Rewanui - a 1940 West Coast NZ layout in 1:64

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

It's been a while since I posted here.

If you've been paying attention you'll recall that my earlier efforts at wooden highsider wagons were criticised for a lack of prototypical veracity.  Fortunately Krusty (Kevin), while not shy of pointing out my deficiencies, was also amenable to helping to fix them.

I now have a digital model that allows well over 100 combinations of subtle variation (not all of which are valid) as well as Kevin's hand transcribed notes on over 5000 real examples to ensure I get those variations right (more 'Nerd alerts' for Hauk).  It's a shame I only really need a dozen or so.

This is a test shot with a few deficiencies since corrected.  The interior is unfinished as there is a coal load still to add.  The small chains on the door pins are around 0.4mm pitch from 0.15mm wires. It's not that obvious here, but all the detail of the underframe is present. The axleguards/W irons are etched (for mechanical stiffness and strength), as is the handbrake lever and mech. Couplers, sidechain hooks, brake cocks and handbrake ratchet are brass castings (In future I'll print the sidechains and hooks as it's possible to do them as free chain in 1 piece and they are adequately robust. That will remove the worst task in NZR modelling and save a lot of time). Handgrabs are wire and there is an etched floor. The rest of it is a single print, which makes building it extremely quick. That's important in the context of the wider project. It also has a very silky springing system, so handles the deliberate unevenness of my test track without jumping about (unlike the real things which were quite lively).

Compared to the earlier version above, I've redone the coupler castings to a more appropriate 1900-1940 era version and improved my method for the brake hoses. This is significant for me as it's work that is relevant to the whole fleet.

It's certainly possible to find some less than perfect bits in the enlargements, but they won't be evident when the wagon is in a train at a distance of a foot or two. 

Next steps are to get some proper etchings.  So far I've been reworking bits from earlier kits, which is fine, but a bit more work than it needs to be. Then I just need to build some. I've certainly reached a standard I'm both happy with and can reproduce reliably in an acceptable timeframe.

[finescalerr]

Satisfactory at this stage, in every respect. -- Russ

[Bill Gill]

That looks very good. A dozen or so will make a terrific train. 

[Bastian]

Hi Lawrence!

That is a wonderful 3D print! Really impressive. Could you maaybe share a picture of the print before removal of the supports? I tried my luck with removing the supports from a 3D printed underwaggon in 1:45 and that was already what I would call a really, really (!) delicate task! 

It appears to me there is a wood pattern on sides of the inside, is that a part of the etch or is that printed or have you added that by hand during assembly? Looks really good with the knot-holes!

Best regards,
Bastian

 

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

That is a wonderful 3D print! Really impressive. Could you maaybe share a picture of the print before removal of the supports? I tried my luck with removing the supports from a 3D printed underwaggon in 1:45 and that was already what I would call a really, really (!) delicate task! 

It appears to me there is a wood pattern on sides of the inside, is that a part of the etch or is that printed or have you added that by hand during assembly? Looks really good with the knot-holes!

Thanks!

There's woodgrain inside, woodgrain outside (but more subtle) as well as cracks in the wood, all in the digital model.  It's easy to change all of that though, so that each model can be different.

No photo handy, but here's the set up. The support along the top edges of the wagon is done in CAD.  The knife edge is the thinnest that works and will depend on model and set up.  The secret is that there is no floor so all of the support and any damage is hidden.  I do take a lot of care removing fine supports from things like pipes, but most of it just rips out.

[Stuart]

Beautiful!

Stuart

[Hydrostat]

Print on the Model Air bottle is a bit rough, otherwise it's all in all acceptable.

Cheers,
Volker

[Ray Dunakin]

Looks great to me!

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

It's that time of year where a show looms and progress (or lack of) becomes obvious.  A lot has happened on the layout in the last year, though this will not be especially obvious to the viewer.  Progress is mostly in terms of stock development and practical matters, but I have moved the scenic work forward a bit as well.

Almost all of my stuff is currently 90%.  That's because it's a work in progress, so not much is actually finished and will get final detail and weathering once the scenic work is fully done.

The bush here represents around 30 years of regeneration as the slope below the line was cleared in construction. There are a lot of trees in these images!

The ballast is still entirely too pristine and there is a spilt coal still to spread around, but it does convey the feeling of the place (to me anyway).

The next week or so will be spent tuning couplers and tweaking stock as it's a shunting layout and we aim for 100% hands free. The extra stock and extended fiddle yard should enable us to run a more realistic timetable this year. Sadly not all wagons will be entirely correct as Kevin's veracity campaign was not fully worked it's way through the roster yet.

Overall though things are moving ahead.  Research is largely done. Kit development for the hoppers and highsiders is all done and quite a few are built. All of the passenger cars are built, although only 3 of 8 are finished.  3 locomotives are done, and kits for the rest are developed with parts on hand. There is still plenty to do, but almost all hurdles have been surmounted. Not that there are not challenges, but they are comfortable ones.

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

Two more pics of the latest scenic work.

[finescalerr]

Even without the final tweaks, it certainly looks adequate. Prepare yourself for a lot of compliments. -- Russ

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Hi Lawrence,
What a beautiful part of the world, you are fortunate to be able to explore it.