87 replies to this topic

[Reven]

So I thought I'd post a little summary of about a year's worth of 3D printing of MWO assets. First off though, have to thank the MWO team for the amazing models they developed. The artwork really brings those Battletech mechs to life in an amazing way. Also a big thanks all those in the community that have posted tutorials on how to use these assets.

Had some of my friends within my game unit, The Aces Wild, encourage me to post here, so I am. With that said here's some fun pics.

Some of the earliest prints (and not so good paint jobs by myself)


Got the modeling better (along with a new printer...yes the yellow material is a bit loud)


Also tried my hand at making mini's for my PnP Battletech games



Added a Jager to the fold...in an impossible config with 4 Gauss Rifles and two PPC's because I wanted to....



Added a Trebby...before it got the love with its new geometry



I then had a unit-mate of mine from The Aces Wild, TheFuzzyBunny, paint up an Ember for me. I think he does some pretty amazing work here.





Here's the Ember with Centurion friends...one of them dominating a King Crab corpse



I then figured I'd like to print a super big mech...as big as my printer could handle (along with a King Crab)



Just to give a sense of scale versus. The Centurion from the image above is compare with an original Centurion Battletech mini. Sorry about the orientation.



Ending up with an almost completed painting of the King Crab, again by TheFuzzyBunny.







I don't claim to be the best modeler or 3D printer by any stretch of the imagination, but just wanted to share some of the fun outside of the game itself that I've had over the past year.

[Bartholomew bartholomew]

The king crab is awesome to see!

[Carnifex125]

gnngnguhuhuh...KGC's..... my need for them be too much to handle...

excellent work by the way

[jlewis413]

This is everything I've ever wanted. I've been planning on buying a 3d printer for this exact purpose. I would ask/offer to purchase commissioned models from you, but copyright and all that
:|

[Sean Lang]

This thread is full of win! BUT does need more CICADA!

[Reven]

Sorry no articulation. My skills/modeling tools are not up to the challenge...at least for the moment.

Valcrow, the maker of fully articulated models is my hero!

Long term intentions are for my 4 battletech obsessed boys and I to have a tabletop game that is no longer the size of a table but the size of a large living room with these mechs.

I've already printed an extra large hex for the Ember and mounted it there...ready to play.

[Reven]

Hah! I'll look into the Cicada. If you couldn't tell I'm a bit obsessed with the Centurion (my favorite 9D Auto-shotty config in particular)

Some models are easier to work with than others....for example the Banshee is an absolute bear to work with and I still can't get that one looking better than a marshmallow shaped like a mech much to my dismay.

The Aces Wild unit is holding a tabletop get together this weekend that I had to miss out on, but a fair number of my 3D prints made it there as prizes, including the giant Madcat / Timberwolf.

[The Wakelord]

Awesome!

I'm really interested in 3D printing, but really hesitant to buy one (there seems to be no real way to gauge quality of these darned things without buying it).

Out of interest
1) Can these be printed at roughly PnP size?
2) What sort of printer are you using?
2)

[Reven]

1) See the 3rd image in the original post. Those are tabletop size mechs on hexes sized for the standard maps. Note the quality...they are hard to print at that size using the printers that I have..
2) I use a Makerbot replicator 2x with ABS material and a Printrbot Simple using PLA material

I printed the first stuff with the Printrbot and now print small stuff with that one (it was a $300 purchase well worth it) However it is not a "plug and play" printer and needs tender love to keep it printing well (which it definitely can)

The Makerbot is a $2,000 range printer (I got a salvaged one free that I repaired with parts printed by my first). It has a bigger print space and can print larger pieces faster and is much more "plug and play" with less tweaking required.

Both can print at a resolution of 0.1 mm in the Z axis with an accuracy of around 0.01 mm in the X, Y, Z axis

You can visually see the layers at that size, but just barely and there are many ways you can finish the part to minimize those ridges.

[The Wakelord]

Reven, on 28 March 2015 - 04:26 PM, said:

1) See the 3rd image in the original post. Those are tabletop size mechs on hexes sized for the standard maps. Note the quality...they are hard to print at that size using the printers that I have..
2) I use a Makerbot replicator 2x with ABS material and a Printrbot Simple using PLA material

I printed the first stuff with the Printrbot and now print small stuff with that one (it was a $300 purchase well worth it) However it is not a "plug and play" printer and needs tender love to keep it printing well (which it definitely can)

The Makerbot is a $2,000 range printer (I got a salvaged one free that I repaired with parts printed by my first). It has a bigger print space and can print larger pieces faster and is much more "plug and play" with less tweaking required.

