Star Wars TFA - Flame thrower project (WIP)

[Daniel Nelms]

Well like many here I LOVE Star Wars, I always have. From the I was a small child in the early 80s making lightsabers and spaceships from cardboard and junk around the house, this stuff has always fascinated me. And while the materials and techniques at my disposal have changed over the years, it's still that same passion that drives me forward. After watching TFA in the theater last year, I knew there was at least one piece I really wanted to tackle, that of the flame trooper's gun and tank pack.

I talked to my partner Ironmaniac about it and he too was thrilled about the possibility so I set to work modeling the gun in Fusion (rendered above). It's taken me several months, mostly because of the lack of time to put in on it (we've had a lot of commissions and custom work to do lately) but I am finally close to something that I think I'll be happy with. I've started 3D printing and assembling the parts and have begun the slow process of finishing the 3D printed pieces. I'll try to keep this thread updated as I go.



Piece by piece, putting it all together. I am using a product I bought from a UK supplier called Finissage from SLS 3D. It's a paste similar to 3M's glazing putty but a little thicker and seems to dry/set up a little harder. So far I am liking it. As you can see from the picture above I still have ALOT of work to do...

Sorry about all the watermarks, but I've had people try and rip off my pictures before.

 

[Daniel Nelms]

Picture time! Still so much work to be done.


In the end this is going to be pretty big so I have to cut up the model and print it in pieces.


Each part gets glued to another.



The most time-consuming thing is doing the finishing work on the prints. That's what separates thing from having that 3D printer look to being nice and smooth. It may not look like much now, but just wait...

 

[Daniel Nelms]

Hey everybody I just thought I would post a quick update. Most of the parts are printed. Now I have to do the long and arduous task of finishing the 3D prints.

 

[Halliwax]

oh this is going to be good! can't wait!

 

[camprandall]

This is great! I'm actively trying to figure out how to make one of these without spending crazy high costs on printing. Are you interested in selling a raw print set that someone could clean up for themselves?

Thanks!

 

[Daniel Nelms]

This is great! I'm actively trying to figure out how to make one of these without spending crazy high costs on printing. Are you interested in selling a raw print set that someone could clean up for themselves?

Thanks!

Sure but it still wouldn't be cheap, this bad boy took well more than a week and over a spool of material to print. It really is quite large lol. PM me for a quote if you like.

I've got the parts in the garage priming and sanding. All the parts are done except one that my mother in law accidently knocked off the table and broke it, it wont be too hard to repair. What slows me down is the finishing more than anything else. If there is any flaw I'll know it's there and it'll drive me nuts!
But at the same time I know that no matter how long I spend on a project it'll never be perfect, and like everything else I've ever made I'll end up secretly hating it for that reason. This is the constant internal battle of wills within me. When is good, good enough?


We might do a run on this if there's interest.

 

[camprandall]

PM sent. Thanks!