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Winding up production (CAD and design still going!)

 Been a while since I've updated the blog, for various reasons! I'm stopping production and distribution of these kits now, mainly as it takes up too much of the already limited downtime I have (the wagons in particular were more popular than I expected). I'd love to offer the wagons via another supplier, but so far have been unsuccessful in finding someone willing to take those on, though I'm hopeful of finding a solution at some point. This might sound a bit negative, but I'm pretty happy about it to be honest, as it allows me to concentrate on the design work I love, rather than keeping the (very temperamental) printer going and having to do regular trips out of my way to the Post Office. Hardy's Hobbies produce most of the loco kits I design, and once I find an outlet for the wagons, I'll post a link to that here too. Apologies if that's disappointing to anyone, but it takes a significant load off my shoulders and hopefully things will be back to nor
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Future manufacturing

I'm looking for ways to improve the print quality and availability, while reducing the amount of evenings and weekends I spend operating and maintaining my 3D printer. Essentially this means outsourcing, but it means that the kits can be produced faster, and potentially come complete with all the wheels and bearings etc. that you need to complete them. We're exploring several options at the moment, but hopefully soon we will be in a position to produce the kits in batches, which will give me more time to add to the range and get back to the modelling I love!
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Custom work

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Just as an example of the things we can do, here are 4 tenders from the F1 and B1 kits, rescaled to N Gauge for a customer. This sort of work isn't that costly as it's based on CAD models we already have. Other sorts of custom work we can do is altering chimney/buffer/cab/dome styles etc. as well as other minor modifications.
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Lockdown fun

I'm fairly privileged to still be working full time during the CV19 lockdown, but obviously not going out very often. This means deliveries will be delayed, but I can still get to the Post Office from time to time. It's giving me the chance to monitor the 3D printer during the day, which means I can get more printing done, so it's not all bad! Have fun modelling, and stay safe folks 😀
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Getting ready...

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A bit more QC/QA going on at the moment, one of every few kits to come off the printer gets a dusting of primer to check the surface finish - in this pic, you can see the two upcoming wagons due for release imminently; the LBSC steel-framed Open A, and the SER 4-plank coal/goods wagon. Both lasted well into SR days. Coming soon!
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QA and update

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All prints go through some basic quality assurance before posting - in this case, checking the prints for warping with a straight edge. I also try and spot bits missing/incomplete and random print errors. You will find occasional diagonal lines on prints - this occurs on virtually every print, so is unavoidable, but is easily dealt with with a few seconds and some sandpaper. There may be other minor errors too, this home-level technology is a few years away from being able to churn out perfect units every time. We wouldn't want these kits to be too easy to assemble! As an aside, we are experiencing some printer reliability issues (I just have the one, and the poor thing has been running 24 hours a day for the last week), so please bear with me if things are being a bit slow! The production rate is 2 a day, if the prints go perfectly, though I have just switched to a green resin which prints faster, so this may get better as I learn more about my equipment.
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1st release!

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We have the first kit available, check out the wagons page for more info! Current lead time approx. 2 weeks at time of writing
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