HO scale Extended Vision Caboose Body Kits and Detail Parts

I have created an HO scale modular body kit for International Car Company Extended Vision cabooses. Since most of the cabooses of this type share overall dimensions and since Atlas already makes a nice model of this caboose, I decided to offer the kits as parts that fit the Atlas caboose. From simply replacing the cupola or smokejack to a full body kit, you can choose what you want to upgrade.

If you want to model a Frisco cabooses in the 200-274 (later 1200-1274) series, which feature a non-overhanging roof with a different diagonal panel arrangement and a higher mounted cupola than the Atlas model, I have designed parts specifically for those cabooses. If you just want to replace the cupola and live with the other differences, the cupolas are designed to fit the Atlas model with some modifications required.

1200-1274 Cupola:
http://shpws.me/KGnA

If you want to go a little farther and replace the whole body - roof, sides and ends - I have the parts needed to do that, too.

1200-1274 Roof:
http://shpws.me/L2jX

1200-1274 Sides:
http://shpws.me/KqpW

1200-1274 Ends:
http://shpws.me/KqpY

I have also created the large paired battery boxes found on many cabooses in this series, along with a variety pack of smokejacks which can be used to model 10 different Frisco cabooses (other railroads used similar smokejacks).

Smokejacks:
http://shpws.me/KuoJ

1200-1274 Battery Boxes:
http://shpws.me/L2jS

For those who wish to model the very similar cabooses in the series 1275-1284 and 1285-1292, I have designed parts to model those cabooses with overhanging roofs and the different carbody sides and ends found on those cabooses.

1275-1292 Sides:
http://shpws.me/Ko3T

1275-1292 Ends:
http://shpws.me/Ko0d

1275-1292 Roof:
http://shpws.me/KiMu

1275-1284 Cupola:
http://shpws.me/Kzx1

1285-1292 Cupola:
http://shpws.me/Kod1


These are all 3D printed parts available through my store at https://www.shapeways.com/shops/he6agon. I have several other extended vision caboose cupolas, sides, ends and roofs along with many other railroad-specific caboose detail parts in the Caboose section of the store. From Santa Fe to Seaboard, you'll find several versions of the ICC extended vision caboose.

 

That is great work. you just need one more option, making the entire model available glued together, and painted and ready to run ! I would like a 1288 in orange and white, and a 1291
in the original paint ! haha

 

Thanks, Tom. All those years working as a draftsman finally paid off!

Paul, I think you'll be an expert in painting those two cabooses soon enough! I wouldn't be surprised to see 3D printing technology evolve enough in the next decade so that painting and lettering are options. I could make the model one part, which would actually reduce the cost a bit, but these 3D printers don't print equally well in all three axes, so depending on how the part is placed in the printer some details will print better than others. When I tried a model of a carbon black car body, the roof came out okay, but the sides and ends did not. That was an expensive and useless piece of plastic! Since then I've made the models into flat kits where the quality is much more consistent. Here is a photo showing a Santa Fe caboose and a Cotton Belt caboose assembled from my 3D printed parts:

https://goo.gl/photos/ZDZzWBTUToZZBcKu5

Roger, I don't have any plans to make the boxcar conversion cabooses. I have the caboose diagrams and some overall dimensions, but I would need considerably more data to prepare drawings and 3D models of those cabooses. However, I did take measurements of the 1700 series bay window caboose Paul located in Quapaw, Oklahoma, so I should be able to complete my drawings of the bay window cabooses after the first of the year. I'm planning on offering the bay window cabooses as 3D printed products at some point.

 

I got an order from Shapeways yesterday. Included in the order was the Frisco smokejack set. At the time I snapped these photos today I had already taken two of the smokejacks from the sprue and installed them on other projects:

https://goo.gl/photos/3ni2yCiuF4WCK5XV8

https://goo.gl/photos/b4wSSKY1vPAyou2t8

Also shown in the photos is the caboose battery box variety set (includes ATSF, SSW, MP, NP and MKT battery boxes), the toilet vent set and the caboose brake rigging set.

