Gorgon Armoured Transport Tracks

Well this ones sat there for some time without the tracks being added. I've has at least three attempts to create some tracks for it. Every time I've been unhappy with the end result and shelved it. I've also ended up putting the project on hold and sticking it away on a shelf to gather dust....

The picture above is the state it was left in February 2015.

So while browsing for bitz to detail some other models I'm busy with I found some really nice items on eBay.

onemannoodles is the supplier and his shop can be found here. While browsing through his items I noticed some tracks on a scratch built tank and they looked pretty much what I needed for my Gorgon Transport. After a few messages via eBay discussing the size and the length of total track I needed, he offered to cast the required amount for £12. Also as part of the discussion I asked if some of the vents he has produced were available with a diameter of 6mm. He didn't have any that small but would put some on his shapeways shop TheUncannyAutomaton. Within an hour he'd messaged me back with a link to the item in his shop.

Hopefully these and the Tank / machine detail parts should save me some time with detailing. Not sure how long shapeways take to deliver, i hope not too long.

So on Friday there was a nice parcel pushed through my letterbox containing the following.

He actually sent about three times the amount in the picture. With every dad favourite day fast approaching they sat on my cutting mat until Sunday.

So now it's Sunday and I get an hour to myself and start to dry fit the tracks. The width is spot on as he said it would be. So with a 27cm strip of plasticard I start to fix the tracks in place with a spot of ca. As you can see the end result is a really good fit.

I'll be able to finish the other side in the next few days and possibly start to paint the full model in the coming weeks.

There's a few other items I'm after from his shapeways shop which I'll post once I order them. I would really recommend looking.

3D printing and scratch building

Getting bogged down with trying to create some fine detail parts for all the scratch building I've got going at the moment, I've been putting together a couple of 3d printers.

Firstly there's the one that I can justify to my wife! It's a learning tool for the kids honest..

http://www.3dprinter-collection.com/default.aspx

At about £7 a week it's sort of affordable but at 90 issues it's going to be while before it's finished. The specs are ok, so should be a good general purpose printer and it has a decent size print area.

Next up indestructibles.com 

The first one is a nice design by a 13 year old in Canada! I've most of this built barring a couple of 3d printed parts that I need to order. Again it has a decent print area so it should be a good general purpose printer.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Edge-3D-Printer-V20/?ALLSTEPS

To print the required catch22 parts for these and anything else where you don't have a 3d printer I've used https://www.3dprint-uk.co.uk/. I would recommend them as they are pretty cheap and the quality is really good.

Lastly a 3d SLA printer. I really wish I hadn't seen this one since I haven't finished the other two yet. I've already purchased the DLP projector. £9 with some minor display spots. Seeing the quality of the pieces the creator has printed, I need to get this working soon. Having the ability to quickly create control panels, tank tracks, hatches and engines will be a huge bonus. I'll be able to spend even more time with the kids looking an the unfinished commercial 3d printer. 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Chimera-60-DLP-resin-3d-printer/?ALLSTEPS

If you have been using a 3d printer in your scratch building I'd really like to hear your experiences good or bad.