3d printing has become a big player in the gaming space, offering a range of miniature you-name-it to add to the table top options currently available. As a modeler who occasionally games with his models, I have resisted the urge to jump into this space, tending to lean on established suppliers, tools, and methods.
This past June, my spouse encouraged me to get a 3d Printer for my birthday. I did some brief research and, based on my anticipated use and recommendations from other users, bought a new Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra. It has been a Journey of Discovery...
With a minimum of research and preparation, I set out to start Printing Things and apply some old Fashioned OJT to learn the tricks. If you have the interest and ability, you may, by reading the rest of this post, learn without as many failures. Caveat Emptor...
For those unfamiliar, my printer uses liquid resin and prints upside-down (SDA - xx xx xx printing), drawing the model from the vat of resin as it prints, as opposed top a filament printer (FDM in printer parlance) which prints using a stick of heated filament, printing from the bottom-up.
I quickly began looking online for free STL (Stereo lithography) files to try my hand a printing. I found a nice WWI German A7V and set about to print it (pictured below)
What went well - Produced a reasonably detailed model in a scale (~ 1/56 ) I already game in.
What I learned -
- Always check actual desired dimensions in you chosen scale before you start, else you'll end up out of desired scale.
- Use the "hollow" function on your slicing software. This model makes a great paperweight filled with lots of expensive and not-fully-cured resin inside.
- My first print used a water-washable resin. I used an aluminum pan and a large paintbrush to wash the print before finish-curing, priming, and painting. Finish curing? Yes, your model isn't finished when it comes off the build plate. Excess resin must be cleaned off somehow. And we are cautioned to wear gloves, masks, don't get it on you, don't pour it down the drain, etc etc, and here I've just created about two quarts of wastewater. We'll cover "so what Do I Do?" below.
All-in-all, I was impressed that I could turn out something in scale not readily available over the counter with reasonable detail.
Next Up, why not a Wings of Glory-scale (1/144) aircraft? I found an STL file and went for it.
(Propellers, separate, not shown)
Given its size and delicacy, I was surprised I could get it to come out that well. Let me explain...
How big is too big?
As I mentioned, SLA printers are best at small, high detail pieces. If you want something larger, it has to be printed in pieces. If the smallest piece is too large, and you still want it full size, say, a Mauser C96 pistol from WWI?
What I learned -
- There is a relatively simple, free application online that you can use to create and modify (somewhat simple) STL files. The receiver on the C96 was too large to fit inside my print volume no matter how I turned it - so I used Tinkercad to cut it in two. Printed it in two, and glued the halves together. Using Tinkercad is outside the scope of this post, btu there are a ton of how-to videos on YouTube.
- As an old school modeller, I should have know this already, but - putty used as filler may continue to shrink for up to a week after application. It will look fine, sand dry, and take paint well. Then you loo kat it in a few days and there's now a little line where the barrel joins the receiver where there wasn't one after the paint dried. (Go ahead, zoom in, you'll see it ;-) )
- You can make some pretty convincing wood grain with paint. The grips were primed in gray; A few black "grain stripes were sprayed on, and when dry, covered with acrylic artist colors in a tube with a stiff-ish brush, allowing the underlying colors to show through like grain. For a change, I DIDN'T want nice smooth coverage with a brush...
Jagpanther
Back on the track of WWII armor, I wanted to supplement one of my favorite (yet un-modeled) pieces of Armor, the infamous Jagdpanther. Low slung, big gun, mean profile, and always looked great in silhouette on the cover of Avalon-Hill's "Panzerblitz" back in my youth.
What I learned -
- Part orientation when printing is an art. You'll notice there are no side skirts (they have since been (re) printed). Remember what I said above about supports and orientation? add in the effect of the duration, intensity, and wavelength of UV light needed to finish curing your prints. I'd just been waiting for a sunny day, sitting it outside for an indeterminate length of time, and then flipping it over like cooking flapjacks and waiting for it to be "done". This rather casual approach can lead to parts warping, especially if they're thin and flat... The stuff is brittle, there's no bending it back. More scrap.