I'm really impressed with how nice the smokejacks came out, especially the early style. I think I see a bicentennial Frisco caboose project in my future!

 

Tom, I have to run off to work, so I won't be able to respond right away, but I love your questions and I want to answer each and every one. I'm not offended at all. In fact, I'm really glad to see more and more interest in this stuff as the weeks and months have gone on. More information benefits everyone, so I'm excited to have some help getting this information out there.

I've been doing this 3D printing thing for a year come February, so I still have a few questions myself, but I think I can answer everything except the question about exposure to sun. I will have to test that one out this coming summer. I'm sure it will be hot enough to do some testing!

 

Thank you, Tom. The price is a function of the material type, the part volume and the machine space the part occupies. In the case of these caboose parts, the material is either Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD) acrylic or Frosted Extreme Detail (FXD) acrylic. There is some pretty in-depth data on these materials available on Shapeways' website. Each part printed in either FUD or FXD has a flat fee of $5.00, plus the volume charge (amount of acrylic material actually used) and the machine space charge. There is also a markup added to each part that the designer chooses. I usually just assign a flat markup of 5% on the low end to 20% on the high end, depending on the complexity or special nature of the part.

It's acrylic, so I was prepared for the parts to be extremely brittle, but if they're thin they are a little flexible. Once the parts get thicker than 0.040" they start to get tougher to bend. The acrylic parts are hard to the touch, but when I've drilled into them to install grab irons the material is fairly soft and easy to drill. That holds true from no. 80 bits to 5/32" bits. I have just used handheld pin vises to do the drilling, so I'm not sure how the parts would hold up to power tools and the heat you can get from high RPMs.

When you cut the parts from the sprue, they snap off like you'd expect from acrylic, but it is not the same as the acrylic sheet I used in the 80s and 90s to scratchbuild models. It feels like a cross between the softness of styrene or ABS and the crisp brittle nature of acrylic. So there's a cutting feel to removing the parts from the sprue. I make sure the cut is supported and I make the cuts with a sharp hobby knife on a cutting mat.

I've also used my flush cutting rail nippers to remove parts from the sprue and you get the acrylic snap you'd expect when doing it that way. I cleaned up the brake rigging parts using the rail nippers and I was a little surprised to see how durable the part actually is.

The acrylic material sands pretty good, too. Where I've had to clean up the sprue end from parts it trims nicely with the sharp blade and then sands or files quickly. I haven't tried taking the material to a high polish yet, but I have played around with coating the parts in Future floor polish, which is basically clear liquid acrylic.

This is the material. It starts out pretty translucent and in places where it's printed flat or the layers aren't really visible it looks pretty clear. I noticed when I assembled the caboose bodies that the super glue made the translucent finish appear quite clear and transparent. That's what gave me the idea to use the Future and it smoothed things out and made them transparent. The caboose body parts are all a minimum 0.040" thick to prevent warping and to mimic the dimensions of the Atlas caboose body, so the transparent/translucent nature of the parts is a little misleading when it comes to the part thickness.

I'm pretty excited about this myself. I was also excited to see the brake rigging come out so nice and still be durable. I'll certainly explore modeling more components of the brake system to make the whole thing a drop-in fit.

You've got me very curious on this one!

I have a couple parts that didn't turn out from Shapeways. Two cupolas I purchased each had a wall that was rough and grainy in appearance and much glossier than any other part I'd received from Shapeways. When I touched the glossy areas I realized they were sticky like honey. I tried cleaning them but it didn't seem to affect the sticky surfaces of the parts. It turned out these parts had areas of uncured resin. I was able to get the parts replaced for free, since this was Shapeways' mistake. I learned from that experience that if I receive parts like that again, first don't attempt to clean them, since it casts doubt on who's responsible for the affected parts and second take photos and report the problem to Shapeways customer service.

