DeAgostini 1:1 Studio Scale Millenium Falcon Support Group and Info

I'm not trying to slam anyone's work, because I have shapeways parts myself, but there is something a little off about that cockpit cone compared to the 32" that I can't quite put my finger on after looking at the photos. Comparing photos I actually think the overall shape of the DeAgostini looks closer to the original filming model. IMO

There are a couple of shapeway cones available, one seems more accurate than the other. My only fear is that if the plastic is unstable then a lot of work can disappear after a couple of years. So , the only option would be to buy the shapeways part and then cast it in resin? That is a lot more work and money involved.
 
I guess I'm thinking out loud but here goes - After researching the Bio-degradable printed plastic "problem" I have discovered Shapeways offers many different materials including metals and ceramics - I am wondering why there seem's only to be a few choices when it comes to ordering the part's - I'm glad this topic came up as the right choices now could prevent tears in a few years.

http://www.shapeways.com/materials

Cheers.

Dave.
 
I'm not trying to slam anyone's work, because I have shapeways parts myself, but there is something a little off about that cockpit cone compared to the 32" that I can't quite put my finger on after looking at the photos. Comparing photos I actually think the overall shape of the DeAgostini looks closer to the original filming model. IMO

Shape is identical to Deagostini. Exactly the same size and shape. I only changed the details, as i'm pretty sure they got the dimensions correct to the filming model, so shape is identical, but the details correct to the filming model.

I know what you mean... I see it too... the printed cone is more accurate to the 5' footer. However, something I have noticed is that they made the ESB cockpit longer then the ANH cockpit by about a foot.

Honestly, my nose cone has basically nothing in common with the 5' model.

Thanks for that input Kokkari, I was just thinking of purchasing that cone. As you know, most of us don't have a MR or a filming model to compare
and it's tough to decide just by judging from pics.
And knowing that you own an MR's replica, I will go with your judgement :thumbsup Thx!!!

Please don't get me wrong, because i absolutely love the Master Replica Falcon, but that nose is also wrong. If you want to compare the nose cone then you must be looking at the filming model, and not the Master Replica.

Thanks for the feedback guys and gals. Very much appreciated, and anything anyone can come up with where there are differences, i will change them. I really like having feedback, as it makes for a better model, so keep em coming.

Here are a few quick comparison pic's. I couldn't get exact angles and perspectives, but it give you the idea. Also i can remove the bottom pic if needed, as i don't know who the owner of that original pic is, to ask if i could use it in this comparison.

comparison_003.jpg

comparison_001.jpg

comparison_002.jpg
 
Here's a little bit of information about the pros and cons of some of the plastic materials available from Shapeways. While they offer parts printed wide variety of materials, only a few of these are really usable for making models and props.

White Strong and Flexible - this is a laser sintered (fused) nylon material. Very strong and very durable. It's also Shapeways cheapest material since it requires the least amount of handling and they can bulk load a lot of parts in a single build volume. The term 'flexible' really only applies to thin section parts, in thicker sections it's quite rigid. The build resolution of this machine is 100 microns which is a little thicker than a sheet of paper. this layering is most visible on curved surfaces. Because these parts are made from fusing powdered plastic together the resulting surface has a slightly sandy granular texture, kind of like a sugar cube. You can finish the surface smooth using spray primer and wet sanding but it's a PITA and really not suitable for small finely details parts. But this can be a good material for props. Shapeways offers a smoothing post process for this material in which they put the parts in a vibratory polisher with ceramic polishing media. This will smooth the surface but also round over sharp edges a bit. The smoothing process doesn't reach into inside corders. The colored Strong and Flexible plastics are the same material as the white, just dyed after printing.

Acrylic Plastic - Parts are made from a liquid acrylic plastic polymer which is polymerized (turned from a liquid to a solid) using either a laser or ultra violet light. I believe the resolution of these parts is 100 microns, so stepping will be visible on curved and angled surfaces and it's not really appropriate for super fine detail. The material they call "transparent" is really translucent, not clear.

Frosted Detail Plastic - Shapeways offers two versions of this material, Frosted Ultra Detail and Frosted Extreme Detail. Both can yield really beautiful model parts. The resolution of the Ultra is somewhere between 25 and 50 microns which is very fine, but the build layers can still be visible on curved and angled surfaces. The resolution of the Extreme plastic is 16 microns, which is amazingly fine and any visible build layers will likely be filled in when painting. These parts are made by depositing a liquid resin layer ba layer which is then solidified by UV light.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, UV cured resins are not 100 percent stable and can warp, distort, discolor and get brittle with age. For small detail parts this is unlikely to be a problem. For larger parts, parts with thicker sections and structural parts, possibly more so. Keep this this in mind. The best long term solution is to use the 3D printed part as a patterns to be molded and cast in urethane resin.

Shapeways also offers parts printed in Castable Wax. This is the finest detail (and most expensive) printing material they offer. Intended for jewelry parts the surface finish is exquisite! Detail parts can be printed in wax and then molded in silicone and cast in resin. But the wax is fragile and for model parts, probably not really any better than the Extreme material discussed above.

Now if you want the ultimate in 3D printed longevity Shapeways offers parts in Silver, Gold and Platinum!

Hope this information helps.
 
