Well after having the two MARKLIN cars sitting on my work station for the past couple of days and analyzing the raised appearance of the cars (and Scott’s previous statement that the skirting needs to be extended down a bit), I finally decided that indeed they do need some work. So I’ve began the process of creating a “faux” skirting around the lower edges. In fact, if you look at the picture of all three cars, even the MTL unit sits a tad high. But that one I am not messing with. Really….. Here’s a few pictures of the mods I started. More to follow.
Quick update for anyone interested: Skirting is done on both MARKLIN cars. I had to use a little bit of reason and a little artistic license. Researched many pictures and noticed that some cars ran with a full skirting between the trucks, whereas others had the lower side of utilities exposed, partial skirting, etc. I also added utilities to the lower side where it would’ve required extensive work to add skirting. Not to leave well enough alone, I figured stirrups were really something that would hopefully add a little legitimacy to my “faux” skirting. So I designed up some 1.5MM X 2.00MM X .5MM units and printed them using my 3D printer. The question was whether or not something this thin and small they would hold to the build plate. And actually they did!!!! But dang they are tiny. Now interesting note, but I switched up resin materials and used “like ABS” resin for these. As you can see in this picture, the fact that these are relatively supple, malleable and do not crumble or crack, like regular resin. Last and final step will be applying the brilliant silver paint required to match the MTL units. I do not have a dedicated paint room or booth, and I usually do my painting in the garage. But right now it’s freezing cold here in South Dakota so we’ll see what alternatives I have. May take them to the shop at my job.
Lance, Nice work on the skirts and stirrups! Are you going to mask off the skirts and just paint them? Scott
Thanks Scott - I will be painting the entire car(s). Reason being, I’ve got to bury the AMTRAK decals. Plus I want the paint to match a bit better, so will use TESTORS chrome silver or base silver. Not sure which yet. Although a big challenge is going to be finding very small “SANTA FE” wording decals.
There’s not rest for Z-scaler who has a 3D printer…. So I am at a loss as to what the exact technical term is for these accordion/bellows gangway covers? Maybe I should make a contest out of it and the first person that provides the correct name wins a prize? Anywho, these have been a real challenge to design and print. Dimensionally that was the biggest challenge, well not too mention the aesthetic appeal as they needed to look real and believable. And I’m not even sure I’m there with that yet. What you’re looking at is redesign/print #6, and I believe I have one or two more to go! Now you may be asking why the gap in between the bellows assemblies, and the reason being is these are a rigid material, and therefore do not have any flex like the real units would. So what I discovered is there needs to be a gap between them to handle any turns or curves. Unfortunately it is not realistic in appearance, especially while in motion, but it’s the best thing I can think of. Unless anybody else has any ideas? I am trying to upload a video of two cars in motion with these fitted between them. I’ll do that on the following post.
Looks good Lance, I wonder if they have a rubber flexible type material that can be printed for the diaphragms between cars?
Thanks Rob! So your question prompted me to do some quick research and see if there are products similar to rubber that can be used for 3-D printing. There is quite a bit of information out there, but there are also a lot of drawbacks to using anything that similar to rubber or possibly like a polyurethane. Now these bellow assemblies have to be extremely thin in order to be mounted between two cars and hold their shape in a curve, or specifically a tighter turn. And at any point that they stiffen up or do not flex in the correct manner, you’re going to derail the cars. I’ve been extremely successful thus far with printing, some very very thin products. But from the quick scan reading I did, rubberized resins are not yet at the state they need to be, at least from the single article I read. I am tinkering with some “ABS – like” resin but I’m having no better luck with it in regards to overall quality of finish, than I am with standard resin.
Here’s a quick video in slow motion, showing two cars rolling with the split gangway bellows installed. https://youtube.com/shorts/z1AVAq720Jo?si=e_yiRewP2v-ra0lT Now note, the curve in question is relatively tight on my layout, but out of necessity. A full passenger consist of cars pulls through the corner with no issues. What I am demonstrating in the video is the movement of the split bellows as they round the turn and then the joining back together. Not prototypical operation obviously, but not sure of how to deal with it otherwise. Comments are welcome…..
