Kadee Conversion - 3d printed pilots for MTH ES44AC

Back in town now, here are some pics of the fit check. I haven't cleaned the parts or anything yet, so they still have some of the waxy finish on them.

Front:

Rear:

Clearance to the truck is close, but works:

View from the underside on the body shell:

And with the coupler mount:

Eric

Eric, Looks fantastic! 

David Minarik posted:

Eric,

Just a side note:  You can easily remove the old coupler mounting boss on the premier 2/3 rail truck by unbolting them.  I only learned this after cutting MANY off. LOL

Thank you for doing this!  I cannot wait to get my hands on a set!

Dave

Mine were definitely part of the main casting, it turns out, and not removable:

Before:

After removal:

I really like the design of the 3/2 trucks, for the most part. I love that you can disassemble them almost completely for cleaning or maintenance (or for attacking with a hacksaw... )  Very serviceable. The only thing I dislike is the exposed gears on the side, which tend to pick up crud over time.

Has anyone tried using these pilots on a mth ac4400cw? I think they are pretty similar to the Es44ac, which I recently completed.

Very nicely done!

what sort of plastic are the pilots 3d printed in ??

do they hold up to impact reasonably well ?

Please could I get some advice from you guys ? I would like to get some reasonably accurate modern diesels from MTH in two-rail. Are they all pretty accurate models or have they taken liberties with any of the paint schemes ? If somebody could post their opinion on which of the MTH modern diesels are basically good accurate models that would be a great help. 

Jon

LoganUP1982 posted:

Has anyone tried using these pilots on a mth ac4400cw? I think they are pretty similar to the Es44ac, which I recently completed.

That looks awesome in UP colors. I really need to finish my own, lol.

No advice on the AC4400 though, as I don't own one.

wvgca posted:

what sort of plastic are the pilots 3d printed in ??

do they hold up to impact reasonably well ?

It is the Shapeways frosted detail acrylic. It is plenty strong for the structural parts like the coupler mount. The detail parts with slim cross sections, like the hoses and so on, are fairly delicate.

So if by 'impact' you mean hard coupling or something, yes they will be fine, as the loads are carried through the structural coupler mount. If you crash into the side of the thing with another engine or something, probably not so much.

The AC4400 series have the exact same pilots as the ES44 series engines- 

Logan,

The ES44 looks great. Nice work. The MTH AC4400 uses the same two rail pilot as the ES44, so Erik’s parts should fit exactly the same. 

RM

Thanks! Just wondering because there are multiple mth Union Pacific AC4400CWs on eBay that are 3 rail, but not 2 rail.

thor73 posted:

wvgca posted:

what sort of plastic are the pilots 3d printed in ??

do they hold up to impact reasonably well ?

It is the Shapeways frosted detail acrylic. It is plenty strong for the structural parts like the coupler mount. The detail parts with slim cross sections, like the hoses and so on, are fairly delicate.

So if by 'impact' you mean hard coupling or something, yes they will be fine, as the loads are carried through the structural coupler mount. If you crash into the side of the thing with another engine or something, probably not so much.

Be careful when you handle the engine, because I have already broken the draw bar and two hoses. they are easy to glue back on, but just be careful.