Kato F7 Shorty Kit??

[garethashenden]

Looking at the bottom edge of the shell, I'm wondering if its 3d printed? Its got that wavy edge common to prints that aren't fully supported.

[chessie system fan]

This is a great idea. But then, I'm partial to jokes like this.  I've had similar ideas using some old scrap shells in my junk drawer. I agree with Gareth. That shell has to be 3d printed. But you can tell that it was made from a Kato CAD design. For those of you who get one, I'm curious about how it's mounted on the chassis and also how good the front coupler height is.

And for those of you who want to have fun with this, I have the solution for a train. I'm dubbing it the "Archibald."



I originally created this a few years ago so that I could experiment but didn't have to wait for a whole long shell to print to see if my designs worked.  For those of you who want to travel in style, I've also made a shorty GN Great Dome version.

[nickelplate759]

You've just answered the question "What can I do with my old ConCor GN dome car?".
Thank you @chessie system fan

[nkalanaga]

Streamline version of Walthers' "Oscar" and "Piker"?

[peteski]

Looking at the bottom edge of the shell, I'm wondering if its 3d printed? Its got that wavy edge common to prints that aren't fully supported.

That's what I said in reply #12 here.

[Mark5]

Reminds me of those RMT "Beef" O Gauge locos that I saw when I was working at MB Klein. 

https://www.trains.com/ctt/news-reviews/reviews/ready-made-trains-o-gauge-mini-f-units/

[davefoxx]

Don’t forget about the Eggliner, while on the subject of similar, whimsical trains.

DFF

[randgust]

I'll pile on and say that yes, that chassis is exceptional.

And I even did something like that back in the 70's to fit on an Atlas Plymouth critter chassis. 

And you can't say this doesn't fit the mold, either:  https://www.republiclocomotive.com/rx500-industrial-locomotives/
and we did a long, long thread on those. 

But honestly, for an F-unit?   You know, there are zona saws, and cutting up any given shell would be much higher quality result than that print.   But for some reason, using tools other than an RP printer seems to have fallen by the wayside here.

Hey, I had a Piker in HO.  My first craftsman kit, did it at about age 10.  Still have it.

I seem to be developing into the curmudgeon kitbash dinosaur that still uses saws, styrene, glue and a file.

[peteski]

But honestly, for an F-unit?   You know, there are zona saws, and cutting up any given shell would be much higher quality result than that print.   But for some reason, using tools other than an RP printer seems to have fallen by the wayside here.

This inexpensive model is geared to early teens kids playing with whimisical *TOY* trains and tiny "modules" built using Kato Unitrak, not as anything close to being an accurate scale model.  I would not expect those kids to buy and cut up actual plastic shells.

But I do agree that  in general, the adult hobby has moved away from conventional kitbashing and scratchbuilding to RTR models.  However, CAD and 3D printing is the new scratchbuilding of one chooses to engage in something other than RTR models.  The cheese was moved and the paradigm has shifted.  What was old is old, and the new is in,  but those kids might someday become the next generation of serious scale modelers.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

But I do agree that  in general, the adult hobby has moved away from conventional kitbashing and scratchbuilding to RTR models. 

I was recently talking with someone in the industry about the decline in demand for undecorated models. I think the same applies to kitbashing though. People used to buy undecorateds because, unless they modeled the UP, ATSF or PRR they needed to in order to have models of the railroad they were into.

Nowadays, well, Atlas is on their second run of Black River & Western RS-1s.

When it comes to rolling stock, back in the day, if you wanted a GP39 you had to kitbash one. Now? Just wait for the container to arrive.

But with that said, I think people still like making fun stuff, and I think these absolutely lean into that.

[randgust]

Hey, I'm not against RP printed stuff.   Chris333 sold me on what he was capable of doing and my Porter is a living, breathing testament to that.

But a high quality saw job on a good casting is better than a low quality print.

And what still amuses me is that even with RP's, you still have some pretty fragile details such as handrails.  Better but not great, etching still beat a lot.   And all your RP still demands a pretty high reliance on paint and decals, which in itself has become a modeling struggle to obtain. 

[Jesse6669]

I was recently talking with someone in the industry about the decline in demand for undecorated models. I think the same applies to kitbashing though. People used to buy undecorateds because, unless they modeled the UP, ATSF or PRR they needed to in order to have models of the railroad they were into.

Nowadays, well, Atlas is on their second run of Black River & Western RS-1s.

When it comes to rolling stock, back in the day, if you wanted a GP39 you had to kitbash one. Now? Just wait for the container to arrive.

But with that said, I think people still like making fun stuff, and I think these absolutely lean into that.

Hmmm. well, in Z, and as great as AZL is at releasing new schemes and locos, I doubt I'm going to see any Indiana & Ohio stuff (whether original, RailTex, RailAmerica, or even G&W) painted locos.  I wish they'd do undecs so I won't have to soak a nice shell in stripper.   But that's ok, it's a challenge. 

As for kit-bashing--3D printing adds another option these days.  I am going to try getting my FM TrainMaster or E33 designs onto an AZL mechanism one of these days.   

[thomasjmdavis]

I'm assuming (apparently many are not) that the 3D print bodies are something they whipped up quickly for 'proof of concept', and took some photos of to get some chatter going on the net.  Given the numbers of these that (I suspect) will be produced, and since they have LOTS of F unit tooling, I doubt they would try to 3D print thousands of shells.  Or, if they do, it will be on some high speed 3D printer(s) that produce Kato level product.  I'd certainly expect the shell to be as nice as the one for that little boxcab oops, I meant steeplecab.

[nkalanaga]

Randgust:  You're not the only one still kitbashing, and scratchbuilding, the old-fashioned way.  I've tried a few 3D-printed kits, and never had much luck with them.  All of those I've tried to build were far to brittle.  3D-printed details seem to work OK, as they can simply be glued onto something.

[cjm413]

I'll pile on and say that yes, that chassis is exceptional.

And I even did something like that back in the 70's to fit on an Atlas Plymouth critter chassis. 

And you can't say this doesn't fit the mold, either:  https://www.republiclocomotive.com/rx500-industrial-locomotives/
and we did a long, long thread on those. 

But honestly, for an F-unit?   You know, there are zona saws, and cutting up any given shell would be much higher quality result than that print.   But for some reason, using tools other than an RP printer seems to have fallen by the wayside here.

Hey, I had a Piker in HO.  My first craftsman kit, did it at about age 10.  Still have it.

I seem to be developing into the curmudgeon kitbash dinosaur that still uses saws, styrene, glue and a file.

There is also no shortage of Bachmann F9's to purchase for dirt cheap and cut up, whether shells or complete units with the usual cracked gears.