Homestake Models

Free File Friday is back! You can download this week's files from my Thingiverse page here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6035461, and you can also visit my blog/website linked below if you'd like.
I'm working through a backlog of post ideas, but I wanted to make sure that I started putting out downloadable files again. This week the subject isn't quite what I had scheduled, but I think a lot of people will like these anyway. As some may know, I've been building an On30 diorama of a depot kitbashed from Lionel's Rico depot kit. To populate the diorama with details, I'm 3D printing my own files for the majority of the pieces.
This week I've got 13 files to make 11 different detail parts:
Telegraph
Telegraph sounder
Telephone (with speaker/earpiece)
10 foot ticket desk (L shape)
8 foot wall desk
60 inch office desk (repeat from last month)
Desk lamp (nano LED can be inserted through the base)
Pot-bellied stove (nano LED can be inserted through the base)
Open ledger book
Wall clock
36 inch door (doesn't open, you glue it to the wall instead)
All files are made to "real life" size, meaning that they must be scaled down before printing. For instance, O scale is 2.08%. I've got a growing body of information which you can read about on my blog:
https://homestakemodels.com/?p=785

Originally supposed to be published last Monday, I've finally gotten around to my weekly project update on my M&StL caboose project which will eventually be for sale exclusively through the South Dakota State Railroad Museum in Hill City, SD.

Anyway, here is a link to the post for those interested in eventually getting one of a limited set of unique cabooses made with a combination of 3D printing and hand-crafting:

Update 4/24/23 – Homestake Models Update 4/24/23 Leave a Comment / Caboose 1208, Updates / By JamesWillmus “The Peoria Gateway” and the “Tootin’ Louie” were common nicknames for a smallish midwestern railroad whose flag fell in 1960 when the Chicago and North Western bought it out. I’m describing, of course, the Minneapo...

"Free File Friday" was a little late this week, but for good reason! The files I was designing were a bit more detailed than in previous weeks, so they needed some extra work. Anyways, I've got four files today that can be used to make an 8x12 shed or a 12x20 bunkhouse on the 3D printer. All that is lacking are roofs, which can be easily scratchbuilt with minimal materials.

Go ahead and download the files off my thingiverse page and, if you have time, feel free to stop by the website to have a look through my blog post (and the rest of the site).

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5988130

https://homestakemodels.com/?p=571

Structures should be printable from HO to O scale without many issues, though N scale will likely need some extra attention. Also, these files are "life sized", meaning that they need to be resized in the slicer program before printing. For O scale (1:48th), a size of 2.08% is ideal.

For Monday's product update, we're looking at a truly unique 3D printable product. A set of tiny modules that works with Kato's
"Pocket Line" N scale track which can be 3D printed at home! There will be about 12-13 files in the initial product package which can be downloaded and printed at home, at school, at a library, or at a friend's house with a filament 3D printer. My testing has proved that basic PLA filament is plenty strong and durable enough for extended use.

Check out the post below:

https://homestakemodels.com/?p=565

For "Free File Friday" I've been working with the theme of "street details". Of course, model roads have all kinds of details to be added, and so I went with four of the most common objects I've seen while navigating residential and suburban streets. These are fire hydrants, USPS boxes, drains, and manholes. There's all kinds of electrical and telephone stuff too but those can wait for a future date.

Head on over to my thingiverse page to get this week's files: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5971297

Also, a quick note. These files are made to roughly prototype dimensions, and therefore need to be reduced to your modeling scale for printing. So if you have 1:48th scale, like me, that would be 2.08% (1 / 48 * 100).