Amazing work, but so non-prototypical as to be a one off, I'm afraid. You'd be MUCH better off working on the coupler issue before tackling this issue, in my brutally honest opinion. The problem is the couplers stick out much too far, making the "hallway" bellows necessary. If realism is what you're after, then best to figure out how to make them couple much closer first, then think about the bellows. But that doesn't take away from the cool factor of what you've done! How are they attached to the car?
Your brutally honest opinion has brutally crossed my mind more than once. I’ve looked closely at moving the trucks in board, but MTL put the body lines such that they fall right where they need to for the current truck position. Even a few millimeters would require some body modifications to make the trucks look aesthetically correct in their new inboard position. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility. And if you recall, I’m also doing the modification on two Marklin cars by moving the trucks outboard. So they will be more correct in appearance. You could’ve been a little more brutally, honest and said, “why don’t you just spend the money and go buy the AZL Super Chief set?” (Crossed my mind more than once too.) But you know, I actually went in and looked at some videos of that AZL set rolling, and the gap between those cars is a bit tighter, but still wider than real world 1:1. So here I sit working with what I’m already invested in…. As for the fit on these, they are simply pressed on with a bit of force. I’ve got to go back to the design screen one more time and raise them just a hair. If I run with them, I will simply mount them with rubber cement so they can be pulled off at a later time. Or if I don’t like the way, they actually look at all. Or if somebody is brutally honest and says they don’t look right….
I like them better than not having diaphragm's. They fill the gaps great, and add to the realism, as do the extended skirts and stirrups. And although I have a bunch of the modern MTL, Marsillius, and AZL passenger cars, I also have about 30 of the Marklin cars too, so i will be doing these mods down the road too. But first I have to have a layout to display some on.
Lance, I once saw an h0 guy that fixed the problem of bridging the gap between bellows. He use bellows "folded in" (as they are when the car is not hooked up to another) and connected them by means of black, flexible plastic matching the color of the bellows. It was glued to one car and after hooking up the cars he fumbled it into the other car's bellow. I think I remember him saying he cut out pieces of a polyethyleen shopping bag. Folded in an n shape (so no bottom - you don't see it anyways), it was flexible enough to allow for narrow curves and switches while still providing visual connection between the cars. Mostly because you could no longer see through between the cars. No idea if this would work in Z but maybe worth a try. I haven't... Matt
Hmmmm - thinking, thinking, thinking… Thanks Matt! Let me see what I can do with the information you provided above.
The diaphragms are totally cool and my eye goes right to then cause you don’t see that often modeled. Too cool.
While the coolness factor may be there, the functionality factor…….ummmm, not so much. It’s a work in progress.
For function, I wonder if a fabric rather than plastic bellows would provide the flexibility you desire. Wire hook or magnetic closure? Even so, a treat for the eye and imagination.
Fabric is not even in the realm of consideration for a myriad of reasons - most notably unworkable at this scale. No way to fold it, shape it, etc. Same with a hook or magnets. What it is not evident in the photos is that the bellows you see in the pics are a mere 10mm or so tall, and about 5mm wide. 3D printing the parts affords us the look we want, but not the flexibility. PER MATT'S PREVIOUS POST ABOVE, my current thinking is to reduce the depth of both bellows, which means they won't be as near to touching on a straight run. Then fill the void between them with silver plastic bag material --- similar to your plastic Wallymart shopping bags, but in silver. I've seen bags like this at gift shops, exclusive shops, etc. Just need to find one. I'll use a regular Wallymart bag for testing. The test will be to see how this material looks aesthetically and yet how well it functions between the bellows in a turn. The perfectionist in me needs both to be acceptable.
Lance, Great attempt at solving your bellows issue! Shows real creativity and ambition. I personally like them, and saw the curved surfaces and what they were for. They do make rubber resin, and we had grown many flexible parts using it. the only trouble was it fatigued quickly and ripped. How about creating molds and pouring a flexible material? Lots of good ideas from the group as well. Can't wait to see what you come up with next. Scott
