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Adventures in 3D printing: Star Wars A-Wing


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Having bought an Anycubic Photon after Bootneck kindly pointed out they were on offer, I have been printing away for about 3 weeks.

So now is the time to take the plunge and build someting that I've printed.

I had been quietly watching StevenBills build of the Y-Wing using his Elegoo Mars and this got my interest up in building a Star Wars ship, the CG model was bought from CGTrader (same author as Steves Y-Wing) and away I went.

 

A couple of weeks of printing got me here:

bKPC5OE.jpg

 

Scalewise I thought I would revive the old 'Box scale' of the 50's, but this was going to be 'Printer scale' i.e. as big as the printer would handle.

There were some issues along the way, mostly of my own doing, here is one of the main engines, correct on the left, failed print on the right:

 

FiwzeXR.jpg

 

This was caused by the part next to it falling off the print bed, also the orientation of the part.

 

Also I was getting a surface like cucumber skin:

 

xoOlQxg.jpg

(Upper rear fuse parts)

 

This was caused by orientation of the part on the print bed, the weight pulling the still soft resin out of shape.

Most, if not all of the failures were caused by the orientation of the part on the printer bed, something I only realised part way through printing the kit so I've had to reprint a couple of parts and repair faults in others.

 

Here is the difference that correct orientation makes, the two halves of the cockpit, correct orientation on the left, incorrect on the right.

sqS0rcP.jpg

 

I've done some prep work on the resin (face mask firmly on ) sanding the flat surfaces to give better contact when assembling.

 

vrhNZX9.jpg

 

The mating surfaces are not perfect, but better than most resin kits.

 

dSgUTYS.jpg

As there are no instructions beyond an exploded view and some build photos I marked up some of the parts to avoid confusion.

hPI0uae.jpg

 

Thanks for looking in,

 

Stuart

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Stu_davros
Spolling
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On 9/13/2020 at 6:10 PM, Stephen W said:

Will keep an eye on this as I have been thinking about a resin printer for some time to bring my 3d models into the real world, currently using paper and card with some success so this may be a jump for Christmas :) 

 

It's certainly a very interesting new direction to our hobby, however it's worth considering that resin printers are quite messy though so need to be kept away from pets and children. I have neither so can do this without having to put everything away when I'm not home.

 

19 minutes ago, StevenBills said:

This is looking great! 3D printing is an exercise in patience and learning with every part you print! I need to get back on my Y-Wing. There are too many projects to do!

 

SB

Thanks Steve, patience is certainly a major requirement. However it's curious how much time I've spent looking through the window of the printer, watching another part emerge from the goo.

 

A little update, I've started assembling the top hull, first up is the three parts of the cockpit. I'll be using the resin to glue it together and fill any gaps.

 

Mnoum8D.jpg

 

Clamped together ready for some resin.

 

XlkXJYS.jpg

 

The cured resin makes for a very strong bond.

 

The two halves of the top hull centre were next, an F-clamp securely holds the two parts together and allows small adjustments to the position.

 

B3rYSRo.jpg

XrN83pi.jpg

 

 

I ran some resin along the joint on the back,

Ue5HKKR.jpg

 

Capillary action takes the resin across the whole joint,

kFnz10v.jpg

 

And about 30 seconds under a UV lamp forms a nice strong bond.

 

rf1ebjH.jpg

 

CVRYQzg.jpg

 

Thanks for everyones interest.

 

Stuart

 

 

 

 

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A little more progress, The main parts are printed hollow so drain holes were necessary:

 

LhhUwu2.jpg

 

Most would be hidden inside the model but a few were necessary in visable areas, the resin was again used to fill these, using surface tension and the UV lamp to good effect.

 

ezA8Y8s.jpg

 

Once sanded down the resin blends in well.

 

KnsdRcF.jpg

 

The top hull sides were next and quickly attached:

 

Ejb77Eo.jpg

 

ZAbTa9t.jpg

 

45OtDVO.jpg

 

Despite the size and complexity of the assembly glueing with the resin makes it feel like a single part.

 

zRc3qNC.jpg

 

The two halves of the top hull rear were next,

 

hjTCZbs.jpg

 

Y09bY5o.jpg

 

A test fit with the rest of the hull shows that a great deal of sanding will be necessary,

 

P96evo2.jpg

 

This was caused by the distortion mentioned earlier pulling the resin out of shape, fixable but avoidable during printing.

 

I couldn't resist a mock up of the top hull.

 

T2GPuWU.jpg

 

fDhIeRG.jpg

 

Until next time.

 

Stuart.

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The lower hull assembled much the same as the top hull so not much of interest.

 

azNr8zb.jpg

 

Zshep4J.jpg

 

JPoDN18.jpg

 

A test fit of the rear hull showed the fit was better than the top.

 

CgNvB5T.jpg

 

It would still need some work though.

 

The two halves of the hull were clamped together and glued, working from the aft to the forward, clamping and squeezing by hand as I went.

 

DsfhjFq.jpg

 

rRZzXjC.jpg

I managed to close most of the gaps but a certain amount of filler will be required.

 

Another mock up,

 

FS884WX.jpg

 

95U0Smf.jpg

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Stuart

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Amazing stuff going on here.

I can remember a string of posts on this very forum a few years ago where there were LOADS of people saying 3D printing will never impact on this hobby...

Almost laughable now.

I'm VERY tempted to take the plunge and get a printer for my large scratch-build cars...

 

I'm watching this build with great interest.

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1 hour ago, roymattblack said:

I can remember a string of posts on this very forum a few years ago where there were LOADS of people saying 3D printing will never impact on this hobby...

Almost laughable now.

I'm VERY tempted to take the plunge and get a printer for my large scratch-build cars.

22 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Do it! :poke:

Seconded. I can see it being very useful for you Roy.

 

I think the market for garage scifi kits taking a hit, also the resin aftermarket companies. They need to roll with the times though and start producing CAD stuff for sale, it's already happening and will get bigger, with or without them.

 

Stuart

 

 

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