The New 3D Printing Thread

Hey guys, new user here.

I wanted to ask if anyone has made an STL model of siderods for Gordon/Henry? I've seen that the Thomas/Percy style siderods are readily available, but not the Gordon style. I've looked around the thread but haven't seen anything. I just want to see if anyone has made anything before I make a STL file of my own.

I'm also considering resin casting of side rods, I found resin casting materials at my local Walmart. Would that possibly be a better choice? I've also been looking to cast some other things (wagons, couplers, etc). I know that the side rods are made of a more flexible plastic, many of mine are bent and I'd much rather have straight siderods haha.

What do you all think? Let me know!

Thanks

I've not seen any side-rods for those models (yet!), but they may be out there, google search is your friend here.

As for whether to print or cast, that is a very good question.  Bearing in mind the cost of the rubber/silicone used to make the moulds unless you intend to make many of the same model I would suggest in the long term they would work out pretty expensive.  Similarly the sort of resin you cast with does tend to be brittle - although it is strong if thick enough - so it does have its place at times.

I would think an SLA printer would be more useful though.  Sure to buy an entry level model you're looking at around £200/$250 I guess (not checked recently), but once you have the printer it is probably cheaper to run as you only need the liquid UV resin which is reasonably priced.  You can also get various types of resin, some are designed to be tougher, some to be a bit more flexible.  The other thing to bear in mind is cast resin can take 24 hours or more to fully cure, with an SLA printer you can print small parts in very high level detail very quickly, maybe 10-15 mins for a bunch of side-rods for example.  Once printed you do have a washing and curing process to go through, but you can probably manage that in 30 mins or so.  Meaning you would be able to produce them within an hour at a push, although I wouldn't advocate rushing as taking your time will probably result in better parts/models and less mistakes.

An added advantage to having an SLA printer is you could then also print other things such as gaming miniatures if you like that sort of thing.  There are plenty of beautiful models out there at very reasonable prices, one example is this set from a Patreon called 'Lord of the Print' - this month you get some 100+ models (both with supports defined already and unsupported if you want to do your own) the subject this month being a Lizardman Army these are gorgeous and good enough to justify getting a printer just for these IMHO.