it should be repairable), but I must say, I am truly amazed at the level of detail we can produce now.


Photo thanks to Thom Welsh.

For more info on the car itself:
http://www.johnstownamerica.com/Ore-Hopper.htm

Thanks again to my friend Steve for his assistance on the design, particularly on the bolsters!

To show the difference.. here is the model designed for White Detail:


And here is the model designed for FUD:

Nice "re-model" for FUD, specially like the detail added under the carriage/car. Saw some ore cars filled to the brim in West Virginia on family vacation as a kid. Pretty cool sight, something you don't see a lot of nowadays.

Impressive! I followed the link to your store and again .. impressed with your creations. Congratulations on some excellent work.

This car looks extraordinary, no doubt about it! However... I ordered three of them, and the ladders were broken on all three when they arrived. Without meaning to sound critical, even though it may be technically possible to make really fine details, IMO it's simply not practical, particularly for freight cars, which need to withstand being handled.

A better approach would be to design the car to accept an add-on etched metal detail set for the ladders and end braces. Of course, this would make the model substantially more costly, and the potential volume of sales might not warrant the investment of time and capital.

That said, I believe it was a worthwhile exercise, even if the outcome wasn't ideal.

Best regards,
David

David.. I updated this model on May 28th, 2011. If you ordered yours before that point.. there was a slight problem with the older design that had part of the ladders "floating ", therefore they were more succeptable to breakage during shipping.

I also slightly thickened up the floor and roof on the ends.. so that there's more strength there. I'm hoping that the design changes make them a tad less fragile.

This is impressive work, as is the rest of your posted efforts. I presume the 3D model can be scaled relatively easily, say for n scale. Any thoughts on that- I've been waiting for this type of car in n scale for ages.

First of all... https://shpws.me/1TPl
I actually enlarged this model a few weeks ago. Warning: it has not been test-ordered yet, and I offer NO warranty on the size/position of the bolsters (Ask my friend Steve.. long running joke)

Second: to answer this whole "Can you make it bigger" question better.. I've written up an explanation: https://www.stonysmith.com/wired/scaling.asp

If you read the above webpage, for this model I simply mathematically enlarged the model. I did no re-designing of the model at all. That means the 0.34mm thick walls I used in Z scale are now 0.46mm, and the model is consequently more expensive Shapeways MAY allow that in FD, which would be cheaper than FUD.. they may not. FD may give you a sufficent level of smoothness on the outside.. I don't know.

Excellent mini-tutorial on enlarging/reducing models and the problems with detail and wall minimums. I have been paying attention to wall thickness and minimum detail dimensions but hadn't really thought it through as you did. Thanks.

Sorry I missed that... :blush:

Your explanation of the scaling was excellent- thanks for posting that.

I think I'll take a chance and try it as a test. Might try FUD and FD to get the most out of the test. Will report back.

I ordered both a FUD and FD version and they arrived today. Ladders were broken on the FUD and some parts of the ladders were missing due to the breakage. The FD version had minor broken elements: two of the horizontal "wires" near the hopper outlets. Sorry, I don't know the terms.

The FD version was only slightly less detailed. The ladders are a little clunkier, but they were intact and only one had a minor break. The brake wheel looked good, but again was a bit more crudely rendered.

Interestingly, the rastering on the FUD is horizontal, while the FD appears to be vertical, and the FD rastering is much less apparent to touch and visually. I'll try to post a photograph, but they are difficult to capture in my lighting.

Overall, I am really impressed with the 3D model used and the results of both. The FUD is clearly a finer model but as others have mentioned, fine details like the ladders are probably too fragile for working models. The FD seems more robust and the rastering seems less apparent.

Thanks for posting and making this superb model available! I'm going to contemplate how to work with these, but I think brass ladders will help. I'll keep you posted

Cheers