Ship Models - a few questions

[Cmdr. Aiden Henessy]

Hey all,


So I recently here got a 3D printer, and despite some technical difficulties I'm having with the software, I've got big plans for it. One of the things I'd like to do is print off a few ships, paint them, and have them as decorative items. I have a few questions regarding that, though.

1. Where would I be able to find the 3D models for the ships? Is there coding somewhere in the files, that I can run through a program and generate a model? Or would I need some program to open a file which contains a 3D model inside it? Basically, how do I go about acquiring the actual models of the ships.

2. What's the legality of doing this? As long as it's for my own private, personal use, I assume that it's fine? I could give them as free gifts I assume, but not sell them?

3. If it would be possible to sell them... would any of you lovely folk be interested in it? The price would be fairly modest - primarily just to help cover the cost of actually printing.



Thank ya'll.

~Cmdr Aiden.

[maik]

Hi Cmdr. Aiden,

You need to convert the DAT to OBJ models first, there are converter utilities for that, see this thread for more info.

Wings3d and other 3D design apps can read OBJ files and output STL for your 3D printer.

Some ship modelers also provide the OBJ files directly, Griff does in his box account for example.

Beware that the more modern models that make heavy use of shaders are actually rather simple, the detail being in the shaders, so you don't get them from the model. Also, some models use several sub-entities which you might have to print separately and ensure that they are actually watertight so they can be printed at all.

Unfortunately it is not as easy as taking Griff's Cobra, converting it, and sending it to the printer. But if you have enough time to spend then I'm looking forward to your results!

[Disembodied]

Giles sells some small (palm-sized) Oolite models via his Shapeways shop (along with a bunch of other cool stuff). The ships come in separate pieces, as kits to be assembled, though: I suspect Giles had to create the kit sections himself.

[another_commander]

Note also that all model files exist already in github in .obj format and you can find them here: https://github.com/OoliteProject/oolite-assets

You can download the entire repo by clicking the green button on the above page.

[Cmdr. Aiden Henessy]

Thanks all for your help. I'll be sure to get cracking on those and let ya'll know of any progress I make.