Adventures in 3D Modeling & Printing.

Just the final end product this time, since it was a quick and slightly filthy modeling practice piece I did in a autodesk modeler to see how far I could push it:

saber279

The surface is just sanded white PLA, unfortunately the image doesent show the interesting growth-ring effect the layered printing had on the mask.

Edited December 3, 2020 by finnleo

XD that is very cool indeed! (Obligatory mention that I'm jealous of anyone with a 3D printer. The tech fascinates me, and that mask is awesome!)

Thank you very many.

Im sort of tempted to try and make one of the swords also (the initial cracked nail was visually most interesting) .. but I have a boat load of other things to do than chase this one.. maybe some day.

And the printer I have isnt really much to be jealous about .. just a foot squared print size super cheap DIY chinese jobby.. temperamental is they come, has needed some re-engineering, and making a cabinet for some temperature stability.

But if it happens to be in a co-operative mood, they are good fun at that moment.. otherwise, not so much.

Edited July 10, 2020 by finnleo

Aaaw how cute knight! As for weapons, Hornets would rock too

Thank you very many....

if I recall Horned just had a needle for a weapon .. probably could repourpose a metallic knitting needle for that, since I dont know if leatherworkers needles go up to those sizes.

Probably better to add to this, since this sort of falls into the comedy fake collaboration stuff...

This time a perticular pressure container was needed for a quick 5-minute wardrobe cosplay challenge featuring a tarantinoesque TV-series I watched recently.

3dprints001

The body, Valve knob, and nozzle were 3D printed to save some effort, I think there are probably ready made bar-stock in hobby stores for similar pieces.

The pipe and valve stem are just soldered together solid core electric wire.

Some old enamel paints and gundam markers later:

3dprints002

It ended up maybe being a bit too small, but since this was a one off for a quickie photo set I wasnt that bothered, since it does the job:

shinon065

Rest of the set on the top of me flickr at the moment...

I regret being unfamiliar with the show, 'cos that is one sweet blowtorch XD

For a quick .. maybe two hour tops spent prop its pretty good. -- Of course there are faults I could pick at, like in the series the gas bottle is green, but this whole setup is a bit of a quick hash, based on Sister Harriets introduction leathers -- so im still happy with the results.

The series itself is a Amazon special ... and its really not easy watching, since its a mix of 70's cop/PI shows and Inglorious Basterds, with more violence and dark humor if that was even possible.

Harriet just ended up being my favorite with quotes like, "I'll traumatize you so badly, you'll wet your knickers every time you see Mary Poppins, understand Child ?"

So I decided to rename the thread instead of creating a brand new one for the whole 3D modeling / printing adventures, since... I wasnt too fond of making a thread for every separate item, as witnessed by the popularity of the headband thingy ... so... as they say down south, vorwärts...

The first item on the drawing board is something that I'd refer to as:

Post modern raygun.

This one is a bit of an interesting little project in terms of scaling, since there are 3D models you can download of it, and lots of other weapons on the internets.

So why not take one of those, divide the scale by three and be done with it? ... because its not quite as simple as that.

the problem beeing that I wanted somewath accurate posing, in terms of a actual shooting pose, not just touting the thing around as you tend to see with DD's and scale gun models.

The reason is that DD's arent quite 1/3 scale, and the peculiar proportions of the body add to this.

So to have a base to get a usable model we need to start with getting the geometry correct:

3dprints004

this first model is the initial rough dimensions I came up with. and the other two are refinements made on printing them out and checking on a doll, while referencing one of youtube's more likable gun reviewers that has a penchant for french firearms.

3dprints006

This time the third time was the charm and I got a semi believable pose done with the third mockup using a DD2 body running wrists with the Wersatze mod:

3dprints008

So why go through all of this for a scrach built virtual model?

This image should sum it up quite well:

3dprints007

The upper weapon is Shinon's Hecate which is the worst offender in my collection, the lower beretta is a common at the time of its release 1/3 scale model, which is of reasonable quality and function.

the gripping hands have a bit of a awkward angle in terms of form accurate pistol grips, and are more suited for swords and such. For the thing I am trying to make its not that big of a deal, since the thing doesent really have a grip in the traditional sense, but still the angle will need to be tweaked for it to work properly.

to be continued...?

