Pondering a 3D Printed Model

[KirkH]

I've built models for going on 50+ years, but have no experience with 3D printed models. I'm debating whether to pick up a model from Reduced Aircraft Factory, but I don't know what I'd be getting as far as model quality and/or what I'd need to do to finish the model. It's my understanding the cheapest material (Natural Versatile Plastic) is very rough and requires a significant amount of sanding to smooth out the surfaces prior to painting. Next up the ladder is Multi-Jet Fusion Plastic. How does that material compare to the NVP? Last is Fine Detail Plastic, but those models are almost three times the cost. Are models made with FDP significantly better quality than the other media? In other words, are they worth the added expense? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Doug]

A mate of mine has the full 3d printing set up and equipment. He has produce me some excellent models. It's the way of the future, I would get into it myself but just do not have the skills to make the models.

[camelbeagle]

There are a lot of posts in the forum on the white versatile. A lot of members here paint them up and make some wonderful models. Look at some of Flying Helmet's wonderful planes.

From reading here and my own experience, if you spray them with two coats of clear gloss finish, and them prime them up the white versatile works pretty good.

I like the Grey PA12 injection material. It isn't that much more, and the roughness is much more smoother. Still needs some priming to smooth it out.

The Fine Detailed plastic is very pricey, but the material is nice and smooth. Has a translucent look too it. I have not painted one of this material yet.

[hokusai]

Experienced shapeways experts will give you better advice than my beginner's 2 cents opinion.

Out of curiosity I placed my first order to shapeways. Some models in WNVP and some in SFDP.
I found WNVP quite frustrating, after several coats of enamel and sanding the main areas look reasonnably ok but frankly, I cannot claim the whole procedure was real modeling fun.
The SFDP look really better and IMHO they are worth the higher cost. In case I order again, I will prefer quality over quantity but of course this is everyone's own decision.

btw There is also Smoothest FDP. A model I purchased in WNVP at 26€ would have been 300€ (cough! cough!)

[flash]

Should find all you need to know in here, Kirk

[decapod]

...and a warning about the FDP - It's very brittle and prone to break if dropped!

If you can find a friendly local with a UV resin printer - there are a few free models I've put on thingiverse to print.
UV resin is best of both worlds - smooth and strong.

[KirkH]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll probably order a model or two in the Gray PA12 material and see how it goes.

[malachi]

I've painted Shapeways white plastic on a few models and haven't had any problem, the results seem fine to me. Not quite as smooth as the PA12 but I spray two coats of gloss laquer and one coat of matte before starting. I put the model on a peg or stand while spraying so the clear spray doesn't accumulate around the tires, etc.

[ReducedAirFact]

There is a sticky thread over in the Shapeways Model section that gives various tips on surface preparation of the Versatile Plastic (nee WSF) material. You have to be subtle with sanding or you'll be taking off some of the model details such as wing ribbing.

• Versatile Plastic (which used to be called "WSF") is cheapest. For large models (e.g. Gothas and up) it's really the only low-cost choice.
• I like the multi-jet fusion plastic (PA12) best, but it's somewhat more expensive (especially for single-seaters). It's very robust and somewhat smoother.
• Detail Plastic (nee FUD) has great surface smoothness, but it's much more expensive than Versatile Plastic, it's more brittle, and it can suffer from a problem where tiny crystals form on its surface.
• And now there are full-color 3D printed plastic models that require no prep or painting, albeit at a price.

As to model accuracy, most Shapeways modellers do the best they can within limits of the material. For instance, the wings have to be 1mm thick in some materials, and that translates to 144mm (~6" imperial) to scale. Clearly few WWI planes had 6" thick wings or struts, but there's no way to get it printed otherwise, and it looks fine on the gaming table. Other details are modeller choices, such as whether to include airplane crew, whether to build in the flight peg, and whether to make the prop fixed or "mount it yourself".

[KirkH]

Thanks for the info. I've already come to grips with the fact the struts, wing thicknesses, etc. aren't particularly accurate from a scale standpoint. To me that's just a tradeoff one has to make if one wants miniatures that can be used for gaming as opposed to just sitting on a shelf.

You answered my next question which is whether these models come with the mounting post or if that's something I'll need to add myself. It's no problem if I have to because that's what I've had to do for my Valom models as well.

[ReducedAirFact]

If it helps, I have some flight pegs available on Shapeways (two varieties, and they have no markup). And you can download the stl file from there if you have a 3D printer and print them yourself.

[Karo7]

Attachment 296163

That's a NVP one. I've sanded the wings and fuselage a little bit and applied two coats of gloss varnish, before base coating the model with white paint. Of course you can see the slightly grainy surface on the picture, but on the tabletop, or even while holding the model in your hands, you don't recognize it.