This leads me to the larger discussion of cleaning the parts. I read many recommendations for various solvents and cleaners to get the waxy support material off the printed parts. I bought the favored hexane-based solvent Bestine and followed several people's recommendation to soak the parts in it. It causes the acrylic to become cloudy white, almost powdery in appearance. It also removes much of the waxy material from the parts (this waxy stuff is kind of like mold release on resin kits - you have to deal with it or end up with a paint job that won't stick). Since it wasn't fully effective on some parts with excessive support material, I read other recommendations and tried them out. Isopropyl alcohol is very effective at cleaning the waxy stuff of the parts, but I discovered warping in the thinner parts (even in the 0.040" caboose parts) and even more troubling shrinkage. I also tried acetone for a less than 2 minute soak. It's not as effective with the wax, but it had the suprising effect of curing the resin on those two bad cupolas.

Finally I tried Simple Green household cleaner and it worked great. No shrinkage, complete cleaning of the waxy stuff and it works quickly. A short two to three minute soak and a little scrubbing with a toothbrush and the parts are clean. So clean in fact that they become almost transparent. If you've ever used a strong degreaser and got it on your skin, it feels like all your skin oils are completely stripped and your fingerprints feel like corduroy jeans. Simple Green has this effect on the acrylic parts.

Back to solvents interacting with this acrylic material... Isopropyl alcohol and acetone will damage the parts (acetone works much quicker), so it's best to avoid them. Having said that, I recently painted an Overland brass caboose for a friend using Scalecoat I paint, the stuff for brass that will damage plastic, so I have a few bottles left over for experimenting (we can't get the stuff in Texas for some reason). I took one of the uncured resin cupolas that I cured with acetone and brush painted Scalecoat I on it to see how bad it would tear up the acrylic. I was expecting it to turn to goo. Nope. Once the paint cured, it looked no worse for the wear, other than the fact I slopped paint on it with a brush. I've also painted with Testors Model Master paints directly onto the acrylic parts with no ill effects. If you use a hot paint or a solvent wash you might have problems, but I suspect you'd have the same issues with a styrene model. So, I haven't experimented with a ton of different solvent paints, but considering how aggressive Scalecoat I is and how well the material held up, it's probably worth trying your favorite paint on some leftover sprue.

Yes.

(continued in the next message)

 

I drilled the roof parts in the same spot as the Atlas body to mount the end railings and after getting lucky lining up my pin vise exactly where it needed to be I realized I should probably include the holes in the roof "pre-drilled" for my next model and for anyone else who buys the parts. As far as running boards and end ladders are concerned, I would just add the appropriate parts from my friend Keith at Plano Model Products.

I haven't come up with a solution for flush mounted glazing, but I have used AMB Laserkit windows and detail parts in the past. If you could get blank window material from them you could cut it to fit the window openings. I don't know if that's something they sell or not. Another option is the clear plastic used in blister packs, such as the packaging for any of the Athearn Ford and Mack truck models. I've used it before for window material and it's great. It resists scratching and stays clear in sharp contrast to clear styrene.

You touched on something here that troubles me. It's not that I'm cheap, but I'd like to see these prices come down. For kit parts they seem high. But I think they will come down over the next couple years. I remember buying a 32" LED TV years ago for several hundred dollars. I got one for free today for buying a phone (and it's a much better TV than the one I bought years ago). The technology improves and the prices come down, especially with something high tech like 3D printing.

I think the parts are all pretty reasonably priced except the roof and the detail parts. The detail parts are automatically high because of the setup fee, so my thinking with those is to put several together so the cost per part isn't quite as bad. You have to find the right balance of the number of parts and the reduction in cost per part you get by adding multiples. I'm glad you pointed out that when you consider this the parts are actually pretty cheap on a per part basis. It's great if you have several models to detail, but it's not great if you only have one. The sides and ends seem pretty reasonable, and when you consider the hollow area in the cupola can't be used by Shapeways to print other parts (where the machine space fee comes in), I guess it's not too bad, either.

