EPlus3D

Choo Choo! Man in England 3D Prints Model Train Sets and They Are Incredible

Metal AM Markets

Share this Article

Dating back to the 1840s, model railroading has been a hobby that has not only stuck around, but one which has evolved with the times. Railway modeling allows people to construct their own scaled down models of famous, unknown, or even imaginary railroad systems, locomotives, tracks, buildings and streetcars. One of the biggest past-times among model railroad enthusiasts, is reconstructing the beauty of real railroad locales, as well as locations of railroads throughout periods of time in history.

As many of you know, 3D printing allows for customization, down to the minute details. By creating a 3D model of something, 3D printers can then replicate it into a tangible object, in a matter of hours. It would only seem fitting that this process would be perfect for the fabrication of model railroads and model trains.

trains4

Wickham’s complete models

One man, by the name of Matt Wickham, has in fact taken this ‘railroading’ past time, and modernized it through the utilization of 3D printing. In creating his Metropolitan Railway, Wickham used the help of Shapeways for most of the 3D printing.

“Everything until recently has been printed by Shapeways, the main body, chassis, seating are all printed by SLS, White, strong, and flexible material,” Wickham told 3DPrint.com. “Detailed parts such as, roof vents, and bogies for the wheels are printed in Frosted detail, which I believe is done by Polyjet machines.”

While Shapeways has done most of the printing, he is currently looking at some alternatives, including a local firm which uses SLA based 3D printers to create fabricate objects. Wickham tells us that the SLA prints come with a better surface finish but are double the cost.

Wickham turned to 3D printing when he realized that the carriages that he needed were not available anywhere. “I saw on forums and from other people, what they had done with 3D printing, so in December 2012 I decided to give it a go, although it’s taken a year an a half to complete. I had a lot of help from a good friend of mine Stephen, who also has an interest in 3D printing and the London Underground.”

Models as returned by Shapeways, pre-painted.

Models as returned by Shapeways, pre-painted.

3D printing allowed Wickham to get exactly what he wanted, down to the fine little details. When he gets the prints back from Shapeways, they come uncolored. Because of the printing material he uses, it is not possible to order already colored objects. He then manually paints them to make them look just as he desires.

A painted model

A painted model

We asked Wickham what other model train enthusiasts think of his 3D printed models, when they first see them:

“The general reaction on first seeing them is that they look excellent, and then I say that they have been 3D printed and they are quite surprised, but quite interested in the process and how it’s done,” he explained. “There has generally been quite a bit of interest since I have started, on Facebook, forums, Twitter, quite a few model train collectors or railway modellers are quite impressed by them. I had the full set at a club/exhibition open day, and they seem to have grabbed quite a bit of attention just by how nice they looked.”

trains3-featured

Wickham doesn’t only 3D print the carriages and cars. He also 3D prints some of the buildings. Currently some of his models are available via his Shapeways shop. He is currently working on an instruction sheet for explaining how to paint the models once received by those who order them.

Without a doubt, 3D printing and train modeling will catch on even more as time goes on.  What do you think about Wickham’s models?  Discuss in the 3D Printed Train Model forum thread on 3DPB.com

Share this Article


Recent News

Human Remains Could Be Identified with the Help of Forensic 3D Printing

US Air Force and Japan Building Leader Back Branch Technology’s Construction 3D Printing



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

Featured

Chinese 3D Printed Medicine Company Triastek Lands $20.4M in Pre-C Round

Triastek, the leader in additive manufacturing (AM) for pharmaceuticals based in Nanjing, China, has completed a Pre-C financing round worth $20.4 million dollars. Led by Guoxin International Investment, a Chinese...

3D Printing News Unpeeled: 16 & 20 lasers & Mighty Buildings Gets $52m

Farsoon Technologies and Bright Laser Technologies (BLT) both unveiled large powder bed fusion machines. Farsoon´s FS1521M has 16 fiber lasers and a 1.5 meters by 850mm Z-axis build volume. BLT´s BLT-S800...

$52M in Funding Will Push Mighty Buildings’ 3D Printed Houses into Middle East

Oakland’s Mighty Buildings, a maker of sustainable prefabricated homes produced with additive construction (AC), has received $52 million in its latest funding round. Two firms co-led the series, including Wa’ed...

US Air Force Awards $1.13M for 3D Printed Construction Retrofitting

Branch Technology, the Chattanooga-based additive construction (AC) firm, has been awarded a $1.13 million contract from the US Air Force for its proprietary Cellular Fabrication (C-Fab) technology. The Air Force...