Monday 14 April 2014

1/8 Mai-Otome Arika Yumemiya Meister Robe Version 1.5 Manga version (Custom parts)

Taken ages to complete, but it's finally done.

General View








 


Detailed Views








 
 
Conclusion
 
Since this is a resin kit, there isn't much to say beside the typical "advanced modeler only" and "painting, gluing and part drilling/shaving/tweeking required". So instead, let's talk about 3D printed parts.
 
On this kit I have modeled and printed the following parts using Shapeways:
In Strong White Flexible, a SLS nylon:
- Shoulders
- back ribbon (splitted into 2 parts)
- ribbon tail ornaments (8 pieces)
- new weapon hand guard
 
In Frosted Detailed, a stereolithography acrylic like plastic:
- blade parts (2 pieces, 1 with the internal rod for the hand to hold onto)
 
Despite how it look, SWF material is TOUGH!. So tough it's nearly impossible to sand flat! the SLS nature means that the parts are rough on the surface, so it cannot be left as is. The solution is to use thick filler spray paint, like car body filler, to fill the surface in layer by layer, before sand them smooth again.
 
Frosted Detailed parts are much easier to work with. Being a stereolithograpgy part, the biggest problem it has is the layer becoming visible, but the material is much easier to sand down. The material is technically semi transparent, but there are voids within the layers, which makes it opague. By painting and letting clear gloss paint soak into the plastic, it actually makes the part more transparent (although, never truly clear).
 
Overall though this is an interesting experience, and I'll build upon this on me next venture into 2D printing parts.

2 comments:

  1. Hi! This is just wonderful! I wanted to buy this kit for so long, but they are out of stock everywhere. Can you please say where you bought it? Thanks!

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    1. I got mine from E2046.com . As usual for an older resin kit, it is a recast, but it is pretty good. Be patient with E2046 though. anything in pre-order phase will take months while they collect enough orders for them to request workshops to make a productino run.

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