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Thread: July Workbench 2021

  1. #1

    Default July Workbench 2021

    On this month's virtual workbench...

    I was curious whether a full-color 3D print of a monoplane would be much cheaper than a biplane. The answer is "yes", but not by a huge amount... this full-color Fokker E.III would be about 75% of the price of an R.A.F. S.E.5a print.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I'm still messing around with the Etsy<->Shapeways connections... I ordered an SE5a through Etsy successfully but I'm still messing with the finances and figuring out who is charging and submitting state tax.

    I did this full-color E.III in the "traditional" Udet colors, but I see the Wingnut Wings E.III manual speculates that the fabric was gray and the stripes were medium blue rather than red and black. I think, though, that switch colors on a model should be pretty straightforward, now that the first pass is done. So maybe it will some day just be a choice... old colors or new colors.

  2. #2

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    Daryl, I actually like that color scheme a lot.

  3. #3

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    The latest 'Aeronaut' research has the colour as a 'faded black'.
    'Valom's decal sheet has it as blue.
    I think it might have been 'Phaeon' who first had it as red.

    The model would look great in any of these colours!
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  4. #4

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    Another great looking scheme, Daryl.
    Really looking forward to seeing the results.

  5. #5

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    Here it is in the Wingnut Wings color choices:
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    Once my SE5a arrives, I'll look into ordering a full-color E.III.

  6. #6

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    Like that one too, definitely looks good going forward, just wondering about the cost still

  7. #7

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    Yeah...I'm concerned about the costs too. The material itself is pretty expensive, but the fees and taxes and shipping add a lot on top of that. The print itself is in the $30-$40 range, but on top of that is added (numbers rounded):

    US$2 for "Shapeways processing" (6%), $2 Shapeways-collected sales tax, $10 Shapeways shipping, $0.20 Etsy Listing Charge, $2 Etsy sales fee, $3 Etsy Transaction Fees, $4 Etsy-collected sales tax. Plus some modest markup for me to cover test print costs, of which 3.5% Shapeways keeps for themselves. If Shapeways would just make this material available in their marketplace, all the Etsy charges could disappear. But I don't expect that to ever happen.

    Maybe a different 3D printing service will start offering this full-color material.

  8. #8

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    Like your stuff as always Daryl.

    Someday when we start gaming at the hobby stare again will have to bring the planes out of mothballs.

    Finished the last job on my table this week (it was a big un) so here is a SAGA viking army.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 100_7750.jpg   100_7759.jpg  

  9. #9

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    Nice Ken. I bought quite a few of those buildings a few years back and most of them are still unpainted. Hopefully this will inspire me to find the time to paint them up

  10. #10

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    Very pretty Vikings!

    I bought the same (or similar) buildings ready-painted, coz I knew I probably wouldn't ever get around to painting them...
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  11. #11

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    Got lots of vikings (120+), but only one building

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  12. #12

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    LOL...more attention to the props then the army.

    Local hobby store keeps them on the shelves so I get one every now and then to paint up.

  13. #13

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    My artistic skills are pretty limited, so I've never tried to make a plane card.

    But with the full-color planes I'm doing, I can let the computer do the hard work of drawing, shading, and coloring the plane. So I thought I'd try my hand at one, based on the full-color SE5a I'm experimenting with:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I had to avoid using images that may be copyrighted and fonts that are licensed. Also... unlike my black-and-white line drawings, I didn't want to resize any of the parts, e.g. propeller width, rudder+fin width, gun rail...instead this is a direct representation of a Shapeways model. I also added the ceiling and climb stats, which don't seem to be on most cards.

    I'd be happy if you experienced card artists could give any feedback and tips, either here on the forums or by direct message. For instance... do you tend to scale the plane to fit the card, regardless of its size, or do smaller planes take up less room on the cards than two-seaters? Do you draw in the rounded card corners? Thanks in advance!

    PS: the background is a satellite photo from the Flanders region, run through a couple of artistic filters in Photoshop.

  14. #14

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    Nothing wrong with that Daryl. Nice to see altitude/climb incorporated too.

    Personally, I scale the image to fit the card to show as much detail as possible, so your Bristol F2b will be smaller than your SE5a.
    Run for your life - there are stupid people everywhere!