This Time It's War
Been a science fiction movie fan since watching Family Classics on Sundays as a kid (You got a few each year, War of the Worlds, Tobor The Great, The Time Machine, Mysterious Island, etc.) This carried over in to adulthood. Id' love to model some of my favorites for sci-fi-dom, but they don't always make it into styrene or even vinyl, and often not in volume. Doggone it, I'll 3D print them!
When I found an STL for the Aliens Dropship, I had to do it. This was the first time I printed a kit that then had to be built...
- Printing clear parts is doable. This will require careful consideration of print orientation (minimize "turkey skin") and a method to smooth out any print lines. And adjusting the print parameters for clear resin. The manufacturers page will have recommendations, but they won't have them for all printers, yours in particular ;-) So if you don't like the result, adjust and try again. As for surface finish, they recommended I paint the cured print with a layer of resin and re-cure it. As I was still use old Sol to do my curing... it didn't wok. Stayed gooey. So I went to the old model builder's bag of tricks and used acrylic floor finish. I'll say more about that later. In any case, gives a clearer and shinier clear piece.
Last of the V8 Interceptors
Where do car models and dystopian fiction intersect? In the outback, after the nuclear apocalypse, of course. A man, his dog, and a car...
What I learned -
Buckle up, I got taken to school on this one, it's a bumpy one.
This was a set of STL files - you are printing a kit of fairly complex shapes which must fit well. The design is well engineered. My printing skills ,well, ...
- Optimizing resin settings - This would be the last model I printed without looking up optimal settings for the resin used.
- Curing - this would be the last model printed using sunlight and luck to finish curing the print.
So what do I use now? A dedicated wash and curing station, with specific wavelength UV light, timer, and rotating platform. What you can't see on this finished model is the degree of distortion I had when assembling the rear half of the car body. Simply put, the roof halves didn't fit, not even close:
.jpg)
It was off in all three dimensions, even though it fit well at the tail panel in back. And this is after doing a bunch of sanding to grind off the excess material that pushed the roof up and out. Took a lot of putty, sanding, and waiting to get that gap closed and smooth.
- Part sizing. Parts that fit one inside the other can cause problems. A lot of tabs had to be sanded down, slots enlarged, and items filed down to get the pieces to go together.
- Order of assembly - as a commercial "paid for " kit, this came with instructions. Best to not just read them, but think through the entire assembly process and make sure it works for your build, particularly when it comes to detailing, painting, and weathering. Some pieces are designed to be assembled in a specific order, and to change that may require modifying the pieces.
- You can sand, polish, and add gloss coat to clear plastic printed parts. Of course, on this model, a shiny windshield had to be masked and dirt added because we know it's dusty in the world of the Road Warrior.
Classics Illustrated, anyone?
Yes, once upon a time they published literature in comic book form. My favorite was War of the Worlds. The Martian tripods had a very mid-century styling that looked futuristic in the 60s. And the files were a free download.
What I learned -
- The kit may not be complete enough for you. The prominent antennae were absent, so scratch build the additions.
- Use hollowing to lighten the pieces and reduce resin used. Keep in mind which way is down when printing, and use your slicing software to "drill" a hole in a low point so the liquid uncured resin can drain out as it prints.
- Even if you use a parts washer, it will take some time, a day or more, for all of the liquid to drain out of a hollowed part. The larger the part, the longer the drain time. If you're hasty, it will continue to drain and remove the paint and primer you already applied. Be patient. No, more patient than that. Just a bit more. (unless you have some sort of centrifuge...)
That Figures.
My sons and I paly a tabletop game called Zombicide, a simple, fast playing contest between human survivors and endless hordes of Zombies. We often digress, wondering how this or that fictional character would fare in that environment, so I thought "let's find out" and began searching for STLs.
Ash Williams of Evil Dead fame. Clearly a zombie-killing machine.
The Ghoul from Fallout (TV) a survivor of a nuclear apocalypse world filled with hostile men and creatures.
Dutch from Predator, who could packs an outsized arsenal and can outsmart an advanced alien hunter.
