3D Printers are essential these days to upgrading and modifying our models... I mean, Shapeways is an amazing resource, but it does get costly... Heck, my little 1/350 Falcon kit cost ~$10US... The upgrades have cost me close to $100 :eek
Mos Eisley Docking Bay 94 1/350 Diorama
- Thread starter korben44
- Start date
3D Printers are essential these days to upgrading and modifying our models... I mean, Shapeways is an amazing resource, but it does get costly... Heck, my little 1/350 Falcon kit cost ~$10US... The upgrades have cost me close to $100 :eek
gt350pony66
Master Member
Indeed! I'm sure I've spent at least 1000 bucks at Shapeways in the past couple of years, likely more. I've built MPC Falcons that cost 25-30 bucks and spent 200 more in 3D parts and lighting...that's till I started making molds to duplicate upgrade parts, although, some stuff you just can't do that so you have to buy 3D.
And coming up next year will be my deago kit. I did the complete kit buy on sale for like 1200 bucks. it's taking up nearly half of my stash closet. I've picked out about 1200 bucks in upgrades I wanted for it. As long as I can get my hands on the files to print that stuff, the 600 dollars for the printer seems like a good investment for that alone to say nothing of all the other stuff I'll be doing with the printer. :thumbsup
And coming up next year will be my deago kit. I did the complete kit buy on sale for like 1200 bucks. it's taking up nearly half of my stash closet. I've picked out about 1200 bucks in upgrades I wanted for it. As long as I can get my hands on the files to print that stuff, the 600 dollars for the printer seems like a good investment for that alone to say nothing of all the other stuff I'll be doing with the printer. :thumbsup
That sounds like quite the busy schedule you've got! A 3D printer is definitely a must!
Of course the hardest thing with 3-D printing is getting good source files for what you need. There can be a steep learning curve in making the files
I've seen a couple sites now who offer prints, but also for a much cheaper cost, offer the stl files fairly cheap (like only a few dollars) for those who have their own printers
I've seen a couple sites now who offer prints, but also for a much cheaper cost, offer the stl files fairly cheap (like only a few dollars) for those who have their own printers
gt350pony66
Master Member
That's what I'm counting on. The way Bill talks it's that, and it seems like he's found some for free-gratta. Either way I'm thinking the printer will pay for itself in a year or less. Then of course, and I'm sure it's a learning curve, there are the programs you can design your own stuff though I'm sure that takes some skill and practice.
gt350pony66
Master Member
Yeah dude! done quite a bit of that myself :thumbsup I got a box full of MPC falcon molds
I was always intimidated by it... But I love it now.. Definitely going to do more in the future.
Britcinescribe
Well-Known Member
What’s the big, unused frame for?
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What set did you use to cast these? I was thinking of doing this, also.
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What set did you use to cast these? I was thinking of doing this, also.
Below the falcon is just a lamp...
gt350pony66
Master Member
Hey! That's the same brand stuff I use, cool. At least it looks like the same bottles. I'm fortunate to have a Reynolds Advanced Materials not too far from work. I've tried a couple different things of theirs and found that the "65-D" works better with intricate tiny detail. It mixes thinner therefore flows better and takes longer to set, but with that you get better odds of it actually getting into the tiny spaces. I hate mixing, pouring, waiting, then pulling a cast out only to find a void where the stuff didn't flow to. Unusable parts, wasted time and material :facepalm
gt350pony66
Master Member
That thing is going to be so freakin' cool! I may have to try a dio that scale myself, of course with you showing us how it's done it'll be a lot easier :lol I'm extremely interested to see you do the plaster. I'm hitting the wall a bit with my ice cave so I'm gonna refer to the "Tube" and see what's there. You know I made a joke on my thread about sending you my mini dio I made to map out the big one, and it looks about the right size...I may just get myself a 1/350 Falcon like yours and turn my guide pieces into and actual mini version of what I'm doing now and put it in my office at work.. Got the 3d printer on the way so I guess that's how I'd pull off the same scale speeders and Xwings. You inspire me to no end and I love watching you work my friend :thumbsup
You flatter me too much! I appreciate the Star Wars love, though... I'm not sure just how I'm going to approach the plaster part yet... I still have some buildings to construct and other things to do before that, so I have some time to think about it. What's great about doing this kind of modeling is that you just make stuff up as you go. Figuring out how to make things look halfway decent and resemble the movie at the same time is a definite challenge. I am really looking forward to getting my own 3D printer here soon. I already have my next dio planned and have been kind of hinting at it in these pictures. All I will say is that it's going to involve the shuttle Tydirium and Endor. Same scale as this one, too.
