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Thread: New "Clear Ultra Fine Detail" - opinions? UV-stable? Brittle?

  1. #1

    Question New "Clear Ultra Fine Detail" - opinions? UV-stable? Brittle?

    Since I was last around Shapeways started offering "Clear Ultra Fine Detail" plastic. I'm mostly interested in it for another more or less defunct game, but I'm looking for opinions on it. Is it UV-stable? Somehow at my house indoor ambient indirect UV will ruin Fine Detail plastic, even through a thin black basecoat. How brittle is it? Shapeways actually claims it's slightly flexible.
    Since I'd be using it for 1/1800 ships and 1/900 planes, detail plastic of some form is a must for the ships, and normal Fine Detail is actually just barely acceptable in terms of brittle for the ships. For them the bigger problem with FD is the lack of UV-stability for elaborately painted and potentially large-area decaled models. (And having the same decay with the glue I use for a few of them.) If the new Clear Ultra Fine Detail is UV stable then I'w switching to using it. The 1/900 planes Fine Detail is too brittle for, but the forces on them won't be all that high, and something between Versatile Plastic and Fine Detail would be enough. (And the planes need clear flight stands, so the "clear" part makes it a natural choice for them.) For Wings of Glory, if it turns out to be strength/durability wise between FD and Versatile Plastic, it might actually wind up being an acceptable alternate material that doesn't need surface prep.

  2. #2

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    I haven't looked into "Clear Ultra Fine Detail". Shapeways recently raised the price on their "Smooth" and "Smoothest" Detail Plastic, which I mostly saw in 1:285 scale and smaller, since it is economical at that scale. (Not so much at 1:144.)

    They've also got a new "Gray Fine Detail Plastic" which I think is done on the same printers as the new "Clear Ultra Fine Detail". I did get a couple test prints in that new gray material, at 1:288, and the detail looks pretty good. I think it will probably be immune to the "crystalization problem" that showed up sometimes with "Smooth" and "Smoothest" materials, too. The plastic is slightly flexible, slightly translucent, and quite robust. There are some stepping lines on the wings and I need to prime and paint one to see if those disappear with a little paint on them.

    I would expect the Clear Ultra Fine Detail would be similar (but clear).

    Eventually I'll make a decision on whether to open up this new material on all my smaller-scale models.

  3. #3

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    Thanks! It might also be useful for 1/144 for avoiding surface prep.

  4. #4

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    Here's what it looks like with a pair of 1:288 Hansa Brandenburg W.29s.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    It's a bit too pricey at the larger scales, though. For instance, you can get a 1:144 RAF BE2c for roughly US$12 in PA12 material (paintable), or about $15 in full color, but it would be $30-$40 for Gray Fine Detail material.



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