3D Printed Star Lord Blaster Prop

[MEOWorksCreative]

Star Lord Blasters from Guardians Of The Galaxy! I think I've included every possible detail from different production and prop photos. Features the often missed flared out palm guard, barrel heatsinks, lower barrel "step" details, tiny back switch (the one that no one knows the function to), and many more!

Digitally sculpted, printed, finished (added screws/bolts etc), and now into final resin casting! Will have full unveil soon!

 

[renaissance_man]

You've managed to nail the emitter with its narrow walls (~1 to 1.5mm).
Most other renders have a very thick walled barrel which thanks to the blu-ray screengrabs it is now possible to see is slightly inaccurate.

 

[MEOWorksCreative]

Older pic of the lefty. Upper barrel had some initial length issues that was corrected. There was lots of sanding to be done!

 

[toxicvenom]

is there a high end model 3d printer out there that prints without the build up ridges
have a number of projects I want to do but dont want to have to sand and fill, is there
a Pro printer that will do this now? so as to get a good finished piece from the printer

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Just about any printer will require finishing. 3D printing isn't a "magic bullet" to where you can just press print and have a finished piece. That said, look into SLA printers which use resin and lasers rather than filament extrusion

 

[MEOWorksCreative]

Right on the money! FDM printers will always need a fair amount of post processing work. It's part of its charm haha. SLA is a bit better but the tech needs to grow a bit as well. Basically none of the consumer grade printers will allow for post processing free printing

 

[Talisen]

It's also a matter of time. I understand the Ultimaker will print as fine as .20 microns but it would probably take a few weeks to print something as large as a blaster.

 

[MEOWorksCreative]

Haha it's not that bad, though close! The trick is to be in the mindset when creating the props to have them printed via FDM because in doing so, you'll plan things out during the design and sculpting process to avoid a lot of support structures etc that waste both time and material.

 

[toxicvenom]

I am thinking about an 89 belt buckle and pods, If I go to a high end Pro 3D business what quality is the best at the moment.

 

[MEOWorksCreative]

Can't say for sure really. I've never honestly dealt with the Pro printing companies. Most will have a quoting system where you submit the file and they'll email you a price. They'll usually offer different machines and their capable resolutions. Of course you'd want the highest res you can afford, but they can get PRICEY.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Right on the money! FDM printers will always need a fair amount of post processing work. It's part of its charm haha. SLA is a bit better but the tech needs to grow a bit as well. Basically none of the consumer grade printers will allow for post processing free printing

I love PLA and for anything except super-detail work I prefer it to anything I've done with a "pro print shop" It's much more durable than the uv-cured resins and has better surface area than the commonly used nylon powders. (Protip: you can also glue it with plexiglass cement and the bond will be mega-strong.) I'm sure there are high-end materials that are both durable and clean in terms of print quality, but for anything that falls into the "affordable" realm I've found that you will be hard to beat a finely tuned "prosumer grade" printer if you keep to the high end.

It's also a matter of time. I understand the Ultimaker will print as fine as .20 microns but it would probably take a few weeks to print something as large as a blaster.

Layer height resolution is actually not that important. In fact, printing at 20 microns can be detrimental to the final result if you rely on precise measurements because the motors used for the Z-axis have a hard time actually keeping a consistent level that low. So if you're unlucky, you will end up with a print that is several mm off in height since even a small deviation per layer, spread over 1000s of layers makes a big difference. You also have to consider the XY axis, which as still considerably rougher, as well as the nozzle size. If you want truly good results with a prosumer printer (Ultimakers, makerbots and so on) it will still take a very long time to print, even if you do it at 100 microns, because so many other factors decide the quality besides layer height. (A typical time for me is 5-10 days for something like a Star Lord boot rocket or larger hand weapon/gadget if run the machine every night.)

I am thinking about an 89 belt buckle and pods, If I go to a high end Pro 3D business what quality is the best at the moment.

I actually made a functional printed 89 buckle a while back. For something like that you definitely don't want to use a material that is even the slightest bit fragile.

But steer this back on-topic, the print MeoWorks posted above will likely stand stomping on if it's got a good fill structure and it'll be easier to handle than resin all around.

 

[Soulinertia]

Nice modeling on the blasters. They look spot on :thumbsup

 

[MEOWorksCreative]

Thanks! Loving the discussion as well

 

[drumguy560]

toxicvenom

Shapeways has a "detail plastic" that is a resin based plastic. I think they use objet Eden printers for that stuff.

If you're looking to buy a pro unit, I believe EnvisionTec has the best surface quality on the market right now. In addition, they have a material that has pretty much all the properties of ABS, but these machines will cost you........a lot.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

@toxicvenom

Sh*peways has a "detail plastic" that is a resin based plastic. I think they use objet Eden printers for that stuff.

The frosted detail/ultra plastic is OK for detailed items but it is extremely brittle in thin structures and expensive. The other "detail plastic" they have is HORRIBLE. It's waxy, soft, often doesn't cure properly and will melt at the slightest sight of heat.

 

[MEOWorksCreative]

My apologies for the lack of updates. Life was a bit busy but now I'm back full time for my projects. During the past few weeks I was finally able to finish the blasters and now I'm post processing the raw casts. Here are a few shots of the progress during the past few weeks and will post up the final cast as they finish in the coming days. These pictures might show the blasters in rough shape, but I assure you they are near perfect in every way. Length is a little under 14", it's quite a BIG blaster in my hands, but I'm a small dude LOL. 12 (13 including the vent screen) parts in total (or 26/pr) and they either fit together nicely or have cross patterns to align the parts together during assembly. Please be on the look out in the project runs area for these to pop up, they will be extremely limited! Enjoy the teasers.