I am eager to see your designs!

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

Well, looks like FUD is bad in high pressure, high temperature molding processes. More details and photos on Wednesday. The VTOL bodies got ripped and must be run through the bronzening stage for now. As Shapeways has increased the costs for these recently, I have to afford around 100€ just for the master instead of 30 before. Urrgh. If someone knows a cheaper solution, please tell me.

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

Hmm, Shapeways' wax is even more expensive, but would work better for casting. However, if you want a good print for production you'll probably not find anything cheaper, unless you have friends at the right places.

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Bits Blitz - The place to be for all your bits needs!

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/bitsblitz

Problem is, Wax won't stand the temperature either. I am currently redesigning my whole model so it fits the harsher restrictions on the polished bronze steel. Will take a couple of weeks, though

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

Hmm, htm140 (type of printing material) is then the way to go. However, it's pricy. Timo Laumann is the guy you want to approach: http://micro-rp.com

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Bits Blitz - The place to be for all your bits needs!

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/bitsblitz

Thanks for the tip! I will ask him!

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

Due to the announced pressure problems, the casts look like this.


I threw the mold and the master model into the waste bin and I am currently redesigning my model from scratch, with the now learned lessions.
Previous:

Now:


Previous:

Now:


Current Status


But on the bright side, the shrimps are just fine



There is also an update on my painting log

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

Heres an update on the 3D stuff.





I already have finished the sensor array at the front. When I upload the bloody thing to Shapeways it is destroyed on multiple occasions. Their are holes all over the model, some geometries just get lost... It is getting really on my nerves. On top of it, the VTOL above costs a fortune in Bronze.

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

I may miss your response to this so pm me when you respond but keep the info here so it can be shared.

Their is a resin that is able to be vulcanized, have you looked into vulcanizable resins yet? I have talked to people that have worked with companies that do vulcanizable resin but i havent myself. What i'm thinking is if you can find a small enough lot of the resin for purchase you could easily cast some standard masters using a regular pressure pot. You could even be able to set up your production mould for vulcanization.

Blind-

Hmm losing geometry is because you either dont have solid components or theres something wrong with faces, grouping things etc. Shapeways dont tell if your file is missing something so you better check the structure of your design again.

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Shapeways store: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/tinywares

Blogging about 6-15mm wargaming: http://www.lead-space.net

There is a problem with resin, it may contain air bubbles. So I need the whole "pressure pot" route.
And I want them casted in white metal, so "mass" manufactured resin ist out.

@blind
Can you tell me about these companies?

@Lead
There are differences between the uploaded files, if I use Collada I have different results than with STL. Even the dimensions are completely bogus. I single-handly checked all faces. I even double checked manifoldness multiple times. Perhaps there is a problem with the export in blender...

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

Hmm export might be bugging yes. Have you googled the problem?

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Shapeways store: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/tinywares

Blogging about 6-15mm wargaming: http://www.lead-space.net

Yes, but my google-fu is not strong enough yet...

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

I have finished the 3D Model but am stuck now.

Original, rendered model:


Export via Blender 2.72, STL


Export via Blender 2.72, Collada (.dae)


There was no modification on the model whatsoever.

edit: YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!
i just tried to use a cloud based automated fixing tool on the stl file and it worked! Holy crap, I would NEVER thought this would actually do the trick

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!

I have finished the work on the first VTOL and started work on the second one. Feedback welcome!

Parts:


I also started work on the reworked weapons sprue. Which rocket pod version do you like more? The one with the small tips or the one with the holes? Size can be adjusted, of course.

I also started work on the Heavy Bolter in the front of the "Hunter Class" VTOL. This could also be used on other models.

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My blog - A man without a mountain of unpainted lead is no real man!