The flat cars, despite being scratch built the old-fashioned way, were jig-built so that the loads can be swapped. The trick is to confidently locate the stake pockets in a 3D model to locate the stakes themselves.
I started by measuring, and then printed a couple of test loads on the FDM printer. Its resolution is too low for the final product, but test prints were about ten minutes each, which is amazing compared to the twenty minutes it takes me to set up, remove, clean and cure a resin casting.
Then I printed a small load of lumber complete with stakes to see how that would play. The answer is it plays pretty well, but it is difficult to get all six stakes into the pockets unless they taper to nothing. In the end, I may find the stakes can’t protrude from the bottoms of the pockets if the loads are removable.
Having said that, the ragged ends and sides of the loads look great, and I’m looking forward to painting them and finishing these cars’ long journey to completion.
Pembroke:87 