Rick Bacon posted:As to 3D printing; I've seen some good stuff, but as of today most of the offerings are still lacking in the finish. The stratification issue is improving, but not enough for my cash. O scale is more susceptible to stratification (the lines or ridges visible on the surface due to the layering process of the printers) due to the mass of the parts. I believe the large smooth area of the fuel tank would be difficult to deal with the layering effect.
My personal model building preference is styrene, so I personally want compatible details. Injection molding produces the highest quality finished parts, but has the highest tooling costs for this level of quality. If it was my investment project injection molded styrene would be my path. I used to tell the local Snap-on dealer, "if I ever win the lottery, you would be a millionaire!" I'll tell the O scale world nearly the same thing, my win makes more O scale product!
Due to the "Stratification", I have yet to see any 3D printing that is anywhere near the quality of a good injection molded plastic model or anything that I would purchase. I'm not saying that it is not out there, I just haven't seen it.
My building preference is also plastic/styrene. The plastic models that I build have detail better than any brass/cast metal part that I have used. However, the brass/cast is a very close second (light years better than 3D print) and they definitely have their place when it comes to building in the the brass medium. I would welcome either of these two forms of detail parts.
