Oolite Bulletins

This was my third attempt at a scale model kit, another classic ship.

I was pretty pleased when I got this, it's quite a big model and the swappable Navy/Pirate panels worked well after only a little sanding (orientation in the printing process affects dimensions slightly).

Can't wait to get it assembled, primed and painted.


by aegidian, on Flickr

http://www.shapeways.com/model/269038/

That's kind of cool.

Nice one Aegidian!

oh wow, that's cracking! how'd they do the skull & crossbones, did you have to model them too? if so, that's great work.
still think the rough texture is a bit odd for a ship, dunno if the "polished" material option would be an improvement.

love the idea of interchangeable bits tho. been years since i made up a kit. you'll have to register the name Oofix or something ;-D

Killer Wolf wrote:

how'd they do the skull & crossbones, did you have to model them too? if so, that's great work.

I went back to the sources from when I first modelled this, and found the skull and cutlasses pic. Then I ran that through a heightfield generator and finally welded it into the model in Wings. The result's okay, considering the definition of the material.

I might get a better result using their more detailed plastics (frosted detail or frosted ultra detail,) but those will have to wait or a day when I have more disposable income.


Thanks for the props!

Wow, that looks fantastic!

"Then I ran that through a heightfield generator and finally welded it into the model in Wings. The result's okay, considering the definition of the material."

ah, how far we've come from the days of clipping out a transfer, putting it in a saucer of water and watching it curl up and then straighten out, then carefully sliding it off onto a kit, only for it to tear or go on wonky. the youth of today will miss all that fun w/ shapeways.

Killer Wolf wrote:

...clipping out a transfer, putting it in a saucer of water and watching it curl up and then straighten out, then carefully sliding it off onto a kit, only for it to tear or go on wonky...

Wow, that brought back some memories!

lol, i shoulda had shares in Airfix when i was a kit. loved those things, dunno how many hours me and my dad spent making up kits.

that looks really nice actually. How much sanding does it need to smooth it all out? Also aegidian you might be iterested in this new free software from Autodesk - http://www.123dapp.com/ (it's a modelling app designed with 3d printing in mind)

ramon wrote:

that looks really nice actually. How much sanding does it need to smooth it all out? Also aegidian you might be iterested in this new free software from Autodesk - http://www.123dapp.com/ (it's a modelling app designed with 3d printing in mind)

I was really only interested in sanding a fraction of a millimetre off the edges of the swappable plates so they fitted properly (I need to increase the tolerances there).

Rather than sand the whole thing (which might mar the detail), I'm opting to give it a quick coat of acrylic satin varnish (Humbrol 135), which tones down the roughness and primes the otherwise very porous polyamide for painting.

If I wanted a smoother surface I might opt for the tumble polished WSFP material from shapeways.

I'll check out 123dapp, thank you.