----

Conspicuous earbuds

the other project I started to doodle on could be considered a pair of high powered wi-fi earbuds... the thing with these was that they have the late 80's early 90's round-chunky anime-mecha aesthetic going on so they would have needed a bit more of a flexible modeling software than 123Design ... so I started by making a doodle on paper, because apparently thats one way you can reference mesh building in blender for instance:

doodle009

The thing is though ... blender seems to be great for abstract modeling, but doing stuff to measure accurate scale seems ... awkward ... and as I was trying to enter the first piece of the puzzle my brain immediately had a fit, and I went back to trying to figure out how I could get 123design to give me what I wanted ... and I sort of succeeded:

3dprints005

I've yet to get a print done of this, though shouldnt be too long... I still need to redo the model  based on this first quick attempt with a much more thicc antenna piece, but now that I know how to get it done, it should be a bit more easy.

because of the big overhang the model will need a bit of a post processing work, and will have to be made out of a few bits to get the center insert sanded, etc

Attaching them to the head should be easy with either blu-tack as a rough and tumble solution, or neo-didlium magnets, if I could source small enough one's (and no, they dont come in all shapes and sizes where I live...)

the first print was a learning experience once again, but in general its a nice starting point:

3dprints009

In terms of size its a fair bit too big. the antenna needs to be shrunk to about the divider line at the tip, and the tip itself probably needs to be printed separately as there's a bit too much deforming going on around that are because of the support printing.

Un-surprisingly there will be quite a bit of contour matching with the head to get the base circle to fit, but such is the scratch builders life...

To be continued...

 

Edited December 3, 2020 by finnleo

The "Wi-Fi Earbuds" got a bit of a revision done to them, which included the scaling, reforming of the cup piece that goes over the ear, and also making the tip a separate piece:

3dprints010

the old and new revisions printed:

3dprints011

And the end result glued together, slightly form fitted, and slapped on a reimu head with some blu-tack:

3dprints012

The size was now about where it should be in terms of origins, by just reaching the back of the head. the reforming of the ear-muff piece aided with the antenna angle being more straight, as it should be. and also making the piece a bit wedge shaped helped a lot with form-fitting it to the head profile.

The hair flowing around the muff-piece is a bit of an issue, but since the source took some liberties with this, I would say this will be good enough with some added fiddling with the wig when the final items are ready.

so now that I had more or less what I wanted, I needed the mirrored piece for the other side, and thus this was made ready for finishing off:

3dprints013

To be continued...

whoa this is awesome, i'm actually loving what you're doing with that. if you ever take commissions for custom pieces... i would be interested!

Thank you very many.

At the moment commissions are not a viable thing for me, motivation being on a bit of a rollercoaster of ups and downs, doing the adam savage thing of starting more than I finish, and then the other assorted things that keep me busy, despite supposedly having more free time ... peculiar that.

So the raygun mockup I had done previously evolved over the weekend into this:

3dprints014

Which some might recognize as an AER-9 laser rifle. It was a bit of a spontanious idea, but something I saw possible, and went about trying to figure out how to make a working miniature kit of.

So after spending about a day building the virtual model, and then a few hours scratching my head on how to best to it -- I had a slab of parts made with some crusty filament:

3dprints015

Which were roughly cleaned up, and made into sub assemblies:

3dprints016

Now at this point I should probably have tested the scale with a doll, but feel good feelings were feel good enough that I went straight to paint, which consisted of the typical olive matte drab, and aluminium silver:

3dprints017

By itself its surprisingly nice to look at, with the minor wire details added, and masking tape shoot faster stripe...

however, when paired with a doll the scale didnt quite add up as intended:

nina127

Its good enough, that the un-initiated -- or possibly people who prefer other weapons in the source game might not immediatly see the issues, but the barrel is way too small, and ended up somewhere between the intended rifle, and optional pistol variants of the thing. -- possibly a side effect of continously looking at a 3D model at an angle while trying to get certain details.