The real killer is the roof. This is one of the parts I've had to design a little differently than the other parts. Because Shapeways is interested in printing parts in a way that is profitable to them, they have to consider how to position all the parts people have ordered for a particular print in such a way as to maximize the use of the printer. In other words, if 100 parts will fit in the printer, they won't print 75 and leave areas unused. They will find an efficient use of printer space to get the maximum number of parts in there by positioning some vertically, some at an angle, and others laying flat to get the most out of the print run. How they orient the parts affects the quality to one degree or another, so if you can influence the way the part is oriented in a way that results in the best quality, in my opinion you should do it.

Here's how it works: as the parts print, the printer deposits waxy support material underneath the first layer of acrylic so the liquid acrylic has something to rest upon as it's cured before the next layer prints. The portion of the part facing the bottom of the printer that directly contacts this support material comes out with the least amount of detail and suffers the most distortion. By contrast, the portion of the part facing up from the printer prints the best since it has no contact with support material. Early on I tried printing things like a boxcar shell as a single part with a roof, two sides and two ends. It didn't occur to me that Shapeways looks at this object as something they must print, not as a boxcar shell that I want to have detailed sides and a roof. If they print it with the roof facing up and the open floor toward the bottom of the printer, they have to build up a bunch of wax to support the roof as they print it. If they turn the part upside down, there is only a small amount of support material underneath the roof and the roof supports the sides as they print upward. Trouble is, the roof is the part contacting all the support material and the resolution of this detailed part suffers.

So, I had to change my approach. By making the majority of the inside face (interior ceiling) of the roof flat, it eliminates the need to print support material and the detailed outside surface of the roof is more problematic for Shapeways to face downward than right side up. The roof is just thick enough that I can't make the area between the outer surface of the roof and the interior ceiling hollow, so the solid roof uses quite a bit of material. Since the part cost is determined by the per part setup fee, the material volume and the space it eats up in the printer, the roofs are kind of expensive. Unfortunately, that's what I had to do to get the quality consistent.

Thank you very much, Tom. From my high school years working for Colorado Tree Company drawing plans and making Silverton Engine House kits to the drawings I've done for other manufacturers over the years, I've always wanted to make my own stuff for the hobby I love. It's really kind of cool to work with the 3D printing process and take something from an idea to a model in such a short time and with such accuracy. Over the past year it's really changed how I model. I've participated in polls voting for models I want to see in HO scale over the years and seen some of those models made and others ignored, many justifiably considering how rare they might be. Now that's just not an automatic disqualification. In fact, the more rare the better. You see five pages of models that I display publicly. You should see what I see on my screen! There's more to come, for sure.

 

I read about half of the above, its interesting, will read the rest tomorrow. I bought 2 cupolas just in case one got broken, and one did get broken. They are fragile and need to be handled with extreme care. My 2nd attempt had success after respecting the fragility of the part. I am just thrilled to have an accurate cupola so the reward will be worth the patience. I would love to assemble a complete caboose, but my modeling skills will need to improve before I attempt a challenge like that. I suspect the parts will get stronger as the printing process advances, its still a new technology so to speak. Great work in designing these parts Ryan !

 

Anytime, Tom. I am glad you found it useful.

I sure can be long winded, can't I Paul? I tried to post it all at once and the forum software told me 10,000 characters was the limit. Now you know!

 

I finally got the electric axle driven generators found on SLSF 200-274/1200-1274 drawn and posted for sale on Shapeways:

http://shpws.me/LBg6

Thanks to Paul Slavens for the detail photos of the real thing he provided to me!

 

I got the Rockwell trucks in the mail today from Shapeways:



I designed two versions of these (with and without the snubber/shock absorber) and uploaded them a couple weeks ago. I couldn't wait to prime them and assemble them when they arrived:







The trucks are designed for Intermountain wheelsets and they fit very well without any side to side slop but are still free rolling. Now I can build an accurate model of 1200. And so can anyone else:

http://shpws.me/LuTE (without snubber)
http://shpws.me/LuTF (with snubber)

 

Yes, 33" wheels. I did the version with the snubber for Rock Island cabooses and the version without for Frisco.