Imperial Start Destroyer Avenger 1/1600 - 3D Printing

Hi,

This is my first "kit" that I will work after years of not doing one. I've spent quite some time when I was young to do model kits and kit bashing. I own old kits like MPC one of the ISD, same for the Millennium falcon and others. I was more in the figurine stuff recently.

Then recently, I wanted to own again an ISD. I looked at the kit and all the new ones doesn't look nice, too small, not enough details, or difficult to find or very expensive. Then why not doing my own, using my 3D printers. I was also very lucky to visit the Star Wars identities exhibition in Paris which was presenting the Avenger. I took a bunch of photos and when back at home, I have been able to rebuild it through a 3D scan (I used the photos to produce the 3D scan). I had most of the references I was looking for.

I'm currently at the early stages of the production: looking to the proportions, building the main volumes. Then when everything will be done, I'll do a test print of the assembly, then I'll start the details part. It will be at 1/1600 scale, making a 100 cm model kit.

Some images. The 3D Scan:



The beginning of the main volumes. To be sure to have as much as possible the good proportions.



The first detailed part will be the deflector shield generator dome and see if the printer resolution will be fine for such part.

I'm giving a little bit more details on my website. You will also find the download link for my HD photos of the ISD Avenger: http://ultra.toys/2016/11/imperial-star-destroyer-avenger/

More very soon!

Re: Imperial Start Destroyer Avenger 1/2000 - 3D Printing

Just a suggestion. I have no idea what type of 3d printer you are using. But you might be able to save some time and material by covering the larger 3d printed parts with sheet styrene. You would get a better surface finish and it gives you a good base to add on more details and scribe panel lines.
So instead of printing one large solid piece you would print say the frame work, or cross sections for a part slightly smaller than needed and then cover it with .20 or .40 sheet styrene. It may require a bit of work to cut the sheets out though. Good luck with your project.
Thanks,
Michael

Re: Imperial Start Destroyer Avenger 1/2000 - 3D Printing

Mash3d: I have two type of printer, one which is FDM and another which is SLA.
The FDM let me print plastic pieces and I will use it to build all the internal structure and the whole external structure. Then I'll use the FDM printer which prints resin to build all the details which will be glued on top of the ABS parts.
Resin is very accurate and can be worked when printed (sanding, etc..), but it has a high cost per liter, then I need to take care about the whole process.

BTW, thank you for your suggestion!

Re: Imperial Start Destroyer Avenger 1/2000 - 3D Printing

Looks like you got a very good 3D scan result

Re: Imperial Start Destroyer Avenger 1/2000 - 3D Printing

The point cloud looks great! Which photogrammetry software are you using?

Re: Imperial Start Destroyer Avenger 1/2000 - 3D Printing

Thorst: I'm using Photoscan d'Agisoft. Very cheap and really powerful!

Re: Imperial Start Destroyer Avenger 1/2000 - 3D Printing

I found some time to start building some detailed parts. It's not that much, but it helps me anticipating what will be long to build or not.

Then I started with the shield generators and the main engines.



I did a test print of the shield generators and even if the printer has been able to print the small antennas, it's way to thin at this scale. Then I had to change the thickness. I may adjust later this part.

Some updates... I add to rebuild some parts as it was problematic for 3D printing with some very tiny parts, especially the antennas of the shield generators. I also moved forward on other parts like the main turbo lasers and now I'm focusing almost on the main deck (don't know the name in english, sorry, the top part..)

These are the Turbolaser. Not easy to find accurate references, but they looks close to what I have in my bunch of photos.



And a test print:



This is a photo of a test print of the shield generators. I'm happy to see that i'll be able to print the tiny antennas without issues this time. I slightly bend them during the manipulation, I'll have to be extremely careful when I'll do my final prints.

Oh, this is awesome. And excellent way of incorporating the actual model into your build. Fantastic.

Some update. I'm going way slower than I was expecting because of the lack of free time (crunch time at work currently...) Also, it takes so much time to compare what i'm doing with the original model and trying to be as close as possible to it. Speaking of that, it's fun to see the liberty that some model kit manufacturer are taking with their production

For now, I'm on the engine part. I did all the core items and I started to build multiple parts that I will reuse all along the project. Then I hope it will speed up the process.

I really like the shape of this one. Can't wait to see more.

That is awesome. Love the detail in the prints so far. :cool

B-e-a-utiful work so far