AGO C-II and Caudron R-11

[RJG173]

Placed my first Shapeways order yesterday for the AGO C-II and Caudron R-11. However Shapeways tells me that they cannot print the observer witn Parabellum guns from ReducedAircraftFactory. No problem with the pilots or observers with Lewis guns. So the AGO will be defenseless, while the Caudron can take on all comers.

Now to sign up for a year's worth of Windsock Worldwide and Datafiles so I can get the Caudron R-11 datafile.

[phililphall]

I got the RAF German gunner from them. You might want to contact RAF and have them check.

[ReducedAirFact]

Placed my first Shapeways order yesterday for the AGO C-II and Caudron R-11. However Shapeways tells me that they cannot print the observer witn Parabellum guns from ReducedAircraftFactory. No problem with the pilots or observers with Lewis guns. So the AGO will be defenseless, while the Caudron can take on all comers.

Now to sign up for a year's worth of Windsock Worldwide and Datafiles so I can get the Caudron R-11 datafile.

Yeah, I've been fearing this would happen eventually. Those observers were designed back when Shapeways would allow much thinner "wires" than they do today (e.g. gun barrels, arms), as long as those wires were very short (e.g. <1cm). Since then they've changed the rules and doubled the requirement for wire diameter. Since the old design was "grandfathered", they would continue to print it. But as soon as I make an adjustment -- whether a voluntary improvement or a minor fix to a printability problem -- they subject the entire design to their current design rules.

So the bad news is that there's no easy fix for this. But the good news is that I'll use this opportunity to redesign them --- a high-resolution observer model, a variety of poses, and printable in either FUD (for accuracy) or WSF (for robustness), albeit with a much thicker gun barrel.

[Jager]

Yeah, I've been fearing this would happen eventually. Those observers were designed back when Shapeways would allow much thinner "wires" than they do today (e.g. gun barrels, arms), as long as those wires were very short (e.g. <1cm). Since then they've changed the rules and doubled the requirement for wire diameter. Since the old design was "grandfathered", they would continue to print it. But as soon as I make an adjustment -- whether a voluntary improvement or a minor fix to a printability problem -- they subject the entire design to their current design rules.

So the bad news is that there's no easy fix for this. But the good news is that I'll use this opportunity to redesign them --- a high-resolution observer model, a variety of poses, and printable in either FUD (for accuracy) or WSF (for robustness), albeit with a much thicker gun barrel.

Glad I bought mine a while back, then.
Karl

[jbmacek]

I'm working on some Parabellums right now... and I have gotten a set (maybe two) of Lewises in WSF that have printed. The detail isn't great, but hey... you get almost 200 guns.

[RJG173]

My order has arrived. Now the fun begins. I haven't painted models in quite a few years. I don't even know what diluted PVA is that people are talking about for sealing the Shapeways models.

[Zoe Brain]

My order has arrived. Now the fun begins. I haven't painted models in quite a few years. I don't even know what diluted PVA is that people are talking about for sealing the Shapeways models.

PVA - Elmer's White Glue I think it's called in the US. Glue-All. Poly Vinyl Acetate.

[Jager]

Craft stores carry glues marked PVA that might be a better quality (for this application) than Elmer's. Given the amounts used, a bottle will last you years, and have lots of other uses too (like paper planes).
Karl