alfahobbyuk 1/700 liners and aircraft carriers 3d printed - anyone seen them? any good?

[Dave Swindell]

I came across a Chinese ebay seller with an interesting line of 3d printed kits including some 1/700 Liners and Aircraft Carriers that interested me

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=alfahobby&store_cat=0&store_name=alfahobbyuk&_oac=1&_nkw=3d

 

These are unbranded (their own kits???) although they have other branded ship kits

 

Anyone used them before, or seen the kits in person?

They are a bit pricey for a blind punt, but if up to the quality of the likes of the recent Starling Models 3d printed kits could be reasonable value for larger models.

It's not clear whether they're FDM or SLA printed, some photo's look like SLA but others don't.

Opinions?

 

[PF Naughton]

Hi,

Thanks for the heads up.  I've never seen these before, but I did buy a 1/350 scale modern US FFG and a 1/700 scale Lockheed FFG proposal (based on the LCS) off Shapeways before.  

One issue that I had with them, which may also be an issue with kits like those you poste a link for, are that while you can 3D print relatively large blocks with all its details prefitted with a 3D printer, sometimes it would be nice if everything wasn't printed as a single block together, especially when it comes to cleaning up and prepping the part(s) for painting.  In particular for some of the models I see at the link for eBay I see that some appear to have superstructure blocks printed as a sinble piece but which have alot of cutout and overhangs etc on the various decks which could potentially be harder to work with than if the decks were separate and you build the superstructure up from smaller blocks as part of the build.

 

Regards

Pat

Edited June 15, 2024 by PF Naughton

[Dave Swindell]

@PF Naughton Thanks for that Pat. I think you've raised a particular conundrum facing ship model kit manufacturers there, which 3d printing takes to another level. Adding as much detail as possible to large parts and minimising the number of parts in the kit can eliminate the need for construction cleanup and handling and assembling loads of miniscule separate parts, but it makes it a nightmare to remove moulding faults and detail painting loads of integral deck fittings and under overhanging decks. There's no easy answer as some modellers prefer the simplicity of construction whilst others will opt for ease of painting. I'm happy in either camp so long as the kit producer doesn't go to extremes in either direction, what I was particularly interested in here was the quality of the prints, which can be difficult to ascertain for sure from photos.

[bensworx]

alfahobbyuk is a 3dprinting service located in China.

They buy stl files from established groups like Gambody, CGTrader, 3dCults, etc
and sell 3d printed model kits with total disregard to the artist's intellectual
property.

 

for example..their Arleigh Burke Destroyer kit:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276886180539?itmmeta=01JSXW4F75P92TAC9VV5TJNVAN&hash=item4077b3d2bb:g:jCQAAOSwnyVnt0Dz

 

was fabricated using stl files from CGTrader/bensworx: 
https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-print-models/hobby-diy/robotics/1-96-arleigh-burke-ddg-model-ship

 

You'll note they brazenly used the reference photos from the CGTrader site

A modeling friend living in China tells me IP theft is rampant. There are sites like AliExpress's "Idle Fish"

selling stll packages at a fraction of the artist's price.

 

Best Regards,

Ben

 

[Dave Swindell]

8 hours ago, bensworx said:

alfahobbyuk is a 3dprinting service located in China.

They buy stl files from established groups like Gambody, CGTrader, 3dCults, etc
and sell 3d printed model kits with total disregard to the artist's intellectual
property.

 

for example..their Arleigh Burke Destroyer kit:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276886180539?itmmeta=01JSXW4F75P92TAC9VV5TJNVAN&hash=item4077b3d2bb:g:jCQAAOSwnyVnt0Dz

 

was fabricated using stl files from CGTrader/bensworx: 
https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-print-models/hobby-diy/robotics/1-96-arleigh-burke-ddg-model-ship

 

You'll note they brazenly used the reference photos from the CGTrader site

A modeling friend living in China tells me IP theft is rampant. There are sites like AliExpress's "Idle Fish"

selling stll packages at a fraction of the artist's price.

 

Best Regards,

Ben

 

Thanks for that Ben, it's something I hadn't considered and probably should have. If the models I'm interested in have been produced in this way then it will definitely be worth looking for the source STL files, both to support the designer and possibly save a bit by purchasing the stl's and printing it myself.

[Graham Boak]

I'd sooner pay a fair price than this pig in a poke.   I don't have a 3D printer, nor the desire to go through the agonies of learning to use it properly.  However, how else am I going to get an Indomitable?  There's a reasonable chance of a Town class cruiser in injected tooling, so I'll pass on that.  If you are interested in an Indomitable, Dave, and it looked good, would you be interested in an order? 

[Dave Swindell]

52 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

I'd sooner pay a fair price than this pig in a poke.   I don't have a 3D printer, nor the desire to go through the agonies of learning to use it properly.  However, how else am I going to get an Indomitable?  There's a reasonable chance of a Town class cruiser in injected tooling, so I'll pass on that.  If you are interested in an Indomitable, Dave, and it looked good, would you be interested in an order? 

I was thinking Curious, Spurious & Outrageous after conversion. I've got a thing about the battlecruisers and i've got the combrig Indomitable (though I suspect that's not the one you're wanting) I'm also currently sans printer....

[Graham Boak]

Indeed.  I was thinking of the one my Dad came home from Australia on.  This one was shown on the website  but I didn't see the ones you mention.  I thought it a long shot but asking doesn't hurt.

[Dave Swindell]

8 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

Indeed.  I was thinking of the one my Dad came home from Australia on.  This one was shown on the website  but I didn't see the ones you mention.  I thought it a long shot but asking doesn't hurt.

Most of the models that piqued the interest that started the thread are no longer shown, however Ben's post regarding their source is both disappointing (copyright theft) and encouraging (there may be original stl's out there to purchase, just a matter of finding the time to go hunting and invest the time and money in a print setup.

[S-boat 55]

These kits kind of remind on of a paint by numbers book,