Custom Eldar Hornets ,with 3D printed components

[Nick1080]

I love the Forge World Hornet but it's a bit pricey for me to buy full squadrons, plus I wanted to build something a bit unique so I thought I'd try my hand at building some of my own design. Around this time my work bought a 3D printer for us to play with... It all spiralled from there and I ended up designing and building these guys:

Mark 1:
8748
Mark 2:
8749
Mark 3:
8750

Basically they're a 3D printed plastic (poly lactic Acid, or PLA, plastic in this case) core with plasticard panelling and Eldar vehicle parts for detailing (the weapons, cockpit and engines mostly). I built the cores as upper and lower hulls in the SolidWorks CAD package and superglued them together before starting the detailing process. I built the CAD mdoels at work so I didn't really have much in the way of reference to hand so they are a little bigger than the stock Hornet - especially the Mark 2 but I'm really pretty happy with how they turned out and I'm really learning my way round the CAD software in process.

Theres a full album here with lots more angles and some Work in Progress shots of the Mark 2 to give a better idea of how they're built:
http://imgur.com/a/8ypif#w2DXDGa

From these beginnings the madness as truely taken and hold and I thought I'd try my hand at something a little bigger. Heres a sneak preview, hot off the print bed:

8751

8752

I'm thinking I'll build and equip it as a counts as Phoenix, although something about it is tempting me to make it as a DE Voidraven...
I doubt a 3D printer cheap enough for hobby use will be able to produce fully detailed models any time soon but my approach really saves a lot of the more drudgey parts of scratch building

C and C (and more ideas!) always welcome.

[Morgrim]

That last WIP intrigues me as a DE player. How did you manage to curve the plasticard for the top cladding? Some sort of heat, I'm assuming? Would sanding them smooth instead be an alternate option?

[Nick1080]

For the curved parts I try and bend the plasticard as much as possible to the right shape with pliers/fingers/simple formers/whatever works before laying it over a thick layer of milliput. Once this dries I sand it to the final required shape - theres a lot of milliput in the top surface of the mark 3.

As to smoothing the printed plastic - it can be sanded, but it takes _forever_. I've had better luck with filling the ridges and sanding back from there. Liquid green stuff can be daubed all over it and sanded back, or high build card bodywork primer - spray and sand, spray and sand. It's a bugger though because there always seems to be just more little bit where the lines show - I did some aircraft models for my work it took forever. The PLA plastic doesn't really like having panel lines scribed in either so I go for the cladding method to keep control over the surface detail.

If you print in ABS plastic you can use an acetone vapour bath to smooth out the surface but that's not something I have experience with (the vapour required for doing this to PLA is a lot nastier chemical and I don't want to mess with it)

[Khain Mor]

being able to use a 3D printer is one thing, designing good models is another, like in this case. Honestly I really don't like your designs for various reason, which can all be summed up as the main design.

if GW models looked like this, I wouldn't be a 40k collector, no major offence, just personal taste.

[Horowitz Tal]

are you willing to share the design?

[Nick1080]

No offence at all :) I'm a jobbing CADsmith who's still learning and does a bit of CAD in support of my work, GWs guys are (hopefully) experts in their field - if GWs looked like mine I wouldn't buy em either.
Now I happen to like my designs, and each one I do I learn something useful that makes the next one better, some of which I've tried to share here.

- - - Updated - - -

Willing to share the design? Yes. Able to share the design right now? No:)

Owing to where I work extricating the files from the computer system isn't as simple as plugging in a USB key (well, it is, but only if I want get fired). I can get em out, just need to follow due process which I haven't gotten around to yet.

[Arthfael]

I like them ^^ Design 1 not so much (it's still impressive, just not my thing), but 2 and 3, while not flawless, are great variants which I think integrate seamlessly with the eldar range. Great. Also, I believe you've also a completed scratchbuilt eldar flyer? Is this yours: http://imgur.com/gallery/PZdZFsj ? That's got to be one of the best eldar designs I've ever seen, I could marry this. There is also an identical one with different paintjob on flicker, did you repaint it or do you have two? Anyway, I'm looking forward to more of your stuff.

[eliahu77]

Hi, I didn't realize you were on BOLS as well - any chance you managed to get your model off your work computer into a place you can share? Thanks!!! Fantastic work!



No offence at all :) I'm a jobbing CADsmith who's still learning and does a bit of CAD in support of my work, GWs guys are (hopefully) experts in their field - if GWs looked like mine I wouldn't buy em either.
Now I happen to like my designs, and each one I do I learn something useful that makes the next one better, some of which I've tried to share here.

- - - Updated - - -

Willing to share the design? Yes. Able to share the design right now? No:)

Owing to where I work extricating the files from the computer system isn't as simple as plugging in a USB key (well, it is, but only if I want get fired). I can get em out, just need to follow due process which I haven't gotten around to yet.