Jayne Cobb's "Vera" from Firefly (3D printed parts - Image Heavy)

Wow.

Not much more to say...

That is a stunning piece of workmanship right there. It's obvious that you were on a mission with this build.

I'm intrigued by 3d printers, unfortunately they do come in at a higher price point than I can swing. Besides, I'm not sure I'd be able to knock together the required 3d files to make anything as cool as Vera!

Modeling Vera is actually more time consuming than difficult. Pretty basic shapes. The hard part is extrapolating the hundreds of measurements needed since there are so many parts.
 
Amazing work!! I am always amazed at the projects I find on here. I recently learned that you can use Acetone to smooth 3D prints. Here is the link I found, MakerBot Mystery Build: Smooth Move, Ferguson - YouTube Keep up the good work!!

Interesting. I was wondering about that, actually. I'm not very fond of sanding for hours... Thx for the info!

And Vera is looking mighty fine!!

"I wonder what I could use this for??" sent from my TF201 via Tapatalk HD
 
Thank you for the additional kind words.

Yes, getting measurements to work out right when figuring out how to mesh components together with each other, the base AK rifle body, the metal barrel, and the stainless straps that make up the stock... yeah, that was the challenge.

Once the drawings were complete, printing, painting, and assembly were pretty standard. (This was my first attempt at faux wood grain, though).

I've tried the acetone trick to smooth printed objects, but it's tricky, and the results aren't always great. Too much acetone, and the object melts, too little, and it can just discolor. I found that printing with extra "shells" (outer layers) prepared the parts for sanding and really smooth cleanup.

I've also printed items in color and then coated them with spray lacquer (then clear coat)... these parts turn out nice, but the texture from printing is still visible. It really comes down to what you're looking to accomplish.

I'll be taking some costumed photos today as a test. I'll post some when I get a chance. :D
(Honestly, "test photos" is a way of saying "I can't wait any longer to play with my new toy.")
 
Okay, here are some quick and dirty shots of me in costume with Vera, so you can see the real scale of this piece. I'm 5'9" (much shorter than Adam Baldwin), and Vere is 36" long from the butt of the stock to the tip of the suppressor.

"It is my very favorite gun."


The sling should help me manage her for hours at a time over the 3-1/2 days that are Phoenix Con.
 
Dig the costume! Vera adds so much to it!

Thanks for the words on the rest of my costume. Last year, I suited up as Jayne for a day or so... but so did about 3-4 other people I encountered. None of us really had anything to set us apart. I aimed to change that for this year.

Special note: I also have a complete gen 1 set of metal castings pulled right from castings of Jayne's Boo (actual screen-used pistol)... but I built Vera first. Boo will have to wait. Vera is so much more visually impressive, even if it isn't cast from screen-used parts. :)
 
Thanks for the words on the rest of my costume.
Last year, I suited up as Jayne for a day or so... but so did about 3-4 other people I encountered.
None of us really had anything to set us apart.
I aimed to change that for this year.

Special note: I also have a complete gen 1 set of metal castings pulled right from castings of Jayne's Boo
(actual screen-used pistol)... but I built Vera first.
Boo will have to wait.
Vera is so much more visually impressive, even if it isn't cast from screen-used parts. :)

What with the lack of Firefly/Serenity postings on the RPF,
and the new layout that makes it even MORE difficult for me to navigate;
I'm just now seeing this VERA build-up.
Just a few comments:

1. Absolutely gorgeous! What a great job from concept to realization.
Also, super job documenting the process.
Sometimes I think we forget the work that goes into the creation of a project
while basking in the glow of the completed piece.
I know that I love going back over the "in-process" shots of some of my builds;
in part to re-appreciate the work that went into them, and sometimes to think,
"Whew! I'll never do THAT again!"

2. The RPF is a great resource with a lot of traffic, and that has its good and bad.
I'd suggest mirroring your build threads at fireflyprops.net ? Index page
It is all Firefly all the time, slower moving and more of a reference resource for Firefly topics.

3. I can't offer any solid advice on selling either the printed pieces or the 3-D models,
only some general observations.
Letting the 3-D files out is purely personal; do you want this to be yours-only,
or do you want others (computer savvy and with printers) to share?
I think this is too high-effort-low-return to engage recasters;
especially the "plop it in silicone and resell it" lot like Coolmodels.
Many will be interested in parts until they see the cost.
I know nothing about 3-D printers,
but I'm wildly guessing a "no labor just materials" printer parts cost of $350 to $500.
(And believe me, you won't hurt my feelings if you tell me I'm ridiculously low in my estimate.)
I'm finding with Firefly, anything over a hundred bucks takes the interest lists to less than a dozen.
My point?
Any decision you make to share will likely be a builder-community choice more than a business choice.