What I learned -
- Don't trust the STL file description for scale. Decide on the height you want and don't forget to account for things like Ash's shotgun held above his head when measuring height for scale.
Lunar Landers Part One.
We've already dabbled in H.G. Wells' milieu with WOTW; why not First Men in the Moon? Inspired again by a vintage film, the 1964 version, I'd always been found of Lionel Jeffries' Professor Cavor and his Cavorite Sphere. Is there an STL file for it? Of Course!
What I learned -
- Not wanting a solid model, I used Tinkercad to hollow the two halves. I didn't install an interior, but I could have. I also made the railroad bumper pieces one percent smaller so they would insert into their holes better.
- Should have decided on how to paint the shutters before I installed them. D'oh!
The Death Dealer
Frank Frazetta was a highly influential artist, doing book covers for example the paperback release of the Robert E. Howard Conan novels in the 70s, rock music album covers, etc. One of his creations was called The Death Dealer, a dark armored figure on a demonic horse. Commercial 3d productions of the figure are rare and expensive. Why not print one?
What I learned -
- Pay close attention to the model as it appears in the slicer with supports added. look for any bits that project out from the main body that auto-supports don't support, and add some, else you'll end up with a milliput horse tail and a lead foil battle axe.
Ehrenbecher
What if you want a 3d model of something and one does not exist? You'll need to draw one, have one drawn, or have an original item scanned. All have pluses and minuses outside the scope of this post.
When an Imperial German pilot score his first victory in WWI, he was awarded and honor goblet (Enhrenbecher). A silver goblet with a scene of fighting eagles and an inscription "The Victor in Aerial Combat" (Dem Sieger Im Luftkampfe). Real example are rare and fantastically expensive. So I collected a library of photos of some of the existing examples and had a STL file drawn.
What I learned -
- Resin is not as sturdy as metal. Some portions may need to be reinforced, not left actual thickness.
- What looks like a smooth surface probably isn't. To get a mirror finish takes patience and many grades of wet sandpaper.
You can DO That?
As our readers are aware, my Brother and I model, and share progress with each other. He had been doing a series of contract builds and had shown his client some of the stuff I was printing. "Could I print a large scale model of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica?" Well, yes, as long as the largest piece is not larger than my print volume. (Or we start cutting things in two).
What I learned -
- Parts that fit entirely inside other parts can be printed 2% smaller and fit well without looking out of scale. Unnoticeable. The tab A slot B problems still require lots of filing to fit.
Lunar Landers Part 2
Having completed a number of Sci Fi projects, and feeling more confident, how about trying something more challenging? Say The Aires 1B Lunar Lander from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I already had a full-size, talking HAL-9000 and an Orion space plane - why not add this ?
What I learned -
- Take your time and think through the orientation and supports. Largest mass portion prints first, keep supports inside as much as possible, and orient each of the four body pieces the same way to keep distortion consistent. Go re-read the Elegoo blog post on resin settings, supports, and orientation. The sphere parts had to line up on all 23 axes. I still ended up with some fill, but not a huge amount.
- As above, if a piece fits entirely inside another piece, reduce its size by one or two percent.
- Test fit, test fit, test fit.
Speaking of vehicles for pursuing Zombies
After something as involved as the Aires, something simple and easy can be a nice change of pace. I thought why not add some 3d vehicles to replace the 2D cardboard vehicle counters in Zombicide? A Humvee for the zombie apocalypse is not out of place, and for fans of the Call of Duty Zombies Cold War franchise, a Lada Riva
What I learned -
- Apply the lessons you've already learned.
- Sometimes quick, easy, and simple is just the ticket to fun.
In for a penny...
With a couple of the 2001 vehicles already in the stable, why not go Big? Welcome, Discovery!
What I learned -
- You can print Big Things if you can slice it into chunks
- When you do, be careful to orient your pieces such that they distort on the same axes, otherwise you'll have fit issues.
What's Next?
First, a break from 3D printing. Something old school requiring no software or hardware.
Then?
Always wanted a model of the Bluesmobile....
Stay Tuned!
