Hey all,
With the two Standard Issue pistols on the way I was inspired and decided to tackle this "little" project. (Not so little as it turns out, which is why i suspect there have been so few made!) I'm trying to push the boundaries of what can be done with 3d printing and am preparing some sort of "mythbusting thread" about it as a lot of folks seem very skeptical about the technology (for one, no one seems to want 3d printed kits and I don't think it's only down to the high cost, lol). This seemed like a perfect project to push some boundaries regarding detail.
I did a whole lot of searching for photos and found a lot of variants out there. Most versions (even the small original) seem to be hand-cast and i wanted to see if I could come close to the hero prop used in the closeup FX shot but still keep it small. Well, after a hole lot of work, here are the first results.
Parts have been printed in sterling silver and plastic. So far I'm REALLY liking the silver. The photos show the "raw" silver pieces. There are some very minimal print lines there that will be buffed out but the detail is amazingly sharp. The plastic version is also visible in the photos and has received a first-stage coat of paint. Keep in mind that these are small. The holes for the rods are only 1mm (about 20 gauge) in diameter! I found a few dark-blue glass beads with tiny silver specs in them that kinda made them look like space.
Now I just have to assemble the things... time to start bending 1mm rod... stay tuned for more progress!
With the two Standard Issue pistols on the way I was inspired and decided to tackle this "little" project. (Not so little as it turns out, which is why i suspect there have been so few made!) I'm trying to push the boundaries of what can be done with 3d printing and am preparing some sort of "mythbusting thread" about it as a lot of folks seem very skeptical about the technology (for one, no one seems to want 3d printed kits and I don't think it's only down to the high cost, lol). This seemed like a perfect project to push some boundaries regarding detail.
I did a whole lot of searching for photos and found a lot of variants out there. Most versions (even the small original) seem to be hand-cast and i wanted to see if I could come close to the hero prop used in the closeup FX shot but still keep it small. Well, after a hole lot of work, here are the first results.
Parts have been printed in sterling silver and plastic. So far I'm REALLY liking the silver. The photos show the "raw" silver pieces. There are some very minimal print lines there that will be buffed out but the detail is amazingly sharp. The plastic version is also visible in the photos and has received a first-stage coat of paint. Keep in mind that these are small. The holes for the rods are only 1mm (about 20 gauge) in diameter! I found a few dark-blue glass beads with tiny silver specs in them that kinda made them look like space.
Now I just have to assemble the things... time to start bending 1mm rod... stay tuned for more progress!
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