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The sides were a sandwich of 4 laser-cut layers that aligned perfectly. Next time, I'll paint the individual layers first before gluing them together.

The floor and undercarriage was another sandwitch of laser-cut wood parts, plus 3D printed bolsters, queenposts, and brake gear.

After the 3D printed ends have been cleaned, they take paint very well. Paint tended to creep between the layers of the sides, causing them to warp slightly. The sides and ends were sealed with clear acrylic plastic spray.
Decaling was a tedious job I managed to put off for a month. On a nice, quiet Saturday with everyone gone, it went quickly and without major errors. I cut the large lower side decals into 3 smaller chunks for ease in handling. The decals were sealed with more clear acylic spray
The largest single 3D printed piece was the roof, which needed a little sanding to remove the ridges left by the 3D printing process. It also needed a thorough bath (or 3) in alcohol to remove the oily residue before painting.

I wanted to add seats and a simple interior, so conventional car weights were out of the question. I glued 1/16" brass bars just under the window railing both for the weight and to keep the sides and floor from bowing.

Håkan added a template for drilling holes for the car roof vents and a jig for bending the end platform railings, making both jobs much easier.

I added a decal of my own to the roof to represent the edges of the tin roof panels.

The windows have art glass (more decals) in their upper frames and there is screen for the clerestory windows. The window decals were sealed with clear Pledge acrylic floor wax.

HO modelers should get ready for more 3D printed kits. We've already gotten used to seeing 3D printed trucks and N scale equipment from Shapeways. It won't be too long before other HO kit developers start taking advantage of 3D printing's obvious strong points. As for the people who build the kits— well, I'm very happy with my results and look forward to the next kit.

Håkan is working on designing another car kit— another early Pullman. Check out the Eight-Wheeler Models website for future announcements. I hope I'm first in line.

One of the highlights of 2015 was when Eight-Wheeler Models announced the limited release of the Juniata, an 1884 Woodruff sleeping car kit. It turned out to be a superior kit that built up into a car that was a paradigm shift for HO 19th-century passenger models. The size, proportions, and detailing on the car are exact and make a lot of other kit cars— Labelles and such— look kind of primitive.

Like the Dayton, Håkan Nilsson designed the car for 3D printing and had most of the parts, including the amazing 6-wheel trucks, made by Shapeways. He used laser-cutting to make the wood sides and undercarriage.

At Håkan's request, I did the research and made the decal artwork for the car. Håkan had the gold-leaf decals professionally printed.

Shapeway's 3D printed parts are as crisply detailed as the best resin or styrene castings. The plastic is slick like Delrin— the trucks in Håkan's kit are incredibly free-rolling. I had a hard time keeping the car still for photos on a theoretically flat tabletop.

The 3D printing process leaves slight ridges lengthwise on big pieces like the roof. The plastic is brittle but not very resistant. It sands— and breaks— easily. I ended up using a finer sandpaper than I normally would for resin or styrene. Fortunately, the porous plastic takes ACC well.

The 3D plastic has an oily residue from the printing process. I learned the hard way that it needs repeated baths in alcohol and washing with dish soap before it's ready to paint. One bath is usually not enough. You can tell when the part is getting clean because it gets more opaque and chalky looking as the oil is removed.

After several tries, I found that ModelMaster white acrylic primer is a good sealer for the 3D parts. Håkan also recommends spray-on automotive primer. After the primer is on, any paint can be used.

Photos of the original car can be found in the Jackson & Sharp car builders' collection on the Delaware Public Archives website. Woodruff was an early competitor to Pullman, and provided luxury sleeping cars to a number of railroads until the company was bought out by Pullman in 1889. We were fortunate to have a written description of the colors the car was painted with— seal brown, with a light yellow roof and red trucks.
This is one kit where it really made sense to paint , decal, and seal every part before assembly . . . Take a look below and see what if was like to build one of these kits.
One of the joys of model railroading is a good craftsman kit— and for me, there are none better than these limited-run kits from Håkan Nilsson's Eight-Wheeler Models: the 1871 Pullman Palace sleeping car Dayton, and the 1884 Woodruff (later Pullman) sleeping car Juniata.
A master model engineer, Håkan utilized 3D printed parts of his own design, brass etching, laser-cutting, and custom decal printing to create his adventures in miniature car building. The results have to be seen to be believed. These are easily the most accurate and attractive HO 19th-century passenger car models made.
Knowing Håkan for a few years earned me the privilege of contributing the artwork for the decals, a process that involved finding old photographs at the Smithsonian and many hours of tracing from high-resolution photo scans. Rarely have I had so much enjoyment from a project.
The Dayton was released in a limited run in 2016. The kit featured etched brass sides and platform railings, laser-cut flooring and undercarriage, 3D-printed plastic ends, roof, platforms, and details. Because of the brass sides, no additional weight was needed. Almost every surface of the model was covered with custom-printed gilt decals. I added a rich Wine Red paint job and decals for the tin roof panels. I mounted the car on Eight- Wheeler Models' 3D-printed 6-wheel trucks. I also added just enough interior detail (seats from Selly) to show through the windows.

The prototype was one of George Pullman's early sleeping cars, built in 1871 and instantly a hit with the traveling public. Passengers were awed by the rich woods, carving and marquetry, gilt and etched glass, rich upholstery, and— O! Marvel of the modern age!— the ability to stretch out and sleep on a train.

The car had ten sections and an extra-fare drawing room (private compartment), plus "saloons" (lavatories) for gents and ladies. One outstanding detail— seldom if ever modeled— is the complex-curved roof ends, a style known in the 1870s as the "broken bull's-nose."

Pullman's Palaces were popular with visiting nobility like the crowd at left. A car similar to the Dayton was used by the Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil when he toured the United States.