When I was a kid, Dad would entertain me in those long hours put in waiting for trains which never ran by making up wagon codes. For example, BWH was Bloody Wheat Hopper. BCHs were Bloody Cheap Hoppers, WHs were Wobbly Hoppers. An FS carriage was Fairly Slow, but a ride on a BS carriage was Bloody Slow. RU wagons were just Real Uglies. But this one is not. It is the future.
This week a little parcel arrived containing a 3D printed RU. I was skeptical about whether a 3D print could achieve the level of detail needed to resemble a RU, given its angular form. But the person responsible - Shaun Davies - has nailed it in my opinion. Here is the wagon straight out of the bag, just sitting on a couple of wheel sets (i.e. after one minute of work).
With only a few free moments this weekend, I hit the wagon with a coat of spray-can undercoat, then another of Monument. Disaster struck when I realised I didn't have RU decals, so I went for a temporary fix - UL (ULs were RUs recoded in 1967 to carry limestone from memory) and I model 1968 so the day was saved. I also went for a fictional wagon number, just to get the thing running. Finished off with a quick Dullcote and some couplings, and it is now running around the layout - as happily as any model and far more obediently than the prototype. Here it is with a first run Trainorama RU on the left (black) and the later run version on the right).
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I have already blogged enthusiastically about the future of the hobby in a 3D world. It is a cleaner, more efficient and less wasteful way of manufacturing. And I think I have written about my unease at having unskilled labour sitting at tables in factories, day after day, pushing tiny bits of plastic onto small bits of plastic. 3D reduces some of that form of manufacturing. These are pluses for the product in my view.
As to the model, the detail is crisp, there is nothing to file or sand, and the wagon lines up well against the Greg Edwards Datasheet dimensions. Minimal work is required to get the wagon running - just removal of a small amount of flashing on the undercarriage, painting, decalling, wheels (24.7mm axles recommended) and couplers. The steps and rungs are thicker than the Trainorama versions, but this makes them more apparent and, importantly, robust. At $20 a wagon plus postage through eBay, this is value for money.
If you are interested, you can contact Shaun through eBay (search for shaun8998). He has a range of HO and N gauge models on his site from time to time, including an S wagon and a CHG van.
So, I reckon Dad may have gone for Ugly but Lovely as a UL code. Even though I am trying to thin the collection, I can't see myself stopping at just one of these.
Cheers
Don
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