Both can print at a resolution of 0.1 mm in the Z axis with an accuracy of around 0.01 mm in the X, Y, Z axis

You can visually see the layers at that size, but just barely and there are many ways you can finish the part to minimize those ridges.

Awesome, thanks Reven! That's just the sort of information I was looking for.

[9erRed]

Greetings all,

If you haven't heard, there's about to be a hugh jump in the development of 3D printing.

Up until now, objects needed to be printed onto a glass or metal sheet and then that sheet moved for the next layer.
- All that is about to change as they are now printing on a liquid surface.

Latest 'printable carbon fiber' item was a full sized drivable 'Shelby Cobra' car.
- Took around 24hrs to print, subassemblies, which in itself is 'outstanding'. But the latest software and designs will be able to do this in a few hours. Truly unbelievable. (the car was shown at the worlds car design event)

Now just what does this mean to the small scale objects that your working with now?
- New methods to deposit the materials, new materials to work in, and quad speed or faster applications.

This indeed is an exciting time for this Tech.
Check out the video:


Just some info,
9erRed

Edited by 9erRed, 29 March 2015 - 06:32 PM.

[Mech42Ace]

Very nice work Reven! How easy was the king crab to clean up? Im debating to make one myself.

[CHH Badkarma]

So I have to ask....

How much do you want to do a complete warhawk for me?

PM if possible

[Reven]

Mech42Ace -

As long as you slice the parts up well (maximize a starting flat surface) that minimizes the need for supports the clean-up isn't too bad. TheFuzzyBunny did most of the clean up after some minor sanding and removal of minimal support material. Fuzzy used paint layers to cover most of the "print lines" and then modified the print to make some features more clear. I'll ask Fuzzy to read this and post his response on this side as well.

Printing the King Crab took about 48 hrs total for all the pieces at a resolution of 0.2mm layers with 35% infill (how solid the inside is).

The King Crab model is pretty easy to work with and set up. In general it's pretty "watertight" to begin with. The claws took a bit more time as the models are a bit jumbled with a default import. The upper and lower claw need to be separated from each other which was handled by using Blender software (I try to avoid Blender usually).

Good luck let me know if you get stuck anywhere and I'll try and help out. I need to draft up a "how I do the printing" post. I'm definitely not the expert (like Valcrow), but I've been able to get things to work out pretty well.

Post what you end up printing!

[Reven]

CHH Badkarma - and others interested in printed mechs.

I'm happy to show anyone how to take the game assets and convert them into printable assets, but based on previous threads along these lines, I don't see it being appropriate for me to sell figures made from PGI intellectual property.

That said once you have your own printable digital models, you might be able to use a service such as Shapeways to get it done. Given the printing process they use (powered material sintered by laser) you can definitely go smaller and don't need to worry as much about designing with flat surface in mind.

[Matt Newman]

Loving that King Crab!

[TheFuzzyBunny]

HELLO!!!!

I'm deeply sorry it took me so long posting here, but I was partaking in our BT meet up. I still have the King Crab with me, and it's mostly done. I need to confirm the printing that is on the top, but I got most of the panel lines painted on. I'll put up pictures of where I'm at right now, and when I finish it.

I was also blessed enough to come home with a MadCat for myself, and another Ember to paint for another member of our unit. I am going to work on some new attempts to cover up some of the 3D printing issues and will share them here with Reven's permission.

Also all of this is do to the wonderful work by the great people who bring us MWO, and I deeply thank them for that. The simple chance to work with actual models of their beautiful mechs is a hobby dream come true!

[TheFuzzyBunny]

Here is a picture of where the Crab is at right now. He's surrounded by normal sized mechs that I painted up to take to our meet up with it.





Here is one of it in some of my wargaming terrain. I used a flash on it, and it really washed out the colors.



I was told that there was writing on the top of the carapace while at the meet up, so my next step is to get a buddy wuth me who can screen shot the top for me of my crab then send them to me so I can get that painted on there.

Edited by TheFuzzyBunny, 30 March 2015 - 06:16 PM.

[LordLosh]

mind sharing what printer you have or helping me pick a starter printer? This is something i would really like to start doing.

[Mech42Ace]

Very nice work! I admire your work on the yellow, I know how tough a color it is to get right! Did you hand paint the aces wild symbol, It turned out very nicely.