Kabuto Models; Details for your layout!

[HantuBlauLOL]

Nice find, I can't use the "search" feature with my phone..

 

Btw why the pic of your drive system is very low res here?

[Kabutoni]

Scroll scroll scroll. Facebook doesn't have a search function and the picture is terrible because it has strong backlight, my phone's screen is broken and I was really lazy to focus well.

 

Anyway, the paintjob is a bit shoddy, but this is the second prototype that got the shell broken:

 

 

 

The unpowered car has partially some windows fitted.

 

Now that I look at it, it's not bad, but I'm thinking that maybe printing on a flat surface in kit-style is better than box-style printing. Kit-style printing requires less polishing as it results in a smoother surface, which again reduces the chance of damage to protruding parts. Next to that, I also would like to have the windows printed, together with the partitions merged, which are now very very fragile parts of the box-printed body. Create, discover, think, innovate and improve.

[Kabutoni]

Another project going on. This is maybe even more nostalgy than the Sneltram from my hometown (Utrecht) posted above. The B100 from the Cologne/Bonn Stadtbahn network. I lived for a few years in the station building of Buschdorf on line 16 and took this (amongst other types) almost daily, whereas I saw the train of my hometown everyday, but almost never rode it.

 

This time with (separate) printed windows in the planning, as you can polish polymer acrylic (FUD/FXD) to a point where it is almost transparent, which makes it perfect for windows. I'm getting sick of the fragile parts breaking off, so I try to limit the use of thin parts as much as possible.

 

 

If successful, this train will be made in more variations, like the flat-nosed versions, as well as double and single-cab B80s from the KVB. Not sure if I want to make the modernised versions, as they are just plain ugly.

[railsquid]

Box from Shapeways just arrived :). It's a very large box for such tiny items...

[Kabutoni]

Box from Shapeways just arrived :). It's a very large box for such tiny items...

 

A massive box, but maximum protection from the rough global transport handling. It's a good feature IMO, as it's mostly air, as opposed to packing material.

 

Next to that, I have almost completed the B-wagen (1st series for the KVB, SWB and SSB), but I'd first like to see a test print before putting it on sale:

 

 

This is maybe my first full professional looking production that takes care of most negative aspects of 3D printing, like material stability, fragility and smoothness. Flat-surface printing is the most optimal way of getting a high-quality result, so I'll be using this in the future. Box printing is nice, but it doesn't guarantee a good result. Spaces that connect to each other have gotten a little margin in between them, so there is space for a bonding agent (super glue) and slight movement so there is minimal friction and chance of damage when connecting parts. If desired, all parts can conveniently be painted separately from each other as well.

 

The only part left to be done are the bogie details, which should be fairly minimal.

[kvp]

Really nice! I hope we will see some japanese trains from you soon, especially in this good quality format. This also allows different front options, b train style.

 

ps: the small optional detail parts can be added in the middle rectangle, even spare ones if they are fragile, also the glass inserts have to be a tiny bit smaller around the window edges to fit into the frames after painting

[cteno4]

Nice work toni! Really coming along and I think much more practical this way and better painting and kitbashing options as well!

 

Jeff

[Kabutoni]

Really nice! I hope we will see some japanese trains from you soon, especially in this good quality format. This also allows different front options, b train style.

 

Japanese trains only when there is some license that can be overcome. You never know what kind of legal actions might be luring around the corner... I have so far not seen one company branded train released in 3D printed state.

 

B-trains are an option as well to be produced, but it's not a priority at the moment. The separated front is there to be altered, as there are many different types of B-wagen around. Concentrating on the Rhein-Sieg region (Cologne/Bonn), this 1st gen. type (B100S) is the faltnase version. The 2nd and 3rd generation (also B100S, as well as B100C) had a flat front, wheras later versions for the KVB (1980s) even had a completely smooth front (KVB 2200 and 2300, B80D type). Then come variations from other regions, like the Düsseldorfer Rheinbahn, Dortmunder types (3-cars!), Krefelder, Bogestra, etc. 

 

ps: the small optional detail parts can be added in the middle rectangle, even spare ones if they are fragile, also the glass inserts have to be a tiny bit smaller around the window edges to fit into the frames after painting

 

That has already been taken into account, as that is one surface/space that connects to another surface/space.

 

Nice work toni! Really coming along and I think much more practical this way and better painting and kitbashing options as well!

 

Thanks. I want to create other types as well, to minimise people to be forced to kitbash. I think this way, applying decals will also be much easier. All frame connecting points are on non-visible sections (like Gundam kits), so that should be no hinderance to paint the model while still framed!

[kvp]

 

Japanese trains only when there is some license that can be overcome. You never know what kind of legal actions might be luring around the corner... I have so far not seen one company branded train released in 3D printed state.

Ok. Maybe if you choose one that doesn't have a license or so old that any licenses have long ran out. JNR/JGR sets probably belong to this category.

 

Personally i would suggest doing old hungarian coaches and emu-s/dmu-s from the Ganz factory, since their entire plan library has become public domain a few years ago. But this is a rather limited market, you could only sell around 70-80 cars from the basic bhv type.

[HantuBlauLOL]

I wonder why you go down to the "sprue" way again..

