Revisit to Rapido UK USATC S160 'Omaha' oil fired conversion

 

10/10/2026

Revisit to Rapido UK USATC S160 'Omaha' oil fired conversion

I was not happy with my first effort so I decided to go back to traditional modelling with plastic card. I think the effort was well worth it!

 

Rapido UK USATC S160 'Omaha'

 

28/07/2026

 

Rapido UK USATC S160 'Omaha'

My S160 arrived in the post a couple of days ago and it sounded awful like a bag of rusty spanners. After a prolonged running session on Wednesday eventually the mechanism has bedded in! That’s the longest running in period I have experienced. During the running the front buffer assembly fell off, I refitted it yesterday with a tiny spot of superglue I did notice that only one pin had been glued at the factory. On the whole niggles aside what a stunning model eventually I am very pleased. I am converting it to oil fired as per the real ‘Omaha’, I cannot find any descent photos of the full size conversion but my understanding is the tank fits into the coal space. So with a little artist licence I 3D printed a stepped plate to cover to top of the bunker and added a filler cap. This just sits in place and can be removed with out any modification to the tender.

40 foot Bailey bridge

 

21/07/2026

40 foot Bailey bridge

 

Being an ex Royal Engineer in the 60-70’s and built these beasts for real it was only fitting I should make one. I found some files in the web for a 1:100 scale bridge. That was the staring point each file way re-drawn to 1:76 scale by 131.57%.

The components parts were merged in the 3d print slicer to form one side of the bridge. Both sides were assembled in a card jig to make sure the transoms aligned correctly. 5 stringers were fitted to each bay 30 in total.

I use EMA plastic weld to join my PLA printed parts. The chesses are actually printed as a block of 13 I felt this would give the structure one strength.

 

 

Moving on

 

20/07/2026

 

Moving on

It’s been a while since my last blog post — life’s been busy with a mix of projects and a couple of brilliant holidays to Norway! Back on 22 March 2025, I treated myself to a Bambu Lab A1 Mini 3D printer and promptly fell down the rabbit hole of learning CAD.

3D printing has opened up a whole new world for my modelling. I’ve been churning out wheelie bins, station waste bins, skips — you name it. By spring 2026, though, I’d definitely outgrown the little A1 Mini, so on 25 June 2026 I upgraded to the full Bambu Lab A1.

I have to say, 3D printing is seriously addictive. Once you start, it’s hard to stop!