I've launched my store on Shapeways. The initial products are the 30t trucks in On3 and HOn3.
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Hurray!
WOW those trucks are nice
3D printing is here
Michael:
This may be an impertinent question, but can the On3 trucks be used for On30?
Yes. The trucks don't know what the gauge of the track is. NWSL and Foothill Model Works both offer On30 wheelsets on On3 axles (1.165" long).
Wow. WOW! Any plans for other products? I have no interest in Oahu trucks, but if I did and I was a dedicated modeler of that railway, the price is certainly workable.
I'm envisioning a market here, where someone sells a relatively generic chassis for something like a 2-8-0, and then one can go online and just purchase a one-off printed superstructure, add a few details, and have a reasonable model of an unusual locomotive. For instance, if bachmann sold their 2-8-0 chassis separately, someone could come up with plans for dozens of superstructures to fit that chassis.
I think the neediest area for variety is passenger car trucks. Carter Bros/Oahu Railway are first in line...close to test printing. Second in line is the standard Barney & Smith trucks...those were very common...at least a half dozen narrow gauge roads had the 40' cars which definitely had these (from Pennsylvania to California)...and if they were also used on the 35' cars, then that adds at least another half dozen roads to the list...plus I believe that there was a SG version. The other two gaping holes are the 6' WB Pullman trucks, used on all the Pullman sleepers (and should be equipped with 30" wheels) and the 1874 Billmeyer & Smalls/J&S style trucks with strap iron pedestals (think Monterrey & Salinas Valley #1 at CSRM).
