Foley Car Shops 1/48 (On30) 14 ft. Critter Locomotive

[Stikpusher]

Thank you both so much. Stuart, the pieces are PLA from a printer. There are about 40 pieces to the kit. I splashed paint over the plastic card as well as the PLA today.

What is PLA?

[speedgraflex]

PLA, or Polylactic Acid, is a commonly used thermoplastic material that does not require the use of a heated print bed. Due to its lower melting temperature and lack of warping, PLA flaments retain their color vibrancy and are a common choice for displays or small household prints. The 3D printed object will have a glossy type finish.

[speedgraflex]

[Stikpusher]

PLA, or Polylactic Acid, is a commonly used thermoplastic material that does not require the use of a heated print bed. Due to its lower melting temperature and lack of warping, PLA flaments retain their color vibrancy and are a common choice for displays or small household prints. The 3D printed object will have a glossy type finish.

Thank you for the explanation. I had no idea as to the type(s) of plastics used in 3-D printing. There are so many acronyms out there using the same letters that it can get pretty confusing.



Excellent progress on your locomotive

[speedgraflex]

Thanks so much, Carlos. I realize I provided a textbook in the age of Google answer, but that was a pretty straightforward approach. I realize I also posted a photo without an explanation of what was done, so I am going to correct my error now. So yesterday I allotted about an hour to work on this project, as a way to combat stress. I was hemming and hawing and thinking too much about making things look this way or that, and ignoring the basic need to paint the parts. I personally call this the “Bandai” stage where colors are assigned to the plastic. These are the first choices, and I was overthinking everything. My one clear thought after sanding down the hood for the engine was that a better solution for me would be to “skin” the roof with plastic card. I cut card to basically fit the roof. The issue here was how clean to make the roof piece. Typically a roof will show a great deal of wear and tear. However I decided with the pieces I have been painting for Fran to concentrate on realism with wear and tear, which to me means operational or functional wear only and places a limit on the amount of additional effects. Also with trains, there is the operational aspect. This means that the loco will be handled, usually by me, but by others as well possibly, and adding too many powder effects (pastels, etc.) even with fixatives may be an issue. Also I personally feel that there is an overuse of “powdery white” as a finish for dust. I feel the powdery appearance has been developed in response to many modelers eyeballing old black and white or sepia toned photos, and the “powder” is actually a mixture of elements that are reflective in nature. These reflective surfaces are not simply white or light grey. I honestly don’t see that as anything but a variation on the white highlighting methods employed by modelers, which I try to minimize in my own work. I think it is better to modulate an entire panel than simply the edges, which puts me I suppose in the “scale lightening” group. However I am not a card carrying member of either group. I think I am more or less a heretic when it comes to adding gloss to a model. Yes, gloss adds scale, but adding scale does not necessarily make a model more toylike. The diesel critter is already very much a toy, so it is a matter of some aesthetic design designs to make the object read as “the real thing.”

[Stikpusher]

No worries Bruce. I sure did not mean to imply for you to post a more brief answer to my question. There are so many plastics out there, that it boggles the mind. Polystyrene, polyvinyl, polyethylene, polylactic, the list goes on and on... you gave a clear and concise answer in your own style.

As far as weathering your locomotive goes, I might suggest to use more paints, misted on by airbrush, in place of pigments. Those will be far more resistant to handling.

[speedgraflex]

Apologies for my manifesto, Carlos. Thanks for reading and your good advice. I was trying to work through in my head why so many weathered model trains look aged with talcum powder. I remember reading that this was a technique used on priceless classic cars in The Godfather series to suggest dirt. Obviously an owner of of a classic would not want a film company aging their car with real dirt and debris so they used baby powder to make dust, eliminate shine and camera and crew reflections.

[Floki]

She is a tiny locomotive, I'm with Carlos try using different shades of paint instead of pigments for the weathering. Vallejo have some really good acrylic weathering products.

[speedgraflex]

Thanks for the advice Clint and Carlos! I sincerely appreciate your ideas.

[speedgraflex]

I did a ton of invisible work last night. Mainly I did a lot of putty work just because I need to make the join between the sheet of plastic card and the cab roof work. I thought I was saving a stage of sanding by slapping that card on top. That was not the case. I may have set myself up for some future problems of separating adhesion. By future I mean a few hours from now. We shall see!