The care & nurture of a 3d printer...

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Wouldn't half save me some time !!

Work faster

[Orcs]

Wouldn't half save me some time !!

Cheers - Phil

You would only get bored. Mrs T would be thinking you could look after more horses/dogs/sheep, or start expecting breakfast in bed. Although I am not sure she would let you loose with the Toaster - Very hot, exposed electrical elements etc

[Westmarcher]

Once again, to augment Wulf's fine work, there's now a second Youtube 3D printing video tutorial on Little Wars TV with the promise of a third one providing links to various places where you can get 3D printable files specifically for historical wargaming.

[Wulf]

I've got a few little odds and sods that I might contact you about, Wulf. :-

There are certain things that are a pain in the posterior for me to keep replicating, when I'm making a range of soldiers......Certain shapes/sizes of shields, for example.
I might well ask you to do some of those.....Then I can send those to Leon..... get him to RTV them.....Then I can have some metal copies made.

Wouldn't half save me some time !!

Cheers - Phil

That would also be a nice proof of concept for mastering. Remember, though, I need files in STL, OBJ, x3d or 3mf format...

Wulf

[Wulf]

Once again, to augment Wulf's fine work, there's now a second Youtube 3D printing video tutorial on Little Wars TV with the promise of a third one providing links to various places where you can get 3D printable files specifically for historical wargaming.

I've watched the two so far now. One thing to note is that he has an Ender 3 - not the newer Ender 3 Pro I have (at the same price, more or less) which solves some issues. Maybe the Prusa would be better if you have an extra few hundred quid to spend - I certainly do not!

I'll be more interested in the next episode though, good historical wargaming terrain is still the hardest subject to find.

[Dr Dave]

Those look terrific - especially the Blitzs. I sure BPM have been getting better, but some of their tanks the gun barrels are very "liney" and often too thin.

I've had to replace several with plastic rod of the right diameter and use thinned tubing for fume extractors etc.

BUT - your models look better. Keep up the good work. 

[Wulf]

Those look terrific - especially the Blitzs. I sure BPM have been getting better, but some of their tanks the gun barrels are very "liney" and often too thin.

I can only judge the examples I have bought (maybe a dozen or so), all of which are in their 12mm scale range. They do hundreds of different vehicles, and in a wide variety of scales. Buyer beware, the pictures they show are always of the 20mm scale versions, which is noted on the pages. Wile I won't criticise them too much, I will say that buying them convinced me that FDM printing was almost acceptable, but not quite, and I bought my printer on the basis that I'd make do with the tanks given how cheap they would be, but terrain would be my real target.

Now I'm printing tanks, and I'm almost, but not entirely, happy with them.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Hello Wulf,

I've been looking at the interweb (they should really have me controlled around it) and I was wondering if you had looked at the resin 3d printers? I was looking at the Sparkmaker and Anycube Photon.

Cheers, back to unsupervised roaming of the Interweb.

GrumpyOldMan

[GrumpyOldMan]

I've got a few little odds and sods that I might contact you about, Wulf. :-

There are certain things that are a pain in the posterior for me to keep replicating, when I'm making a range of soldiers......Certain shapes/sizes of shields, for example.
I might well ask you to do some of those.....Then I can send those to Leon..... get him to RTV them.....Then I can have some metal copies made.

Wouldn't half save me some time !!

Cheers - Phil

Hello Phil

There are places that have free shields available but you'd have to play with them to get the thicknesses right and while some look ok in render the actual 3d model is horrible.

https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-model/free/shield
https://free3d.com/3d-models/shield
https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=shield&dwh=915cc383670864c

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

[Wulf]

Hello Wulf,

Greetings comrade... erm... sorry, just been watching a couple of Russian tanker films, T-34 and Invincible...

I've been looking at the interweb (they should really have me controlled around it) and I was wondering if you had looked at the resin 3d printers? I was looking at the Sparkmaker and Anycube Photon.

I looked at them, I looked at the price, I looked at the toxic materials they use, I looked away...

If I wanted to do this really seriously, and produce results to rival the best, I'd look to resin. But all I want are some little toy tanks with minimal cost and minimal hassle. Resin is for the dedicated with cash and facilities (a room of kit's own with ventilation and storage at least).

Wulf

[Techno]

Hello Phil
There are places that have free shields available but you'd have to play with them to get the thicknesses right and while some look ok in render the actual 3d model is horrible.
https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-model/free/shield
https://free3d.com/3d-models/shield
https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=shield&dwh=915cc383670864c
Cheers
GrumpyOldMan

Thanks, Vic !

Cheers - Phil

[Wulf]

You want Dragon's Teeth you say? How many? Lots? How about 28 sets? It'll take about 7 hours...



Note: this is a posed pic, I meant to take it to show the capacity of the build plate, but then started scraping them off the plate before I realised. So... I posed them all back in place...

[Wulf]

You can print Cruel Seas boats on an FDM printer, so long as you're prepared to accept a bit of simplification...

[paulr]

 

[lowlylowlycook]

Quite nice!

[Wulf]

I've been experimenting with PETG, a different type of filament. It's the stuff drinks bottles & the like are made of, more resilient than PLA (actually they're PET, and moulded, not printed with filament, of course). PETG is kind of the home printing version of PET, and includes manufacturers' extra ingredients to make it easier to use - but also makes it inconsistent. It needs a higher temperature to print, and, well, I'm not impressed. Very stringy so far. Undoubtedly strong prints, mind you, so useful for things like containers, boardgame items, etc - stuff that takes a lot of handling.

...however...

IN checking out some details about 3d printing materials, I have discovered that, despite my belief, I have NOT been printing with PLA, but with a mix of PLA and PLA+... PLA+ is an improved formula, although, like PETG, it's not a consistent formula between manufacturers. It turns out my preferred filament, the SUNLU Silver Grey stuff, is actually PLA+... I didn't even notice until now! It's still not as tough or flexible as PETG, but it's easier to use and way less stringy...

Well, apparently the eSUN PLA+ is even better, so I ordered some of that.

[andys]

Just before I shoot off to the daughter's wedding, a huge thanks to Wulf. He is a scholar and a gentleman 👍👍👍👍

[Wulf]

Just before I shoot off to the daughter's wedding, a huge thanks to Wulf. He is a scholar and a gentleman 👍👍👍👍

I do impressions. 

Best wishes to the couple & family. 

[paulr]

I hope the wedding goes well

[Westmarcher]

Likewise (i.e., hope it went well - including your 'father of the bride' speech  ).  My turn tomorrow (Sunday) ....... my  daughter's wedding also!