Between the Holidays, the rush to finish projects at work before the new year, and of course taking more than a few trips to the North Pole on our locomotive sleigh, I haven't had much time for trains or hobbies.
However I am very motivated to get things back on track. Like I have said before I tend to start more projects then I end up finishing but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up on them. Currently projects like my HO scale model of 3025 and WDW Train Station are still lost in moving boxes. I know, I know its almost been a year and I haven't unpacked but there are more important things that needed to be addressed before I can have fun with the trains.
One aspect of modeling I have been really focusing on has been my growing collection of 3D printers. That's right I said Printers with a (s)!!!!!
I few years ago I acquired a used Dremel 3D20 PLA printer on Ebay.
It has served me very well printing random things like dice, replacement parts for old toys, or even little figures for board games. The Dremel 3D20 PLA printer can print in fine quality however the layers are still not small enough for fine scale models. This is why I haven't really used them for model train parts. I tried printing a 4-wheel truck I designed for a HO scale VRR couch and it was just too noticeable for me to be happy with it. I'm not trying to be a rivet counter about it but the layers made it look cheep and nasty. This printer is good for items that can be a little rough around the edges or don't have a lot of small fine details that might get lost in the different layers. While its not the best for train parts it did wonderfully this Christmas season printing out custom ornaments that I gave out to family and friends.
This printer has done wonders for me but I couldn't really shake the itch to get another that would allow me to print HO scale parts and not pay out a small fortune to places like walthers or Shapeways. This lead me to look for a UV resin printer. There are a few on the market on amazon but they can get very expensive very quick.
The one I ended up setting my sights was a Anycubic Photon S.
Its listed on as a middle of the road printer when it comes to price and quality. There was two factors that pushed my hand to buying my own, a strong recommendation from a model railroader magazine contributor and a Black Friday deal I couldn't pass up. It took a few weeks but it finally arrived last week and I cant wait to set it up and run some test prints. Once it is up and running I make a post comparing the two printers. Until then Happy New Year Everyone and see you real soon!!!!
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