[kvp]

Because by printing flat, you can avoid the print lines on the surfaces looking up. This allows printing clear windows. It's just like gluing multiple layers of paper on top of each other. Which would look better: a train that is cut horizontally to rectangles and laid like a brickwork house or a train that has each side laminted and the top of each side is covered by a single piece of paper? So far the 3D printing technology is better at laying 2D layers on top of each other.

[HantuBlauLOL]

How about warping issues?

[Kabutoni]

Thanks for explaining! It certainly reduces the lines on the model. Especially the flat surfaces and at FUD (29 micron) level printing. Warping on the other hand will probably occur, but glueing the parts together will eliminate this. It is more important to get smooth surfaces than to avoid warped surfaces. After a lot of investing and experimenting, this is the best solution.

 

Box printing is nice because you don't have to glue the parts together, but because there is some glueing involved anyway, I'm of the opinion this is for the better. Next to that, because (these) trains sometimes have complicated paint schemes and stickering, working on a flat surface can be better than working in a box form. Also, printing in boxform increases the chance of wax, that gets involved during the printing, being unable to be cleaned up by either the staff at the printing company or by the user.

 

UPDATE:

 

I have managed to finalise work on the B-wagen, creating both a 1st and 2nd generation in the process. They are not quite identical trains, though they may look so. Both fronts are different (the major difference), but the car bodies in general as well. The roof is a bit steeper on the 1st generation car and the 2nd generation car does not have public access doors on the front ends (the Cologne/Bonn network had them disabled on the 1st generation anyway).

 

1st. Gen.

 

2nd Gen.

 

I'm thinking about creating the modernised 2nd generation with complete glass doors, but that will require a little adaption for the framing, as the glass part will have to be elongated. However, as the 3rd generation also requires bigger glass parts, I will probably create the modernised 2nd generation as well.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Toni Babelony

[Kabutoni]

Need to stock up on details for your layout? Now is your chance to save some big money! Shapeways has a new offer standing until the 30th of August. Free shipping for purchases totaling $35+ (USD)! Isn't that great? For those who haven't been convinced yet, there are now photos of almost all items in the catalogue, so please check it out!

[Kabutoni]

Thank you for all who made use of the free shipping from Shapeways last week!

 

In other news, Kabuto Models just finished the development of the Indonesian KRDE front design for Nanyō Bussan and is now underway for the first prototype moulding. Here below is a photograph I took two weeks ago at the JAM where the first official announcement was made:

 

 

If this project proves to be successful in its production, it can be expected that Kabuto Models and Nanyō Bussan will have more co-productions in the future and in different scales.

[Mudkip Orange]

Very impressed. What would a model of Katase-Enoshima run?

[Kabutoni]

Very impressed. What would a model of Katase-Enoshima run?

 

Thank you!

 

What do you mean with this model of Katase-Enoshima? The station building?

[railsquid]

It just occurred to me while in the bath just now there's one scenic element typical to Japan I haven't seen available anywhere - the humble single or occasionally twin-tub top-loader cold-water washing machine, as found on hundreds of thousands (millions?) of apartment balconies and also on the street outside many businesses (well not your tinted-glass corporate HQ, more your average fire-risk two-storey restaurant or other business in frequent need of clean or at least less-dirty items).

Edited October 10, 2015 by railsquid

[cteno4]

good spot! love those items that are so ubiquitous that you end up not seeing them!

 

jeff

[Kabutoni]

Darn. Those you don't see around here. At least I don't think any more. Definitely a high-density-urban oddity (we live in an urbanised countryside). Some of those appliances should go on the list, as I think it's time to go work on another wave of releases.

[railsquid]

Scenes like this (Google map street view) are what comes to mind. Actually I was thinking what I could put in a little vacant space behind a building, the kind of place where you find all kinds of miscellaneous stuff, and i

 

Also: public fire extinguishers and those blue nets for putting on top of rubbish bags (though those should be easy enough to model with some sort of fine-mesh netting).

 

Meanwhile my layout scenickery is encroaching on built-up areas so I hope to start making use of the existing bits I have :)

[Kabutoni]

A quick update on the development of the Indonesian KRDE DMU. The front parts have been successfully reproduced by Nanyo Bussan in white metal, reducing the overall production costs, and thus increasing the affordability of the kit.

 

 

I hope further development goes smoothly as well, so we can go ahead thinking about developing new exciting products.

[Mudkip Orange]

I want a South African 5M2A. At 19.4m in length x 2845mm in width, they ought to fit on a Kato/Greenmax/Tomytec chassis.

[Kabutoni]

I want a South African 5M2A. At 19.4m in length x 2845mm in width, they ought to fit on a Kato/Greenmax/Tomytec chassis.

 

It would be improbable this being a co-development product with Nanyō Bussan (as they focus on South East Asia, hence the name of the company). However, it's not impossible to create a kit based on this model, completely with stuff like underbody details, bogies and roof equipment. It's mostly a question of finances and available resources (blueprints, detailed pictures, etc.).

[Mudkip Orange]

Indeed. I've reached out to some of the people who were involved in the construction (difficult because of consolidation, etc) but haven't been able to get any responses thus far.