I've done tha AS416 and DRS 4-4-1500. These fit on the Atlas Kato drive. The wheel base is only slight short, a foot or so if I remember correctly.
U30B,U33B, U36B to fit Atlas' U23B mechanism. Also U33C, U36C, C36-7 to fit Kato's U30/C30-7 mech. We all know there's plenty of mechanisms out there thanks to the great paint job on the ATSF blue/yellow and Kodachrome warbonnets!
I personally don't see the difference when it comes to being off a foot or 2 in scale feet. It can't be that god awful off. Anyways, what is the development cost for sending something to shapeways? Because I am in for a couple of centercab transfer units.
Ok. All kinda different, but an N scale CF-7, low nose GP9 and various Genset switchers. None of these are as good of suggestions as most of the above (with maybe the exception of Gensets--modern switcher used by almost everyone), but they'd be cool to have.
Thats how I got started, I suggest you work your way through some of the tutorials and if you are still interested buy the idiots guide, I still refer to it now and then.
Sometimes the compromise has to be made and things are a a a few inches off, a lot also depends on how good the original drawings you work to are. As for development costs - it is research time, drawing time - which can amount to 100 to 200 hours depending on what you are drawing and how complicated things get, i.e. compound curves are a bit of a time consuming pain to get right. Once drawn it is a test print and a check to see you have got it right and make any alterations. I could draw a truck and process it for printing in about 6 hours, the first truck I drew took about 20 hours.
"It can't be that god awful off." Atlas thought that it wouldn't matter when their first version of the GP7 and GP9 were produced to fit on the ALCO RS3 frame...
How much would it cost to develop the Baldwin Centercab? I have been trying to get this produced for some time. I can live with a few scale feet off..... I know some one mentioned the atlas units, but you also have to remember the time that they were produced. Back in the day it was what we had to work with... and yet they sold like crazy. So even if it was off, it still sold!
RandGust made a kit for a CF7. It fits on the existing Atlas GP7 chasis and you need a non dyanmic brake Atlas GP7 as your starting point. The wheel base for the GP7 is 6" too long for a CF7 but in N scale you will never see that. I apporached Atlas several years ago about making a generic chop nose GP7 and basically got told to go pound sand. The rep explained to me there wasn't enough market for it as not too many class 1 RRs had them. I think he needs to go back and look at some of his RR books. I think GN was the first class 1 to have some chop nose GP7s. They were both wrecked and as a result of the rebuild the shops lowered the short hood on them. There are photos of at least one of them in the GN color pictoral Vol 2. (I think) Ryan
Round 2! An RS36, a late RS3, SD50S, SD60I, Dash 8-32B, and a N&W streamlined K2A 4-8-2, PR43C standard and wide cabs, also road slugs would be a great 3D printed shell, I would especially go for NS RP-E4C and RP-M4C's.
A Baldwin AS-616 would also be great. I would take at least 2. That way I could biuld my second favorite logging RR.....The Rayonier.
I started working on a Crandall Cab conversion, but I'm having some issues with the nose Sketchup doesn't seem to want to full in some of the panels...I need to try to figure out why.
"...a late RS3..." A late RS3? Its been done!!! Bill Denton doesn't always toot his own horn but his work is top quality... not Shapeways but cast resin... http://home.comcast.net/~skytop35/Models/rs3.html Now all we need is some short hoods that feature early and late dynamic brakes, as well as a high nose with both the steam generator and dynamic brakes...