It turns out that one of the benefits of having your own 3D printer is that you can afford to experiment a little bit. If a part doesn’t work out the way you thought it would, you can modify the drawing, export it, and try again. There is no 10-day wait, no shipping charges and – critically for Canucks – no brokerage fees.
I had already printed a sand dome via Shapeways, but somehow neglected to make any provision for the sanding pipes themselves. Now, I could have fashioned some plastic or metal tubes to fit against the dome to house the ends of those pipes, but then I plan to make at least one more of these 4-4-0s, so why not modify the drawing and print?
While I was at it, I decided to experiment with the sanding pipes themselves. I didn’t actually expect them to work, but as you can see, they worked remarkably well. Ordinarily, I prefer metal for fine sections like this, but these pipes are snugged up tight to the boiler, and protected by the injectors and the handrails. They should be fine.
Pembroke:87 
What printer did you get Rene? Very cool and if the domes don’t work then you could sell them a jellyfish.
Thanks Neil. It’s an Elegoo Mars
top photo had me thinking jellyfish?! Nice work.
Thanks Rob. Myself, I thought they looked like the Martians from War of the Worlds.
As the price of 3D printers go down, they move up on my wish list.
For me the deciding factor was the shipping from Shapeways. Crossing the border contributes an additional $20 in brokerage fees. It doesn’t take many shipments to pay for your own 3D printer.