3D Printed Signals And More

I’ve done that before. Dropping it on the floor is a nightmare. Perhaps a bit of wet and dry might work and then a touch up the paint. Dettol might well work too.

Looking at the seat moquette, the photos are about 50 years apart, so photography certainly is different.

I have also been doing other things too, but finally, the signal is almost completed.

making it has not been that difficult, rather its been a saga of trials and tribulations, such as when the green pre-wired smd LED light (just as I thought I could glue it) lost its negative power supply wire and I had to replace it - a task that required me to thread two power supply wires through a signal post that was also a very tight fit. Oh and the hole at the top of the signal post was very small so that I could barely see what I was doing!

As some people will know, many London Underground signals have an extra downwards facing light that is easier for train drivers to see when they have drawn right up to the signal. I got this to work too!

The earliest Standard Stock DM (as a passenger car) they sell is from a 1926/7 batch.

What I did not realise is that Radley do not include a seating unit for the DM's. On discovering this my next thought was to buy a control trailer / trailer seating unit but with these the seats are integral with the chassis, and anyway the door / window spacing is different than the DM's - so that option is also not viable. When I make my next purchase I will ask if the 1931 DM's have seating units and if not then I will have to use cardboard or plasticard to create the seats. Probably I'll attach these seats to the inside of the body shell.

Seats are important as I will be including model passengers and working internal lighting, so I very much expect what is inside the trains will be seen. I am using HO scale passengers bought cheaply from eBay and what I have from when I was modelling railways 30-40 years ago. Being slightly small it usually means that HO passengers do not need their legs chopping off to get them to fit in the transverse seats. Also, whilst they will be painted it will be only 'lightly'. eg: jackets will be painted - but not shirt and ties!

re: the tube car liveries, I think that if it was OK for a 1959 Northern line train to wear 1923 livery then it will be OK for a one part of a 1927 Standard Stock train to also wear that livery. I am thinking of having each of the three tube cars in this train wearing a representation of a different livery that these trains wore in their time in service. It would be nice if the real LU Standard Stock train also did the same - there are at least four versions that I can think of, and thats before thinking of their second lives on the Isle of Wight. What I need to do is find the correct colour codes for the cream window bands and dark red doors.

Carrying its original number, I see. I can't make out the number on the trailer, but the original number of 7296 was 846,which doesnot appear to be the number on the side of the car.

I wish I had taken more photos but was also filming video - so needed to film everything twice!

btw, did you see all the external rivets on the the control trailer? I think only Cammell Laird built their versions like this - not the other train builders.

It’s called a Pigs Ear

In addition to colour light signals I've also bought some model trains from Shapeways. The person whose shop there has these trains only sells the body - no wheels, bogies, underframe, seats, etc. This is a shame as the range includes an extensive range of Metropolitan and District Railway trains. Plus many, many types of mainline trains - the Big Four and some of their predecessors. There are also trains from overseas, model building segments and more.

Included in what I've bought are two LNER Tyneside Electrics passenger carriages. As models they are OK, but the 3D printing material used is very coarse and grainy, which is a shame as this means that they will need a LOT of sanding to get the smooth sides appropriate for metal sided rolling stock.

Website home page: www.rue-d-etropal.com/

Passenger coaches etc index: www.rue-d-etropal.com/3D-printing/3d_printed_sg-trains2.htm

The range is quite impressive but as you say the finish is very ordinary especially for the price. $100 for just the body is a lot and the amount of sanding required is ridiculous. They are a good base for a model though so if you don’t mind a lot or work it can save you scratch building. Models with lots of detail however such as mouldings are a waste of time as they will be lost.

The visual effect is not dissimilar to the buildings I saw in Berlin on my 1989 visit which were close to the infamous wall and were still covered in pockmarks from the very heavy shelling during WW2.

Not realising the situation, before buying the Shapeways models I only bought some fine 'wet and dry' sandpaper. I think I ought to get a more coarse version.

I've also reduced my planned purchases because the work required looks like it will be 'just too much'. All in all it feels like I had what I had hoped would be a juicy carrot dangled in front of me but when I bit into it I found that it was actually dry and barely palatable. A big shame.

This image shows my painting snafu, although the use of a flash has distorted the green colour.



Earlier today I repainted the train sides, at present the two cars involved are in the garden shed so that the paint can dry. 

Why are the roofs brown? Someone (who I wont name) told me that this is correct. I feel sure that it isn't and I need to get some Wilko paint stripper to remove it. I suppose that I could also lightly paint over the brown but I am concerned that the paint will become too thick and mask the roof detail. I need to buy grey paint...

Also today I spray painted the undercoat of a 1967ts four car unit. These too are in the shed drying...

Because the weather is getting colder it may be a while before I am able to do any more 'rattle-can' spray painting.

Because of the profusion of options Radley do not supply wheels. Can anyone recommend where I could get these? They need to be 9mm - most retailers only have larger wheel - 10mm - 14mm.

I also recently bought the Bachmann Art Deco platform waiting room that is modelled on Harrow-On-The-Hill station. I was going to scratchbuild something like this but it was easier to just buy. I am still scratchbuilding a canopy roof extension. To make it match the Bachman unit I've had to build this almost a scale 2ft thick (8mm!)

As the photos show, I've added people and tube map inside the waiting room, plus lights. These are a self-adhesive warm white LED strip that I had bought to use inside one of the Standard Stock tube cars. It looks much more yellow in the photo than real life.

The station name roundel was bought as part of a special offer (for members only) from the London Underground Railway Society in the late 1990s. I installed it late at night without looking at any photos of the real thing... I wanted to use this sign because of the 'way out' at the bottom but probably should have cut it out from the white background.
 






btw, my inspiration for the seating layout inside these waiting rooms (West Hampstead station)...

Hi Simon

Looking good. The roofs of overhauled stock were brown (bauxite) colour so this is correct. I however hate the colour! The brown went grey very quickly though so I’ve painted my stock with grey/black roofs.

They were bauxite on overhaul but went grey very quickly. When new I expect they were grey (felt?).

The 1938 stock had a white lead colour when new and anyone who has cream carpets knows this is a recipe for disaster!

I used Halfords Peugeot Hurricane grey for some stock but added a Matt varnish to dull it down.

The other options are Halfords Camouflage spray paints. They do a grey, black and brown (among others) which are Matt and also good for track and scenery.

slow progress, I hope to have something to show next weekend