On the bright side, the modified grip and stock geometry worked as intended - even if they arent accurate to the original -- which is actually un-usable, so for a possible version 2 I pretty much only need to lengthen and fatten up the barrel a bit.

... to be continued ... maybe

Test edit - pay no mind

Edited February 15, 2021 by finnleo

I ordered some 3d modeled accessories for my AP, hopefully the turn out the way I imagine! All these things look so incredible and cool! Thank you for sharing this! 

I see 3d printing being used a lot for weapon props, but I love seeing more masks and accessories! These really do look amazing.

thank you very many

mm, well girls and guns are a bit of a stereotype thing for photo ops ... I still have a couple of other scale props on the thinking stage, like a miniature wedge cased Atari ST (yes, I know the Amiga is the cool kids approoved one, but the ST/Falcon still looks better). and maybe a keyboard (or even a piano) of sorts .. I know you can get a scale yamaha somewhere, but costs and such are a factor for me at the moment.

though currently my printer has been delegated into making missing volkswagen parts... so will have to see.

So ears are fantastic. They look like they've come straight from To Heart.

  On 5/1/2021 at 12:31 AM, AliensOfGold said:

They look like they've come straight from To Heart.

Oh... ?

Really...?

things006

Still not a big fan of the forest green hair though ... but will have to see... the main issue thats keeping me back with the Wi-Fi antennas is finding suitable magnets ... which are turning into a bit of an annoyance to get... but I guess I'll have to try and find a european amazon branch that actually wants to ship them here.

What type of magnets are you looking for?

Nothing super special ... just round neodynium preferably in either 8x5 or 10x5 mm ... both which I found listings on amazon.se but at that time at least they wont ship those over here. after brexit and our silly strict customs and extra outside-eu post handling fee's amazon.uk is a no-go.

The easiest (as in hop in my car, drive an hour there and another back, and maybe grab a jug of Evaporust, and phosphoric acid while im there) I can get are 8x3 and 10x2 mm  ... the 10x2 size was too weak to work with a nut on the other side, so I would at least need two magnets on either side the head.

So not unobtanium, but just a faff to get where I live ... also having to be a bit of a stickler over money dont help.. heh

Edited May 3, 2021 by finnleo

Maybe this place can get you what you need?

 

N48-N52 Strongest Rare Earth Magnets - Applied Magnets Super Store

 

I get stuff from them and when they say strong, they mean it!  They're also small and pretty cheap.  Hopefully they can ship to you?

 

 

 

Billy

  On 5/3/2021 at 10:32 PM, baldylox said:

Applied Magnets Super Store

Thanks for the link, but there be two problems with that unfortunately..

first its a north american store, which means higher shipping, possible customs duties and taxes, and most likely BS local postage handling fee's for outside EU items ...

second ... they dont ship outside north america ...

... happy little clouds ...

oh well. I'll probably get what I need eventually, one way or another.

Import duties will likely be a problem no matter where you buy from online, but have you had a look at AliExpress?

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002433638730.html?spm=a2g0o.search0302.0.0.e1c4cf0cqK4eEr&algo_pvid=4e5bb09a-cea8-445e-bfec-6b6d882ec43e&algo_expid=4e5bb09a-cea8-445e-bfec-6b6d882ec43e-5&btsid=0bb0623c16201344735025569e4815&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

 

What’s in that To Heart box you posted?

 

  Quote

What’s in that To Heart box you posted?

 

it is the complete T..V. series, on Laser Videodisc;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaserDisc

 

also, a fellow serious To Heart 1/2 fan here;

Edited May 4, 2021 by Tasuke

  On 5/4/2021 at 2:25 AM, finnleo said:

Thanks for the link, but there be two problems with that unfortunately..

first its a north american store, which means higher shipping, possible customs duties and taxes, and most likely BS local postage handling fee's for outside EU items ...

second ... they dont ship outside north america ...

... happy little clouds ...

oh well. I'll probably get what I need eventually, one way or another.

Oh well, I tried.

If you want I could help out on getting you some if they had what you need.  Not sure how shipping and customs on your end would be but the offer is there.

 

Billy