Shapeways, Yes or No?

[Belis4rius]

With the introduction of the Bristol Bomber/Fighter and the increasing possibility that we will not get one from Nexus I am toying with the idea of getting a couple from Shapeways and possibly a pair of Junker D1's.

Now information on these is all over the place. Can all you guys who actually have them tell me what the best finish is, are they easy to paint, in fact any information which helps me decide whether to buy or not?

More pictures would be nice as well.

Thanks in anticipation.

George

[petitbilbo]

Good idea George, I'm quite undecided about them myself!

:salute:

[pflanzer]

I would also be interested in what finish is best with what plane. It appears that the models give diferent results with the same finish. It might be that no single finish works well on all the different models. If and when I recieve mine I will post up pics asap. I will probably have to dig up my original order to find out what I actually ordered. Its has been too long for me to remember.
Tony

[gully_raker]

:salute: G'day Chaps!
Here are 3 pics of one of two Sop Triplanes I have just received from Shapeways.
Delivery was about 2 weeks to Australia.
This one has not yet had the light sand of the Fuselarge sides which i gave the one I have spray undercoated.
I am more than pleased with the product & it saves all the hassel of trying to build a metal tripe & it is so light I will have no problem with "tipping" on the Games Table. A Litko Base & Peg will do the job as I have no Nexus Pegs to enable me to use the Aerodrome Bases.

184891849018491

[afilter]

I was not familiar with these until today. I looked at the site, but it does not seem very well organized. Does someone have a link to all the WoW compatible offerings or at least a list of what they have as I only found a couple.

TIA,

[pflanzer]

Barry,
Speciffically what finish did you order from Shapeways and is it what you recieved? I think we need that info to make informed choices/comparisons.
Tony
It was Frosted Ultra Detail (sorry read your reply to my other Shapeways post)

[Zoe Brain]

Barry,
Speciffically what finish did you order from Shapeways and is it what you recieved? I think we need that info to make informed choices/comparisons.

Their Quality Control is still a bit variable. 90% of the time, you get an excellent model.

I prefer the WSF (white strong flexible). It's cheaper, and the slightly pebbly effect takes cheap artists' acrylics well. A coat of gloss acryllic varnish before and after is what I'd recommend, though purists would no doubt sand first, and choose Frosted.

I'll be using these for wargaming - and the slightly overscale robustness from WSF and matt finish I accept as a price to be paid for a model less likely to break in use.

So far I've assembled and painted 2 Ca3's and a Sopwith Triplane. I've taken delivery of 4 Tripes. a Junkers D1, and 2 Ca3's. One Ca3 had a broken front wheel due to mis-packing, but the models themselves were flawless. Another order of a D1 showed the same "terraced" flaw as the DR1 that was reported early on - I suspect that's a maladjustment in the printer. Of the dozen or so models ordered by locals from Shapeways, - including 3 Capronis - this is the only defective one. So call it 1 in 10.

Comparing them to Nexus models - slightly more delicate (YMMV), somewhat easier to break. Compared to Skytrex - vastly better, their Tripehound undercarriage is just plain wrong. Riviresco - slightly better - and for those not gifted with a complete set of milliput, pins, jigs and vices to keep things in place, there's no comparison.

[Zoe Brain]

Various pictures of Shapeways models, painted.

http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16691&stc=1&d=1310723206

http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=17590&d=1311537104

With macro lens and lighting to highlight the pebbly finish - in normal light you can't see it at all.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_7_e6uuE0t4/ThwyZt2guzI/AAAAAAAAAOc/Qong3fd9JfY/s1600/sopwith_tripe_1.JPG

That was with *no* undercoat and no varnish. Just one coat of 11 year old citadel flesh to give unbleached linen, then some mixed cheap acryllic black and even older citadel red and yellow to get the RNAS Olive Drab.

[Doug]

I have looked in the shapeways sight but an unable to find the models, under what section are the models hidden?

[Zoe Brain]

I have looked in the shapeways sight but an unable to find the models, under what section are the models hidden?

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/kampfflieger

[afilter]

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/kampfflieger

Thanks

[Zoe Brain]

2 Caproni C3's from Shapeways - one a Torpedo conversion - sorry about the small pic, had to use my phone camera.

18493

[Oberst Hajj]

I've received two DR.Is from them in Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD). While the minis them selves wore nice, the rough texture was not. I have not made any planes to order more from them.

Even in FUD, the surface was very rough.

@ Tony, knowing the level and detail that you put into painting your minis, I don't think you will be happy with these. With out quite a bit of prep work, I can only compare painting these to painting something made out of sandpaper.

[Guntruck]

I got 2 Sopwiths and two Junkers DIs in FUD finish which is excellent - I'm surprised the Oberst had a problem with his. I also got two D.VIIs in White Strong Flexible Polished. There is a little roughness about the casting, but certainly nothing to worry about, especially when compared to the finish of the white strong flexible Dr1s which were as rough as a badger's a**e, and now seem to come with a knitted pattern on them.

I think I will stick to FUD in future, but delivery times are still a problem.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Once I get my backlog of planes painted, and in light of developments elsewhere, plus the improving reports on Shapeways, I will certainly give the Caproni a go. I may even consider another Biff.
Rob.

[clipper1801]

Greetings!

Just posted an album of my Shapeways Squadron models, now onto the new guys I just received! Bristols and Sopwith Tripes Oh My!

Clipper

[Jager]

Greetings!

Just posted an album of my Shapeways Squadron models, now onto the new guys I just received! Bristols and Sopwith Tripes Oh My!

Clipper

Nice photos, Dave. How difficult were the D7s to assemble. Bear in mind my last modeling was 72nd scale WW2 monoplanes, and my last Biplane (actual Triplane) was 35 years ago.
Karl