What do you think the chances are of being able to 3D print the ship models? I'd love to paint a few you see and I'm curious on if i'm the only one who would like a mini Cobra model on my desktop?
3D printing Elite Ships?
- Thread starter Flynn Hawker
- Start date
i would love it if this happened ,, im a bigger fan of model makeing , got all star wras , all aliens ,, now possiably all elite
Well this company already will make you a nice 3d printed Elite logo, so maybe ships will be next?
http://www.shapeways.com/model/574279/elite-wings-badge.html?li=search-results&materialId=39
Oh, they also do Cobra Mk 3 cufflinks
http://www.shapeways.com/model/188892/cobra-mk-3-cufflinks.html?li=search-results&materialId=23
http://www.shapeways.com/model/574279/elite-wings-badge.html?li=search-results&materialId=39
Oh, they also do Cobra Mk 3 cufflinks
http://www.shapeways.com/model/188892/cobra-mk-3-cufflinks.html?li=search-results&materialId=23
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The University in my town offers free 3D printing in the main library..
Your local University may do the same if you are a student.. or possibly you know someone who is a student..
Since I have been involved in my 2nd degree in Computer Science.. I'm able to get these done for myself.. and I would greatly appreciate being able to make a few of these - not sure on the size and cost or scale though.. depending if we are talking 1 inch equals how many feet? Or your favorite metric equivalent..
I've seen some tips for baking the product in an oven to give it the final glazed look which is amazing - dont try this at home without an adult.. google proper instructions.
Your local University may do the same if you are a student.. or possibly you know someone who is a student..
Since I have been involved in my 2nd degree in Computer Science.. I'm able to get these done for myself.. and I would greatly appreciate being able to make a few of these - not sure on the size and cost or scale though.. depending if we are talking 1 inch equals how many feet? Or your favorite metric equivalent..
I've seen some tips for baking the product in an oven to give it the final glazed look which is amazing - dont try this at home without an adult.. google proper instructions.
Worth checking out solvent Vapour Polishing too.
Gives a really nice smooth finish, and can be achieved with just a cup, a roll of tape, the solvent and a cardboard box..
wouldn't it be possible to combine 3d printing with its size restrictions due to machine cost and airfix modeling? so instead of printing a whole ship you print parts for the 'airfix' kit and can end up with a 3 foot long anaconda
Thing is, wouldn't 3D printing be prohibitively expensive to make a reasonably sized run of models? The surface finish would be iffy too.
Injection moulding would be the way to go, but they'd need to sell quite a lot of kits. Perhaps making them small scale, and including several ships in each kit would help?
There's always vac-forming, but the detailing and final work would probably be too much for a lot of builders. Would be a lot cheaper though.
Injection moulding would be the way to go, but they'd need to sell quite a lot of kits. Perhaps making them small scale, and including several ships in each kit would help?
There's always vac-forming, but the detailing and final work would probably be too much for a lot of builders. Would be a lot cheaper though.
Totally possible.
You could even make the parts self-coloured and interlocking, so you don't even need to glue or paint it.
There's a printer that can 3d print in full colour using paper and resin, and it'll do prints up to a4 footprint by 6 inches high.
**edit**
This is straight off the paper 3d machine, no assembly, no extra colouring...
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Yes it is an old hope which I have also. All the spaceships of ED, very detailed, with many elements, to assemble and paint
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Interesting topic. I've been in the 3D printing DIY community for a number of years now. I even have my own home made 3D printer at home, although it is not at the quality of some of the industrial machines out there. I would love to get my hands on some ship models so I could print them!
That'd be great if they could do this.
The company Fantasy Flight Games make spaceship models for board games. Perhaps if someone approached them they might be interested in making something for Elite fans?
Here's some stuff of theirs on Amazon.
Another way of making 3D objects is cut shapes out of sheets of MDF or plywood using a computer controlled CNC router, stick them together then sand and paint them.
I understand some kits for hobbyist scale models of ships are made this way.
This video shows furniture being made this way (you have to sit through an advert first).
CNC routers aren't cheap, this small budget one is $3,000 but there are plenty of companies that have CNC routers that will cut sheet material for you if you supply the data for their CNC machine to follow.
Any entrepreneurs here fancy investing their money making self-assembly flat pack model Cobra kits?
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Well this company already will make you a nice 3d printed Elite logo, so maybe ships will be next?
http://www.shapeways.com/model/574279/elite-wings-badge.html?li=search-results&materialId=39
Oh, they also do Cobra Mk 3 cufflinks
http://www.shapeways.com/model/188892/cobra-mk-3-cufflinks.html?li=search-results&materialId=23
Don't count on it.
I've emailed them repeatedly and never had a reply.
And I've said I'm willing to pay the entire cost up front.
No response. So don't hold your breath.