Hello there - please excuse my english, I hope you will forgive me not describing my work in Polish - however I hope my model is of interest.
I have always been inspired by the chunky nature of European narrow gauge, and the Polish systems are a particular draw. Here in the UK a lot of our secondary lines were laid to standard gauge and were lifted during the 1950s and 1960s as road transport became more readily available - the idea of a modern narrow gauge system is not something we have experience of in the UK. The systems in East Germany, Austria and Poland (amongst others) are therefore a real inspiration to those of us who love anything narrow gauge!
I have previously modelled and Lxd2 in Spur IIm (1:22) and am still working on a Lyd2 diesel in 009. The PX48 has been on my 'to do' list for some time, but as I model in 009 (4mm scale, 1:76) rather than H0e I thought it was going to need to be a scratchbuild.
Richard Ellis Hobbs intitially offered his 3D artwork on Shapeways in H0e, but he is now able to offer this in TTe and 4mm scale - and as I had purchased a second hand N-gauge Bachmann Spectrum Consolidation chassis I placed an order on Shapeways.
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The parts arrived in sintered nylon, a rough surface but cheap material. Initial thoughts, I was impressed by the finish achieved by the polishing process.
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Because I am using the Bachmann Consolidation N-gauge chassis, I chose to cut a short section out of the boiler to improve the appearance of the model when sat on the chassis, in regards to position of the wheels in relation to the boiler and cab. This was easily removed using a razor saw. Here you can see the boiler shortened, and the chassis offered up to check dimensions.
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I then attached the inside of the body with a scalpel to remove unnecessary material. The model is designed to use the Graham Farish N-gauge 8F chassis in the H0e model, and therefore the mounting points for this need to be removed. With the chassis fitted I sourced some bogies to the tender from Parkside Dundas (these are 16mm wheelbase L&B bogies) fitted with 8mm diameter spoked wheels.
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Unfortunately, at the time I bought my model there were a number of errors in the proportions of the cab - the roof and cab profile just looked wrong. Initially I cut off the rain strip on the cab roof, this helped but it still didn't look right so next I added a fillet of plastic along the base of the cab and then used filler to build up the profile at the bottom of the cab to match the tender. This can be seen here...
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The next improvement was to the roof profile and here I used an aluminium beer can, scored lightly on the inside to get a smooth transition at the roof edges. This was glued on with super glue. A matching piece was made for the tender. The tender 'cut out' shape was also altered to better match photos and you can see the hand hold has been filled - the prototype I am modelling does not have recessed handles on the cab or tender.
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Narrow Planet, a company in the UK specialising in custom name plates drew up the artwork for the number plates, these are a work of art - but I'm a long way off fitting these!
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Following the cab modifications I asked a friend to turn a replacement funnel and dome, as these were not greatly Modelled in the 3D material. The dome in Particular was an oval shape, rather than round. These new parts also add to the weight of the model.
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You can also see I have begun this add details - the air brake compressor - and replace others - the mechanical lubricator.
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I now felt in a position that add a coat of primer and see what it looked like. I was not expecting great things as I have heard the material from Shapeways is like as sponge when it comes to painting - however I was pleasantly surprised. I should say, in these photos you can see 'stepping' on the boiler. This is inherant in the 3D model and not a problem or issue of the 3D printing process. I have tried to reduce the visual impact of this by burnishing the nylon finish.
![]()
It still looked quite rough in places so I rubbed down the primer with 1600 grit wet and dry paper, used wet. This is available from car bodywork shops if not in your local DIY store. I also burnished with the end of a screw driver Rougher some of the parts of the 3D print. A second coat of primer was added and the finish is greatly improved - I expect to rub down and apply one more coat before I'm happy with the finish.
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So what next? There is a lot of detail work is complete, pipework runs, wiring, etc.. I also plan to draw up some parts that have etched, the cab spectacle plates and cylinder covers for example. I also have some waterslide transfer rivets to apply to the cab roof and sides to replicate the huge number of rivets that adorn these items on the prototype.
That brings me up to date, still a long way to go as you can see, but I hope it is of interest and those wanting a cheaper way into a PX48 should definitely consider the GLR 3D Designs model. I'll try to keep this thread up to date, but keep an eye on my blog (http://paxton-road.blogspot.com) for more regular updates.
