| As Shipped |
 The packaged parts as they arrived after unpacking from the box and foam popcorn.
Everything arrived in perfect shape. |
 The parts are covered with a coating of wax. This is the support material used during the printing process and can be removed with alcohol and a soft brush. Places like depressions where the wax collected need be be seen to as well as the holes. The coupler pocket assembly in the upper right has two holes that you can see from the photo are full of wax.
If you look at the bottom left of the sideframe (as seen in the photo, there is a slight ‘bump’ on the surface. This was an artificat of the printing process. In this case it could simply be sanded off but things like this need to be looked out for. If it had been in a place that I couldn’t easily fix then Shapeways is very good about printing the part again at their cost. |
| Bolt Heads |
 Here’s a close-up of the forward end of the side-frame with brass hex-head bolts (.5mm head). Just inserted .. not cemented yet. I figure some CAA from the bottom then clip off the extra length of shaft. They should work great and should reproduce nicely in a mold.
The bolts are “Simulated Hex Bolt 0.6mm Heads” from Scale Hardware. This is an excellent place for scale hardware (hence the name). The biggest problem I have is that the dang things are so small! |
| Sideframe Front |
 I’m getting ready to make a mold of the sideframe – using the 3d print as a master. I think I should say at this point that I am pretty much making this up as I go. I have made a couple of RTV molds (couple like two) so you need to take anything I am showing here with that in mind.
I had originally planned for a two part mold but .. I am going to try and get by without doing that. In the photo you can see the two rounded projections with the semi-circle cut out. These were for the springs and the plan was to use some small dia wire to replicate the springs. When I make the RTV mold, what you see will be on the bottom. The far side .. the ‘bit’ that won’t be seen will be the flat open-face. One question I have is how to get that surface flat when I pour the resin. I *think* that at some point after I should either scrape the top of the pour .. or lay something flat across the open face of the mold after the pour. I found an article which states that this surface can be slightly concave or convex depending on the pour. Meh. |
| Sideframe Rear |
 Here, I flipped the sideframe over so you can see the ‘back’. The spring pockets are clearly visible here. I will attempt to make a mold ‘as is’. If these pockets cause any problem I will simply fill them with clay and then continue with a second mold without any pockets.
In any case .. this surface will be glued down to a flat surface so the mold will pick up the detail from the other side. |
| Part III | Part V |