Shapeways also does Brass (Cheaper alternative to silver & gold) I printed my enterprise zipper pulls in the brass & they came out great!
 
Yes, Brass is a great solution for parts that are going to be handled a lot (on props and such) or really delicate model parts like antennas, etc. Like the precious metal parts (Gold, silver and platinum) brass parts are investment cast. The part is first 3D printed in wax which is then cast into a plaster block. The wax is burned out in a kiln and molten metal poured into the cavity. the same process used to make jewelry.
 
DaveG This isn't entirely on topic, but since you're talking about resins and prototype printing I thought you might best be able to answer a question. I bought some Bondic to try as a filler for modelling. Here's a link to their site for those not familiar with the product..

http://notaglue.com/

It's a thick liquid that you set in seconds with an ultra violet light. Then you can carve and sand away. This sounds a lot like the resins that are cured with UV light in 3D printing. Is that the case as far as you know and if so, are there likely to be long term consequences to using this stuff in a build?

Thanks for all your very useful information!

David
 
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I've not tried Bondic but I've seen the adds for it. Pretty sure it's a formulation of UV cured resins. I doubt you'd have any problems with it holding up long term in the kind of quantities used for filling.

The real issue with UV cured resins is that when printing they don't get 100 percent cured at a microscopic level, and that in time, as the very small trace amounts of uncured resin set, the part can warp or distort a little. Also, since the resin is cured by UV light, it remains susceptible to it's effects. If left unpainted, the resin can yellow a bit and even turn brittle. Paint model parts shouldn't have much problem in this area though since the paint will shield the plastic from UV light. Also keep models out of direct sunlight anyway, thats the biggest source of UV light around.
 
DaveG - Would this apply to FUD plastic too? - So if it's painted, there would be no UV effects over time?.

Regards,

Dave.

A good priming and paint should prevent the Frosted Ultra and Extreme Detail parts from getting brittle from UV exposure but larger parts may still warp or distort. It's really hard to say how much. I'm just throwing this out as a caution. We'd all like our Falcons to be as nice in 10 years as they are when finished in, uh, two. (Damn, that does seem like a long time to wait!)

The best thing would be if someone designing parts could partner with someone to mold and cast them and do a run. Would probably also be cheaper per unit than the direct printing costs. I'd be in for that!
 
A good priming and paint should prevent the Frosted Ultra and Extreme Detail parts from getting brittle from UV exposure but larger parts may still warp or distort. It's really hard to say how much. I'm just throwing this out as a caution. We'd all like our Falcons to be as nice in 10 years as they are when finished in, uh, two. (Damn, that does seem like a long time to wait!)

The best thing would be if someone designing parts could partner with someone to mold and cast them and do a run. Would probably also be cheaper per unit than the direct printing costs. I'd be in for that!

That's exactly what i'm doing with my parts.

If i can clear a space and time, then pretty soon i will be offering everything exactly in this way. I have some masters coming to me right now.
 
That's right DaveG Supercruise VFX Freak

If you protect the Frosted Ultra Detail and FED from light -UV radiation- with paint, the plastic isn't affected by the UV. The same case if the parts that are closed on a non transparent box: these parts are not affected by the solar light or bulbs light -UV radiations-.

On other level, super strong materials like Kevlar, become brittlle and fragile under long exposure to UV. It must be protected by another fabric layer. So there's no surprise.

3D printed parts can have a post printed process: just expose them to an UV source for some minutes, to allow curing totally the resin.

Some 3D DLP resin printers have an accessory that's a post-curing UV lamp, like the Kudo3D.

About Bondic, I've already purchased it. It's very useful and very easy to use. Simply fill the gap you want will a small layer of resin. Put on the UV led and apply the light on the resin for some seconds -10 it's OK-. Apply another layer of resin and more UV light. And so on. You can do your own shapes too. It's like a manual 3D resin printer. it's the same principle. I've just write this on my Facebook page yesterday -search 308 Bits-.

https://www.facebook.com/308bits/posts/1628544450708132?notif_t=like

Just my 2 cents.
 
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The strength of Bondic is about the same as 5-minute epoxy. Only it cures instantly and you have a much finer way of applying it and there's no messy premixing. Would you say that is accurate?
 
The strength of Bondic is about the same as 5-minute epoxy. Only it cures instantly and you have a much finer way of applying it and there's no messy premixing. Would you say that is accurate?

Yes, that's right. And no smelling fumes. No odour.
 
do you have a link to your parts?

Hi there. At the moment i have a couple parts on Shapeways.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/Q3QFQ4SJ3/millennium-falcon-nose-cone-deag-studio-scale

I've made a lot more though, and will have them cast after i get the masters. I was aiming for as close to layerless printing as i could get, before making masters and casting. I'm close to doing this now, so it's just time.

I've almost done with the exterior for now, and will be moving to the full interior soon. The exterior i was making two versions, both bolt on bolt off for the Deagostini frame. One version with hull plating, and the other with hull plating and all the greebies. These are old CAD's now, and i've practically finished them. The blank parts were just place savers, so ignore those.

Worth a note about the nose cone. I drew it at the same time i drew the cockpit tunnel, and everything lines up perfectly as it should with all of the panel lines, and plates and notches.

mf_00057.jpg

mf_00056.jpg

mf_00058.jpg
 
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