Mass Effect Hornet

Shep

New Member
To give a little background on this, I am a big Mass Effect fan. I have tried a few ways of making props, from pepakura to mdf. My skills in making are pretty low so I hit a brick wall.

I moved over to 3d printing a year-end a half ago, initially using a dremel ideabuilder and pla, then building an I3 clone to run abs (to make sanding a bit easier).

If you want to make a 3d printer from scratch. Check out toms3d.org my I3 is based on this only using metal where he used wood.

My set up is as follows
Fusion 360 for the 3d drawings
Simplify 3d for the slicing (this is expensive, use a free slicer)
Clone i3 for printing
Hatchbox copper colour abs 1.75mm (I used 2 kilos, but this included a lot of failing and testing)

I am new to fusion 360 so we will call this my interpretation of the gun. I set out with the goal of creating a 3 layer sandwich, the core would be 1cm thick, with the side details in sections. Meaning I could sand recessed details, but I would need to fill seams running the entire perimeter of the gun. IMG_20170622_142100_423.jpgIMG_20170625_104242_219.jpg
 
My aim with the design was to include a removable magazine with a working mag catch and a trigger with some sort of 'click'.

I made a test print as a trial, at 120% scale, this ended up being huge, more rifle scale than Smg. This also highlighted some issues with my tolerances, the mag is a little too big (a few millimeters) and the actual catch could be a bit bigger.IMG_20170711_200507_848.jpgIMG_20170626_165719_155.jpg
 

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This was my first full project from 3d drawing to printing then finishing, in total I have printed the central chassis out 3 times, the first wasn't straight (due to the way I sanded the edges of the separate pieces). The second was better, but not perfect and the third was the best, but still not perfect. My learn from this is to create registration areas, but that can be for the next project.

There are 50ish separate parts and I made a few changes as I was printing, this included the rounded section behind the barrel.

I printed the parts 1 at a time to get the best resolution, the central 'H2'part was split in 2 and a complete bi**h to get straight. I was printing directly on an aluminium bed with multiple substances trying to get it flat. I ended up giving in and spending £30 on some buildtak - which I totally recommend.

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Wonderful work. I always loved the lines of this weapon, all those little hard surface give it such a great profile. Very nice work. How large is the grip? Does it fit the hand well (those enclosed grips are not always the most comfy)?
 
The rear grip is really good, the first try at 120% was big as I thought the space looked really small,100% scale looks small but leaves enough room. If anything the small black tab on the foregrip limits space, but overall it's easy enough to hold.
 
Digging this so far, especially the mag catch. Good idea to use that nub on the bottom, I always wondered why they put that in such a strange location!
I got my dimensions from Bioware directly. Here's my old master (most of it) squared up against a ruler. Hope it helps.

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Digging this so far, especially the mag catch. Good idea to use that nub on the bottom, I always wondered why they put that in such a strange location!
I got my dimensions from Bioware directly. Here's my old master (most of it) squared up against a ruler. Hope it helps.

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I'm pretty new to using forums and it's really strange to get a comment from the person (zanderwitaz) who inspired me to make this very prop. In making my hornet I used yours to set the bar. Don't get me wrong, I love my version, but yours will always be my favorite! I chose to use a simple mag shape and regret it everytime I see yours, zanderwitaz, you have some mad skills. Thanks for the inspiration.

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I used 2 cans of filler primer on this one project, together with 2 and a bit rolls of filament. So the cost was adding up and I couldn't justify buying a can of white paint (how cheap does that make me sound) I had Matt black paint, but for the white I decided on trying something different. Starting with watered down white gesso through a cheap air brush, followed by vallejo white model paint, I already had these so technically no cost. I rounded off the base coats with some Matt clear coat.

There is a point when something that has been 3d printer stops feeling 3d printed. Comparing abs to pla, abs takes a hell of a lot less time to sand, the print quality isn't as good as pla, but filler can fix that.

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Nice job on the weathering. The final product shows no signs of being a 3d print, which is awesome (and more sanding than I like to think about). What was your post-print smoothing method? Just primer and sand until your hands want to fall off? Wet or dry sanding?
 
Nice job on the weathering. The final product shows no signs of being a 3d print, which is awesome (and more sanding than I like to think about). What was your post-print smoothing method? Just primer and sand until your hands want to fall off? Wet or dry sanding?

I was sanding for about 2 weeks! If I made it in PLA it would have been closer to 2 months. I used wood filler for any big gaps and green/white putty for the smaller stuff. Followed by an obscene amount of fuller primer.

For anyone who prints props in pla, I would recommend switching over to ABS, I was able to sand a part in the time another was printing, making my pace much quicker.

I have a low tolerance to the texture that 3d printers leave. It was my main reason for doing this in 3 layers, it took a good bit longer, but I could sand before gluing everything together.
 
Ya, I used ABS when I print, but even with build tak the warping can get very annoying. I always seem to end up with an uneven finish even with filler primer and sanding. I might just need more patience though. Great work on the model and the final product. Were you planning on releasing the model?
 
Ya, I used ABS when I print, but even with build tak the warping can get very annoying. I always seem to end up with an uneven finish even with filler primer and sanding. I might just need more patience though. Great work on the model and the final product. Were you planning on releasing the model?

My original plan wasn't to release it, as it's my first model it isn't great. But I'll take a look at it over the next week or 2, if I can get the model in decent shape I'll stick it on my mini factory.
 
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