Let me start off by saying that my layout is a “caricature” of life, spawned out of my head. Any similarities to the real thing are merely a coincidence.

That being said, I had a small area where I wanted an oil depot small tank farm. The tanks are made from 4" PVC coupler and cap glued together. The ladders and railing on the tanks are 1/2" wire mesh (hardware cloth). That is where I was stuck before I got a 3D Printer.

The 3D printer was less than $150 including free shipping, http://r.ebay.com/MsizlX, so I jumped on it and it gave me the inspiration and needed materials. I made all the pipe fittings, tank hatch, stairs, platform railings, gate supports, and pallets. The pipe is 1/4" ID PEX (almost 1/2" OD)

The chain link fence is made from 1/8" rod and metal mesh screen shown below. The lighting is LED, overhead lights made from 1/8" brass tube and scrap plastic.

Here are the results.

Hey, that works! That ground level image looks grand.

What a wonderful little tank farm… Nice work… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Great work Mike!

Pretty kewl!

That looks great. The fencing just sets the whole scene for me. It looks very realistic. Thanks for sharing. I got a 3D printer about a year ago and I don’t think it has stoped printing for more than a few minutes at a time. I keep it very busy.

Thank you all y’all!

I don’t know how I lived without the 3D printer, LOL! This project sat with just the tanks done since last summer and I didn’t know how I was gonna plumb it to make it look OK. In two weeks of the printers arrival, this is where I’m at.

Unfortunately, next week the RR gets put away for the summer as I migrate north until October. Everything but the track gets stored. BUT, I’m taking the printer with me to work on other structures while away from the RR.

I agree …the fence really does set the scene as Dan said. Nice work Mike!

" Rooster " said:

I agree …the fence really does set the scene as Dan said. Nice work Mike!

For the fence construction, the roll of mesh is 6" x 25’. Available at Amazon, Lowe’s, etc. I cut it down the middle to 3" or 6 scale feet. Now I have 50 real feet of fencing.

I planted the 1/8" rods and used 20 gauge bare copper wire like a “twist-tie” to attach the mesh to the poles (top and bottom) until tight using needle nose pliers. Then cut off the excess.

Then I added a drop of super glue to the wire ties.

Probably would look better with a top rail added, but I’m OK with the look as is, and I’m lazy, LOL

Nicely done! Love it!

Gorgeous work, Mike! And nice job with the 3d printer and plumbing, very cool.

Is this going to be like a diorama on your layout that you can bring indoors for storage? Or will you leave it outside all year?

[edit] Oops, just saw that you are storing things, good deal.

A lovely project which I am sure helps spur some of us in to doing something of a similar nature - even if not a good.

Cliff Jennings said:

Is this going to be like a diorama on your layout that you can bring indoors for storage? Or will you leave it outside all year?

[edit] Oops, just saw that you are storing things, good deal.

Yes, here it is in location for a week! I didn’t bother to really set in the road and track since it’s so temporary. Tonight I’ll get some photos when the lights come on.

So cool, brilliant plan Mike!

Well done Mike I like the gate you’ve made too.(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Mike,

Your guard railing on the top of the tank in the foreground is slipping down!

Very impressive Mike! Love that fence and wow, doesn’t the 3D printing change EVERYTHING? I find myself going to Thingiverse just looking for stuff to print…and sometimes I have to design it myself. I’m not so good at THAT, but your stuff looks great.

Joe Zullo said:

Mike,

Your guard railing on the top of the tank in the foreground is slipping down!

oops, I have to fix that before it goes back out in October. Trying to get that hardware cloth to come out right was a PITA. That was the plan before the printer. Hey maybe I’ll 3D print some new railing over the summer! I’m taking the printer with me.

Bruce Chandler said:

Very impressive Mike! Love that fence and wow, doesn’t the 3D printing change EVERYTHING? I find myself going to Thingiverse just looking for stuff to print…and sometimes I have to design it myself. I’m not so good at THAT, but your stuff looks great.

Thanks, I’ve only been 3d printing for 2 weeks, but I have some designs, https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2879286. Do you have any to share?

Mike McLaughlin said:

Cliff Jennings said:

Is this going to be like a diorama on your layout that you can bring indoors for storage? Or will you leave it outside all year?

[edit] Oops, just saw that you are storing things, good deal.

Yes, here it is in location for a week! I didn’t bother to really set in the road and track since it’s so temporary. Tonight I’ll get some photos when the lights come on.

I noticed this on the video you posted a couple weeks too. That fire hydrant in the background looks out of scale. Looks almost big enough to be a real one (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif).