HO scale Ore Car

thingiverse

This is my take on the ore cars typically found in iron mining regions of the US. In this case, I used an LS&I car for inspiration. I created this car with the intention of making something that would look good coming off an entry level FDM printer. The car is printed in 7 parts. The sides and ends need supports. This allows for the very thin ladder structures. Your printer needs to be dialed in tight to get this one right. I printed this on an ender 3. The main bin and floor can be printed at standard settings, but for everything else, use .12 layer height, and go slow, like 20mm/s. I use gel super glue for assembly. The bin fits in to the floor of the car, and this bit needs to be right. Insert it a couple times so that you get it nice and flat before you use adhesive. I put down a piece of aluminum foil so the glue does not stick to my work surface. The sides simply rest on the side of the bin and the floor. Pro tip, put paper clips or thumb tacks through the holes in the frame to help guide it straight on to the floor. You will need slim coupler boxes because the trucks stick out from the ends of the car. You can use my coupler_box_athearn_cover.stl file from here:https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4737909 You will need to purchase the metal covers, this is Athearn part number ATH90602. You can use any narrow coupler box, but you may need to add spaces to get the right coupler height. It took me a LONG time to model this. Please be a decent human and give me credit if you are going to remix.