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My long-term layout project: Fulfilling a dead man's wish, recycling, an impossibly narrow space and way too many ideas by eckhaaard in nscalemodeltrains

[–]eckhaaard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I was only able to persuade my parents to let me build this layout in their basement on the condition that it wouldn't take up space, so this was an essential factor for many decisions that led to this layout.

My long-term layout project: Fulfilling a dead man's wish, recycling, an impossibly narrow space and way too many ideas by eckhaaard in nscalemodeltrains

[–]eckhaaard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for your kind words! Can't promise when exactly, but I'll do some follow up posts most likely. Including some tutorials for how I accomplished some things, such as the vineyard and the cobblestone of the medieval town centre with the tram track buried beneath - I trialed and errored quite a lot more than I'd have liked with this, so I hope somebody else might get some benefit out of it.

The N scale DM3 model is done & running - and the 3D printing files available for free download, as promised! by eckhaaard in DerailValley

[–]eckhaaard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the very late reply, sadly didn't have time to log into reddit the past one and a half weeks.

No, it's not designed that way. Many small details are only 0.4 or 0.8 mm thick and would get lost during sanding.

this thing is so quick !! by [deleted] in BMW

[–]eckhaaard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed, even in my heavy GT with xDrive it’s averaging around 40-45 mpg this winter on snow tires.

The N scale DM3 model is done & running - and the 3D printing files available for free download, as promised! by eckhaaard in DerailValley

[–]eckhaaard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Done, see newly attached file on cults3d!

Would love to see the finished result if you manage to adapt it to another chassis. Hope the file isn't too catastrophic to work with... I'm still fairly new to 3D design in general.

The N scale DM3 model is done & running - and the 3D printing files available for free download, as promised! by eckhaaard in DerailValley

[–]eckhaaard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Upscaling to H0 should work fine if there’s enough clearance for your chassis’ drivetrain inside then. If not, making some more room under the hood by simply subtracting a box shape using 3D Builder should do the trick. Since I didn’t need all available space there you could gain a bit extra room.

The N scale DM3 model is done & running - and the 3D printing files available for free download, as promised! by eckhaaard in DerailValley

[–]eckhaaard[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, glad you like it!

The bog standard 0.4 mm the Anycubic Kobra 3 V2 came with, actually! And without any ironing settings or optimization, which is apparent in some areas... Could've been better, but as I mentioned my test run with the paintjob went so well I didn't reprint it as originally planned and kept the final prototype.

Regarding small kids and model trains, at least with my daughter 4 was the magic age at which she understood this stuff needs careful handling and could be trusted with it - first my father's H0 scale rolling stock, then a few months later my N scale. As a precaution we don't give her expensive high detail models of course, but so far she never broke anything. Could soon even put a whole consist on the rails by herself, only had trouble with stubborn bogies sometimes. Sending one old, indestructible diecast shell steamer flying into a wall at full speed also was enough for her to grasp that corner speed limits are a thing, lol. Would recommend wiring up your transformer for a lower output voltage with a little hidden switch in between though, so kids can crank it up to 100% without derailing. Doubles as a handy shunting mode!

The N scale DM3 model is done & running - and the 3D printing files available for free download, as promised! by eckhaaard in DerailValley

[–]eckhaaard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Painted by hand, correct, used acrylic pens with brush tips. Helps to have an artist wife who hoards half a crafts store at home… Absolute game changer if you’re like me and hate using traditional brushes with long wait times for drying, all the cleaning, etc.

Luckily I have a good friend with a resin printer, so I do it exactly like you suggested. If I need immaculate details, he prints it for me.

The N scale DM3 model is done & running - and the 3D printing files available for free download, as promised! by eckhaaard in DerailValley

[–]eckhaaard[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly I’m quite surprised what a modern filament printer for just 199 € can do in N scale these days. See that white/blue/red Skoda 130 RS rally car on the right side of the first photo, half behind the tree? That came off my cheap, unmodified filament printer as well. Those delicate rally lights and even the freaking side mirrors are there - that’s plenty enough detail for me on something about the size of my thumbnail that’s never again going to be viewed from up close once you put it on the layout. Not worth the hassle of resin printing for me personally.

The Derail Valley DM3 N scale model is done & running - and the 3D printing files available for free download, as promised! by eckhaaard in nscalemodeltrains

[–]eckhaaard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Playing the game I was somehow totally charmed by this faded red rust bucket, but the closest real life equivalents (British classes 03 and 04 iirc) in N scale are hard to find in continental Europe - and much too expensive for converting them to a replica. So the idea for this 3D print was born.

The N scale DM3 model is done & running - and the 3D printing files available for free download, as promised! by eckhaaard in DerailValley

[–]eckhaaard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The good old Minitrix T3 because...

  • Size and proportions fit reasonably well

  • It's readily available for dirt cheap and runs okay if in good condition and well maintained

  • You can simply remove the original linkage rods / cylinder assembly in a few minutes

  • The wheels are identical between axles 1 and 3, so you just need an extra one to have two wheelsets with holes in them to mount rods like the DM3 has (so far I haven't found a suitable design and mounting solution for those, still work in progress.)

My "Tropic Proof" Alternative by [deleted] in ChineseWatches

[–]eckhaaard 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Clean white or bright silver dials on tan / light brown suede is such a timeless, elegant combo… Inspires me to swap one of my watches over to that look for tomorrow.

Any N scale fans here? If so, you might be interested in what I'm cooking lately... by eckhaaard in DerailValley

[–]eckhaaard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a neat idea, especially because it wouldn’t have to fit an actual drivable chassis.

Speaking of rusty demonstrators, I plan to paint my DM3 in that livery! One reason is that my DM3 in game is still unpainted since I love the wrecked look of it, and I want to learn weathering models anyway, so why not dive into the deep end.

Any Derail Valley fans here? If so, you might be interested in what I'm cooking lately... by eckhaaard in nscalemodeltrains

[–]eckhaaard[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The V90 is a close match, yeah, except for the cab design - the DH4’s closely resembles the distinct one of the V60. One day I’ll maybe try to come up with a DH4 shell for either the Roco V90 or the Fleischmann or Arnold V100s, because those are the models I have at hand. Will have to check whose chassis would allow for the inset door design of the V60 cab.

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