Another Canadian!

[NW_Cdn]

Hello,
I've been making models off and on for 30 years, mostly for wargaming in the last 20 years. Just over a year ago I got a 3d printer and made a ridiculous number of 1/72 tanks, then switched to 1/72nd airplanes. I realized I'm quickly filling my house so I thought I'd give 1/144 a try. I made some 1/144 airplanes when I was a child but it's been a long time.

Attached is a photo of a 1/144 T-72BM from the 3d printer. The file is a free design from Marco Bergman who shares his designs on Thiniverse https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:769137

Regards,
Nick

[F_IV]

Welcome aboard! I think there are many here who would be very interested to learn about your work. It’s a fascinating technology.

[ajmm]

Welcome! That’s a smart looking T72. Very impressive. Would be keen to hear more about how you do it.

[NW_Cdn]

I'll post a detailed make in the next week or two. I own a home 3d printer, a Wanhao duplicator i3 v2 (I think a v1 had an unfortunate tendency for spontaneous combustion). You can see one here at http://www.wanhao3dprinter.com/Unboxin/ ... ticleID=70. It's more than a year old so it's pretty out of date. It's an FDM printer (melted plastic) so the detail is ok but it'll leave little lines - I print each layer at 0.1mm. Fancy new resin printers are a lot better. With tanks the striations aren't obvious but they can be pretty visible on the curves of an airplane or a figure.

99% of the files I get are from https://www.thingiverse.com. All the files there are free. Quality is very variable - the T-72 is made by a design professional on his lunch hour and it shows. Some files are junk, some are ok. Lots won't work at all - they'll be too thin, have floating parts, etc, etc. Once I have the file, I load it up in my slicer - the program that slices the file into layers for the printer to print. I currently use simplify3d which is ludicrously expensive but has all kinds of bells and whistles. Among other things, the slicer lets you scale an object so I can take someones 1/100 tank and scale it down to 1/144. There's limits to what you can scale. As you scale things down, some details get too small for the printer to print and you find fenders on tanks or wingtips on airplanes don't print at all. Learning how to easily deal with that is one of the things I'm working on now.

Once the object prints it'll have supports. The printer can't print on thin air, everything has to be built up from the ground. The supports are pretty easy to remove, but you have to pull each one off. Sometimes I use needlenose pliers and sometimes I just torque them out with an awl. Then it's a matter of sanding, repairing any damage (it's easy to get too enthusiastic while removing supports) and paint. I usually undercoat with gesso because it evens out the rough prints and fills minor gaps. It's common for the printer to hiccup.

That's the short version. When I put up a proper make I'll add photos. I mostly build stuff for wargaming so the quality isn't up to most of the builds on this forum. A big part of the hobby is poking at the printer and the software to get a proper print.

[smeg1959]

A big welcome to the forum. I think there will be plenty of interest in your home-based 3D printing, as we continue to bemoan how expensive it can be if you use Shapeways and get models printed in either Smooth Fine or Smoothest Fine, the new terms for the FUD and FXD materials. I'd love to go down the home print path but getting a printer with decent enough resolution is way beyond my means.

[NW_Cdn]

I've started posting a make of a M1134 Styrker in the land forces forum.

http://www.kampfgruppe144.com/phpBB3/vi ... 03&p=36334

[BigReg]

All nations are welcome here, especially ones with your talents.
David