  15. #15

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    I'm afraid my skills at this are very limited still, but I can say I like this one of yours very much Daryl, mainly because of the addition of the climb rate and max altitude stats. Nice one.

  16. #16

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    Nice job Daryl. REP for you

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by ReducedAirFact View Post
    Yeah...I'm concerned about the costs too. The material itself is pretty expensive, but the fees and taxes and shipping add a lot on top of that. The print itself is in the $30-$40 range, but on top of that is added (numbers rounded):

    US$2 for "Shapeways processing" (6%), $2 Shapeways-collected sales tax, $10 Shapeways shipping, $0.20 Etsy Listing Charge, $2 Etsy sales fee, $3 Etsy Transaction Fees, $4 Etsy-collected sales tax. Plus some modest markup for me to cover test print costs, of which 3.5% Shapeways keeps for themselves. If Shapeways would just make this material available in their marketplace, all the Etsy charges could disappear. But I don't expect that to ever happen.

    Maybe a different 3D printing service will start offering this full-color material.
    So....who doesn't get their piece of your paycheck? Except you that is????

    On a more serious note, I would buy one just to see how good or bad it looked. If I only needed a couple of a certain plane, it may be more cost effective. You don't have the paints, decals, brushes, etc, etc.

  18. #18

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    Nice card, Daryl!
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by camelbeagle View Post
    So....who doesn't get their piece of your paycheck? Except you that is????
    Yeah, that's the tricky part...I'm still trying to figure out how to set the price so that I don't lose money on each one sold (especially for countries with VAT).

    My full-color 3D-printed S.E.5a arrived today! It looks very nice and precise. You can even read the serial number on the fin if your eyes are good enough.

    The only adjustments I need to make are minor: darken the PC10 fabric color a little; I want the aileron-lines to be a darker shade of PC10 (or clear-doped linen on the bottom) rather than a near-black; and I need to move the top-wing roundels back just slightly.

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  20. #20

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    That looks really good Daryl! Wow, has the technology really improved!

  21. #21

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    I'm very impressed by the result Daryl.
    Run for your life - there are stupid people everywhere!

  22. #22

  23. #23

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    Good job Daryl... the future is safe in your hands

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  24. #24

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    A bit of a change of pace here in wet and wild Adelaide! Still, it is the correct era for me:

    Click image for larger version. 

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  25. #25

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    Oooh, "riveting" stuff!
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  26. #26

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    Yes, "tanks" for posting this
    Run for your life - there are stupid people everywhere!

  27. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by Guntruck View Post
    Yes, "tanks" for posting this
    Ha!
    That was my first thought, but since there is only a single leviathan, I changed my mind....
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  28. #28

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    Well tank you for that Tim.
    That puts us back on the right track.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  29. #29

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    Off the right "track" we should all "tread" carefully!
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  30. #30

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    I have nothing to add, lol

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  31. #31

  32. #32

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    Perhaps the "Mother" and "Father" of a pun run?
    Run for your life - there are stupid people everywhere!

  33. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Biggles downunder View Post
    Oh dear what did I start?
    Up"pun" your head be it!
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  34. #34

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    Oh dear everyone else’s pun gun is faster than mine!

    But, when rereading my Osprey volume on the Mk IV, I did come across this:

    Click image for larger version. 

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  35. #35

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    So the airships had something to "Pull 'em" along?
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  36. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Helmut View Post
    So the airships had something to "Pull 'em" along?
    Maybe they are full of hot air.

  37. #37

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    that mini looks awesome daryl! do you suppose this technology might accelerate ares mini production?

  38. #38

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    what a lovely mobile iron box Wayne! i look forward to seeing the progress.

  39. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by milcoll73 View Post
    that mini looks awesome daryl! do you suppose this technology might accelerate ares mini production?
    Shapeways charges US$25-40 for producing a 1:144 single-seater, then there are a pile of extra charges added on by Shapeways and Etsy. So unless Shapeways is greatly overcharging for that material, it's not yet cheap enough for Ares to consider for primary miniature production. (However, they could look at it as a secondary mechanism to maintain availability once the primary run is exhausted.) My hope is that eventually the cost of printing full-color 3D will come down and make it more economically attractive.

    But I'm not sure Ares would jump on the on-demand wagon even then. With today's technology they could offer on-demand printing for plane cards (for roughly $0.50) and maneuver decks (for a few dollars).