4. And finally, far as VERA setting a Jayne costume apart; yer durn tootin'.
There are probably a few dozen metal Boo's, a few hundred resin ones.
There is one metal VERA and less than a half-dozen rubber stunt VERA's out there.
I think even if you did a run, there would still be under two dozen VERA's in the world.

Thanks for sharing such a special project,
Mike
My Firefly/Serenity Collection:
SerenityMovie.net :: View topic - Firefly/Serenity Weapons Collection
 
How much do they weigh?

Being made from mostly plastic with only a few metal bits (barrel, steel straps in stock), she's only a few pounds... totally manageable.
Most of her weight seemed to be added with the use of Apoxie when I was shoring up hollow places in the airsoft body to attach printed parts.
 
I know nothing about 3-D printers,
but I'm wildly guessing a "no labor just materials" printer parts cost of $350 to $500.

I'll chime in here since I suspect that I'm (possibly) responsible for that guess. ;) The makerbot that these parts were done on uses fairly cost-effective ABS plastic, so a single part would cost nowhere near that to produce. My estimates were based on using HQ detail plastic at a place like Sh*peways. The downside with the ABS extruder printers is of course the texture, but I wonder if some really good spray-filler might not take care of that.
 
It turned out great. Just spot on.

Am I the only one that thinks, 'Now that we're seeing more and more Veras, I wonder if someone could do a custom fullbore autolock with a different paint job"?
 
1. Absolutely gorgeous!
...
I know that I love going back over the "in-process" shots of some of my builds;
in part to re-appreciate the work that went into them, and sometimes to think,
"Whew! I'll never do THAT again!"

2. ... I'd suggest mirroring your build threads at fireflyprops.net ? Index page

3. ... Letting the 3-D files out is purely personal;...
...Many will be interested in parts until they see the cost....

4. And finally, far as VERA setting a Jayne costume apart; yer durn tootin'.
There are probably a few dozen metal Boo's, a few hundred resin ones.
There is one metal VERA and less than a half-dozen rubber stunt VERA's out there.
I think even if you did a run, there would still be under two dozen VERA's in the world.

In response...
1. Thanks... I can't take her out somewhere fun and show her off in person this week. Also, from about the 50% mark to about the 90% mark, I also get the feeling you describe of "I'm never doing this again." or "What did I get myself into." But that all washes away when I can see the finish line... and it's completely gone when I get to show off my work. :)
2. I may just do that. Thanks for the tip. I didn't even know about that site.
3. I doubt I'll be posting/sharing my 3D files... same as the all-metal builder (joatrash). I wouldn't care as much if I could be guaranteed that others wouldn't use my free work to profit themselves.
4. Yeah, I'm proud to be one of the few Vera owners. When I built my first proton pack, I was a member of a huge community of owners... but when I built my first full-size Ecto Containment Unit, I was one of maybe 3 people who had tackled the challenge and won. I feel just about the same with my Vera build... I'm one of a few. :)
 
I'll chime in here since I suspect that I'm (possibly) responsible for that guess. ;) The makerbot that these parts were done on uses fairly cost-effective ABS plastic, so a single part would cost nowhere near that to produce. My estimates were based on using HQ detail plastic at a place like Sh*peways. The downside with the ABS extruder printers is of course the texture, but I wonder if some really good spray-filler might not take care of that.

Yeah, the cost to print really isn't that much. 1kg spools of plastic are under $50usd. I don't know how long the machine will last before it wears out, but even allocating a few dollars per print would cover machine wear and electricity.

You're absolutely correct about the MakerBot extruding process leaving a texture on the pieces. I successfully sanded a lot of the texture off of my parts, but I didn't do all of them perfectly... texture was left in some places. My next build will be much cleaner, because I'll have more time to polish.

Sandable primer for plastics by Krylon does help fill the voids as you spray and sand... I'd recommend it highly if finishing a MakerBot sourced piece. It works really well. *Also, printing with extra "shells" on the parts (which print hollow with a lattice structure inside) will allow for more harsh sanding while ensuring you don't break through the outer layer or significantly weaken the part being sanded.
 
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