[Zap Rowsdower]

I have started trying to weather the helmet now. hopefully not going overboard:



There is still a lot of work left to do on this helmet detail but I have all of my other test pieces weathered and ready to go. I already have the vest, belt, knees, and shoulder armor finished. Thigh armor won't be involved until I can get a reliable thickness and fit for that part on my home printer and I won't be holding up the show on color printing for that. Once the "wear and tear" is done on the helmet and the wrist armor I will be out of excuses and it will be time to order a test print.

[Jet Nicholson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zap Rowsdower

Still working on the "bathtub" for the modern-era Skystriker:





I'm adding walls slowly around the outside, printing, testing, adjusting, and then moving further back so I can map out the available interior space. Once I finish doing that all of the way up and back I'm going to fill it up with as much detail as I can, finalize the position/pitch of the seats, and call it a (very long) day. There won't be much else I can do for it.

For those of you who have been waiting and waiting for a 2-seater option, is the requirement that you remove your figures' lower legs to fit them in here a deal-breaker? I don't see any practical way around it, but I'm curious if this will even be a desired piece once it's finished.

Hi, this is my first-ever post on the Hiss forums. I was this close to opening up Maya and trying to hack together a 2 seat bathtub for my modern Sky Striker the other day, but fortunately I found this thread and have been skimming for any info about modern Sky Striker mod parts. My opinion is, if it's at all possible, offer the end user the option as to whether they would rather remove the legs, or cut their Sky Striker. Maybe leave openings where the legs could go if the owner is willing to cut the plastic on the toy.

I know some people wince at the idea of doing invasive mods but I think at the end of the day, it's all about making your toys be the best you can imagine them as. For some people they would rather preserve the original plastic, but for me, I like the tactile satisfaction of loading and unloading the figures to re-create the play pattern I was familiar with as a kid, so to me that's worth doing some additional modification to the original toy.

At the end of the day just remember that choice is good. In any case this is a product I am eagerly anticipating and I wish you the best of luck.

[Zap Rowsdower]

Been gone for a while, but it's time for an update.

I did finally finish texturing the ODST armor and a few other items for a color print. The process was extra frustrating, very time-consuming, and very expensive even though I downgraded to a cheaper color print material. The final results were also pretty disappointing in a lot of ways. Perhaps the more expensive color printing option would have come out looking acceptable, but this stuff did not.

For reference, these are the images Shapeways uses to announce and advertise the material/service I used:





Not bad, right?! A little roughness in the surface finish, but crisp, clear colors. Now, for comparison, here is a set of color swatches I had printed in the hopes that everything would come out so well that I would want to try color matching for printing more stuff in the future:





Let's not even talk about the warping at this point. See that stuff that looks like "Frosted Flakes" coating all over everything? It looks like you're trying to watch a fuzzy analog TV channel from back in the days before digital broadcasting. It's not excess/loose printing material or support material and it doesn't wash or scrub off. That's just what the surface looks like. Just a tiny bit different than their sample images, wouldn't you say? Even light sanding isn't really taking it off and even if it did, you can't really sand highly detailed models. I will also mention that the camera makes these colors look MUCH richer and more saturated than they actually appear in-person. In real life this looks even worse. But even ignoring actual color, just look at that monochrome black/white swatch to see the most basic tint/shade variety that can be achieved. That's supposed to be a gray-scale test from 5% black (almost white) to 100% black. Here is a scaled-down copy of the texture image I provided with the model so you can see what the gray-scale should have looked like:



Here is what the mostly-greens swatch should have looked like:



So, yeah, even with the help of the camera this stuff is not even close. MAJOR disappointment. There are other issues with this material that I will point out as we go, but right off the bat the colors and finish are just unacceptable.

Nevertheless, I will be presenting the results here for all to enjoy. Fortunately, I also ordered a non-color print of the ODST armor set and it came out much better than the color stuff. If I get the thigh armor worked out in a way that is reliable and easy to deal with I might make the non-color ODST set available on Shapeways. This color stuff though? Not a chance.

Up first, a nice OD green set of armor...





















That's....that's OD green, right? I mean yeah, the detail is tight enough that the blood type badge can be read and the ODST logo on the chest plate looks awesome and crisp. That's all quite impressive. But holy crap, look at the finish and color. What a crap show.

Here are the colorized silenced SMG and the SOCOM, neither of which is OD green, by the way:









The trigger guards didn't really survive, but again, it's kind of hard to tell these are even color prints at all.

Here's our ODST, suited-up:



(I busted the belt almost instantly...this stuff is fragile)






"Landfall" live action shoulder pads:




In-game shoulder pads:




And here's the OD green backpack next to a very dark gray backpack, just to show off the huge difference between the two (remember, the camera is HELPING the product in these images):







And here are the two different color prints alongside the plain gray (non-color) print of the same model:



















Now, even though all of these look like they have a gritty/dusty finish, the plain gray is actually fairly smooth and has sharper detail. In these shots, the color print is on the left and the plain gray is on the right:





Note the sunken surface on the top of the color-printed backpack here. It's not just surface finish that sucks, but the prints in general just seem to have some shrinking/shriveling involved...


Now, the additional color-printed Halo weapons I ordered were the Assault Rifle, the Battle Rifle, and the Rocket Launcher, and they turned out kinda-sorta OK:















The colors are washed out a lot (again, even worse in person) but these are somewhat passable.

(with camera flash)


(without camera flash)


And the ammo counter can't be read on the AR, but the basic idea is there:



Not quite so visible on the BR:




All in all, the color prints were a major disappointment and a huge waste of resources and time. Perhaps the premium color printing service is better, but it's at least two or three times the cost. After this experience, I'm not sure I will trust Shapeways to show me an accurate example of what their color printing service can produce.

Next up: the plain gray print that actually looks a lot better than the color printed parts.

[Zap Rowsdower]

The plain (non-color) gray print of the ODST turned out way better than the full-color printed version.

Here's how the kit comes packed:







And once you cut everything loose:



The actual parts:


The leftover sprue garbage:



Assembly stages:








Still needs thigh armor and paint, but here it is all together:











A couple of shots without camera flash to show surface finish:





Comparison with "color" print:





Weapons tests:


















Comparison shots between Jazwares ODST and this Marauder Task Force trooper build/kit:

Backpack:





SOCOM:





Silenced SMG:




Assault Rifle:





Rocket Launcher:










ODST:







In action with the drop pod:

Plain gray print:







"Color" print:

[Tracksem]

Damn bro! Your stuff is incredible zap. Great thread man.

[ARBCO Avenue]

I’m reading over this a second time. My hat is off to you Zap. I don’t know when the color printing technology will catch up to your vision but I’m impressed nonetheless. I wish frustrations like these weren’t part of progress. You are definitely breaking into new territory. I’m sure you’ll find a way.

Edit: I reread the 1st part again about the quality levels. I’d be interested to see it under a microscope to understand better. Even Hasbro’s current face painting techniques are grainy. Different process I know.

[CaliViper]

Well your modeling is absolutely top notch!

Bummer about the color prints, I had high hopes. I also gave shapeways a shot with a simple carbonite box, the price was high ($25!) and that was for the cheapest non-color material. Resin seems to be the best way to go.

But I need to explore working with alcohol inks for coloring the UV resin. But man, resin is dang heavy compared to PLA its a bit of a turn off when you think about things that need to be on hooks or go inside ships. (I also have a weird issue with it filing in a hole that I know is there on the model but thats besides the point).

I'm tempted to see if I can get one of those table top injection molders but so far only see them for like $10K!