  40. #40

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    At the risk of poking the punners with a pointy stick - further progress on my iron box:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Next stage is to assemble and paint the tracks, 87 links per side which are supplied as individual links that have to be clicked together.

  41. #41

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    Wouldn't dream of it Wayne

    Coming along nicely.

    Keeping "track" of progress.....
    Run for your life - there are stupid people everywhere!

  42. #42

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    Looking good... can’t wait to see the final picture

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  43. #43

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    Nice progress on the Mother; from the first pic, is it motorized?
    What scale?
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  44. #44

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jager View Post
    Nice progress on the Mother; from the first pic, is it motorized?
    What scale?
    Karl
    Hi Karl, it’s the Tamiya 1/35 scale Mark IV. It is motorized but, although I built it as such, I doubt that I will run it - though with a 7 year old grandson who knows!

  45. #45

    Miscellaneous Miniatures
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    Default

    The color, 3D printed models look great. If there were an affordable way for customers to select or change the color and markings that would be even better...would cut down on the tedious process of applying decals!

  46. #46

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    I continue with my tank build - I managed to get in a longer stretch of modelling today (a combination of a snap COVID lockdown and my wife having a longer chemotherapy session) and am now at the point of breaking out the spray booth. The tracks are all done (87 individual links per side) and I just draped them on for this picture:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I’ve still got to add the front railings for the unditching beam as well as adding the chain to the beam itself.

    Next up will be the A7V that I’ve had in my stash for a while now.

  47. #47

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    Quote Originally Posted by ReducedAirFact View Post
    My artistic skills are pretty limited, so I've never tried to make a plane card.

    But with the full-color planes I'm doing, I can let the computer do the hard work of drawing, shading, and coloring the plane. So I thought I'd try my hand at one, based on the full-color SE5a I'm experimenting with:

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	RAFSE5a-56Sqn-McCudden-1917-card-800.png 
Views:	178 
Size:	466.0 KB 
ID:	303896

    I had to avoid using images that may be copyrighted and fonts that are licensed. Also... unlike my black-and-white line drawings, I didn't want to resize any of the parts, e.g. propeller width, rudder+fin width, gun rail...instead this is a direct representation of a Shapeways model. I also added the ceiling and climb stats, which don't seem to be on most cards.

    I'd be happy if you experienced card artists could give any feedback and tips, either here on the forums or by direct message. For instance... do you tend to scale the plane to fit the card, regardless of its size, or do smaller planes take up less room on the cards than two-seaters? Do you draw in the rounded card corners? Thanks in advance!

    PS: the background is a satellite photo from the Flanders region, run through a couple of artistic filters in Photoshop.
    Wow! I really like the plane art!

    My personal preference is to duplicate the existing cards as closely as possible. If you want something distictive to seperate your work from others, then you could go with what you have.

    Perhaps a bit more contrast on the map? But, that is just being picky.
    Mike
    "Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
    "Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59

  48. #48

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    Quote Originally Posted by miscmini View Post
    The color, 3D printed models look great. If there were an affordable way for customers to select or change the color and markings that would be even better...would cut down on the tedious process of applying decals!
    I think the best I can do for now is to offer a lot of varieties of the same plane in different color schemes. For instance, there are about 100 different Fokker D.VII schemes out there (some better documented than others). To put together a test print with lozenge fabric, I started with Carl Degelow's machine:

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    Fortunately, once the first full-color model is done (and the model is "unwrapped"), adding new paint schemes is only about 20% of the work of the first one. So I could add, say, a Büchner D.VII (linked) with just a few hours work.

    In theory I could put together entire squadrons with slightly different markings (e.g. Jasta 2 or 56 Sqn), but that might have to wait until some theoretical point in the future when the price is lower. Because I can see someone buying an individual plane they've always wanted at today's prices, but not a whole squadron.

    I'll post pictures when I get a full-color D.VII print back.

    PS: Yes, the crosses are longer than they are wide, on a 4:5 ratio, which was the specified shape in 13 May - 25 June 1918.

  49. #49

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    Looks excellent, Daryl! Looking forward to seeing the lozenge.

  50. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by ReducedAirFact View Post
    ...

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    ...
    That looks amazing.

    If the plane comes out anything like the above image, this will be a game changer.
    Mike
    "Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
    "Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59

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