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I have always been inspired by the chunky nature of European narrow gauge, and the Polish systems are a particular draw. Here in the UK a lot of our secondary lines were laid to standard gauge and were lifted during the 1950s and 1960s as road transport became more readily available - the idea of a modern narrow gauge system is not something we have experience of in the UK. The systems in East Germany, Austria and Poland (amongst others) are therefore a real inspiration to those of us who love anything narrow gauge!
I have previously modelled and Lxd2 in Spur IIm (1:22) and am still working on a Lyd2 diesel in 009. The PX48 has been on my 'to do' list for some time, but as I model in 009 (4mm scale, 1:76) rather than H0e I thought it was going to need to be a scratchbuild.
Richard Ellis Hobbs intitially offered his 3D artwork on Shapeways in H0e, but he is now able to offer this in TTe and 4mm scale - and as I had purchased a second hand N-gauge Bachmann Spectrum Consolidation chassis I placed an order on Shapeways.
The parts arrived in sintered nylon, a rough surface but cheap material. Initial thoughts, I was impressed by the finish achieved by the polishing process.
Because I am using the Bachmann Consolidation N-gauge chassis, I chose to cut a short section out of the boiler to improve the appearance of the model when sat on the chassis, in regards to position of the wheels in relation to the boiler and cab. This was easily removed using a razor saw. Here you can see the boiler shortened, and the chassis offered up to check dimensions.
I then attached the inside of the body with a scalpel to remove unnecessary material. The model is designed to use the Graham Farish N-gauge 8F chassis in the H0e model, and therefore the mounting points for this need to be removed. With the chassis fitted I sourced some bogies to the tender from Parkside Dundas (these are 16mm wheelbase L&B bogies) fitted with 8mm diameter spoked wheels.
Unfortunately, at the time I bought my model there were a number of errors in the proportions of the cab - the roof and cab profile just looked wrong. Initially I cut off the rain strip on the cab roof, this helped but it still didn't look right so next I added a fillet of plastic along the base of the cab and then used filler to build up the profile at the bottom of the cab to match the tender. This can be seen here...
The next improvement was to the roof profile and here I used an aluminium beer can, scored lightly on the inside to get a smooth transition at the roof edges. This was glued on with super glue. A matching piece was made for the tender. The tender 'cut out' shape was also altered to better match photos and you can see the hand hold has been filled - the prototype I am modelling does not have recessed handles on the cab or tender.
Narrow Planet, a company in the UK specialising in custom name plates drew up the artwork for the number plates, these are a work of art - but I'm a long way off fitting these!
Following the cab modifications I asked a friend to turn a replacement funnel and dome, as these were not greatly Modelled in the 3D material. The dome in Particular was an oval shape, rather than round. These new parts also add to the weight of the model.
You can also see I have begun this add details - the air brake compressor - and replace others - the mechanical lubricator.
I now felt in a position that add a coat of primer and see what it looked like. I was not expecting great things as I have heard the material from Shapeways is like as sponge when it comes to painting - however I was pleasantly surprised. I should say, in these photos you can see 'stepping' on the boiler. This is inherant in the 3D model and not a problem or issue of the 3D printing process. I have tried to reduce the visual impact of this by burnishing the nylon finish.
It still looked quite rough in places so I rubbed down the primer with 1600 grit wet and dry paper, used wet. This is available from car bodywork shops if not in your local DIY store. I also burnished with the end of a screw driver Rougher some of the parts of the 3D print. A second coat of primer was added and the finish is greatly improved - I expect to rub down and apply one more coat before I'm happy with the finish.
So what next? There is a lot of detail work is complete, pipework runs, wiring, etc.. I also plan to draw up some parts that have etched, the cab spectacle plates and cylinder covers for example. I also have some waterslide transfer rivets to apply to the cab roof and sides to replicate the huge number of rivets that adorn these items on the prototype.
That brings me up to date, still a long way to go as you can see, but I hope it is of interest and those wanting a cheaper way into a PX48 should definitely consider the GLR 3D Designs model. I'll try to keep this thread up to date, but keep an eye on my blog (http://paxton-road.blogspot.com) for more regular updates.
