Fork Lifts for my Long-Bell Lumberyard diorama, 3d printed

I needed a couple forklifts for my Long-Bell Lumberyarddiorama. (Previous posts: 

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/10/long-bell-lumber-atlas-lumber-shed.html

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/11/long-bell-lumber-atlas-lumberyard-build.html

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/12/long-bell-lumber-atlas-lumberyard-to.html)

The Atlamatic forklift.  Really a little small for a lumberyard, but I like the simple design, and it looks like it belongs in the 1940's.

The drawings, ready for printing

My printer, an Afinia, is really not capable of printing the detail needed for small items.  This is the only one of the three forklifts where I printed the steering wheel and wheels and tires. See the clinic at this link for several small items: 

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/07/model-railroading-3d-printing-using.html

The forks and uprights are made from styrene strips, and the shift handles are made of wire. I want to add some white decals for the Atlamatic name on the back of the unit, and the some black decals for the vents.  I will include finished pictures in later posts of the diorama.

In this picture you can certainly see the layering in the body, and the rough edges.  It is probably not what one would want to use as a foreground piece, but given that the body is less than an inch long, it is not that noticeable at normal viewing distance.

The 1946 Clark Yardlift 40.  This is more the the size needed for a small lumberyard. 

 The add I used as the basis for my drawings.

The basic drawing.

I used wheel and tires from the junk box. 

I added grille decals from Archer, then highlighted them with silver.  

Again, I built the forks and uprights from styrene strips.  A couple of chunks of styrene for the pedals. The steering wheel was from the junk box.  

1940's Clark Plane Loader.  

I also had some pictures of a 1948 model to work from.

 The drawing.  I based some of the dimensions on the wheels and tires I had in the junk box.  

 I took the engine out, since it would have been a mess to try to pint it as one piece.  

 After looking at the engine, I decided the only way to print it would be to remove the exhaust stack, and split it in half.

This is what the body looked like when it came out of the printer.  Lots of support material to remove.

 I test fit the wheel, and for photographic purposes, I gave the forklift a wash of A&I so it would photograph better.

In this extreme close up, you can clearly see how rough the print job comes out on such small pieces.  A heavy prime coat, and some sanding are needed to get a reasonable finish.

Test fitting the from rack in place.  The seat came from the junk box.  

 I think I am going to add headlights to this.  

The pictures of the 1948 model I have show it in yellow, and it had some customization done, including a tool box on the running board, and a roof added.

I forgot the exhaust stack, so I will add that and post additional pictures later.  Also I need to show the back, as it is pretty rough.

Treehouse & Outhouse, Woodland Scenics stuff, #2

A couple more Woodland Scenics kits I whipped up over a weekend.

Tommy'sTreehouse

From woodlandscenics.com, and picture of the parts.

Most of their kits are will thought out, but one usually has to bend a few metal parts to get them to fit. I did not use the wire they supplied for the rope, I used a piece of thread, so Tommy can actually swing.  I also used heavier beams under the treehouse than came with the kit.

Otherwise, pretty much assembled as per the instructions, not that I read them.  The lighting makes the tree look like it has a little bit too much shine.  I guess I will try some more dull coat.

Outhouse Mischief

Again I replaced the wire with some thread.  I also cut a hole in the base under the outhouse, since it has to go somewhere.

Looks like I need to put a touch of rust on those hinges, I always miss something.  I guess that is what the pictures are for.

My method for making the metal look somewhat like wood is three to four simple steps.  First I prime the metal with an automotive primer, usually Rust-Oleum.  Then I put on a base coat of wood color, a tan craft paint, sometimes rattle can tan.  After that is completely dry, I put on a wash of alcohol and ink.  Sometimes I leave it at that.  It the casting has good grain in it, that may be enough.  But, depending on how it looks and the final look I am trying to achieve, I may dry brush the wood with white, brown or multiple colors.

I have just about every one of the Woodland Scenics metal kits, so there will be many more weekends spent building them.  Besides, I need on a windmill for my hog farm.

The only previous post in this series:  http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/11/machine-shop-woodland-scenics.html

Thank you for following along!

The House, 3D Printed, Down on the Farm #5

Building a small hog farm in HO scale.

The farm was going to need a house, so I went looking for small house plan.  The North Dakota State University web site provided a good starting point.  http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/extension-aben/buildingplans/

I adapted these plans to be a 24' square one bedroom house.

I drew the house complete with interior walls, then exploded it, as shown above, to orient it for optimal printing.  Note that the house walls are printed upside down.  This eliminates much of the need for support material.

I also designed a foundation for printing

I printed the structure in sections.  Here are the gable ends, printed upside down.  Shown here still on the print surface as removed from the printer.

The wall are printed in one piece.  The walls are raised up at the bottom to allow for inserting a .060 thick floor.  The walls are designed thicker at the tops and bottoms to add stability.

 I used sheet styrene for the sub-roof and trimmed it with scale 1x12 styrene.  I then applied paper shingles from Bar-Mills.

This view shows the porch and back wall.  The chimney was also 3d printed.  The tar around the chimney is a mixture of Aleene's Tacky glue and black craft paint.  It makes a nice thick gunk to dab in place.

Note the gable end vent was printed in place.  The peeling paint was made by using rubber cement between the primer coat and the finish coat.  After the top coat dried, I scrapped off the rubber cement, thus removing the white top coat. 

Total print time for the walls, gable ends, doors, windows, chimney and foundation was 6 hours and 27 minutes.  Selling price for those pieces would be $27.00.

Previous posts from my Down of the Farm series.

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/09/smokehouse-ho-scale-3d-printed-down-on.html

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/09/storm-shelter-down-on-farm-2.html

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/09/slaughter-house-3d-printed-down-on-farm.html

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/11/shop-building-machinery-shed-down-on.html

Long-Bell Lumber, Atlas lumberyard to showroom

The last structure for my Long-Bell Lumber diorama is the showroom/office.  Again, I wanted to use the Atlas Lumber Yard for basic structure, so that is looked like the show room was built from a remodeled lumber shed.  

The kit.

I cut the scenic part of the base away, 

and left out all the interior bracing.  I also filed and sanded the roof flat to remove all detail.

On the back side, even though it should never be seen, I filled in the open areas with scribed styrene.

I glued .020 x .020 styrene strips to the roof by lining the up with the ghost images left from the molded on details, to give it a metal roof look.

To close in the front of the building, I drew up a brick veneer from for the building to 3d print.  I planned on putting vertical scribed siding about the brick, so I just drew that as a flat surface.

After completeing the drawing, I exploded the individual items and oriented them for printing.

I had to orient the wall at an angle to get it to fit the print area.

Note all the support material that is generated to hold up the walls above the windows and doors.

But, it cleans up easy.

Unfortunately, I had a little warp in the front wall, which you can see at both ends.

I bolted a brass stiffener inside to the floor, and then glued the warped front in place.  It took a lot of clamps, but

it worked

I added a few signs, and still have to find one more for the front.

Here is an overall view of how I plan to layout the buildings.

I will have coal bins to the right, and creosote treated lumber stacks in the back corner.

The street will be in the foreground, with parking in the front of the showroom.

Here are links to previous entries in this series:

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/10/long-bell-lumber-atlas-lumber-shed.html

http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2013/11/long-bell-lumber-atlas-lumberyard-build.html

Obviously lots of details and scenery to add over the next few months.