Depends on the ship, how delicate it is... Shapeways DOES have a polished option for White Strong and Flexible, but most of the models broke when done in that material so I didnt made it available.

(From Left to Right) White Strong and Flexible, White Strong and Flexible Polished, White Detail, Frosted Detail and Frosted Ultra Detail

I just got these... i have a dozen of them and they are awesome.

Shapeways is coming out with a new print option. Frosted Extreme Detail at 16 microns. Their previous highest resolution was Frosted Ultra Detail at 29 microns. So that's nearly double the resolution.

The bad news about that is that they are also taking down the Frosted Detail material.

Unfortunately, no. FUD will cost the same and FXD will be more expensive.

Mel's Planetary Defeners, in Frosted Ultra Detail:

They're smooth. No graininess at all. Here they are, painted, alongside FFG's own Z95's:

There ARE print lines on the models, but they are barely visible to the naked eye:

The lines are only visible here because of the zoom level and the flash on the camera. They're almost completely invisible when looking at the actual model, and they're more pronounced here because they're on a curved surface - flat planes simple do not show them at all.

Great paint jobs on those! They look really neat.

Thanks! Not sure they'd be quite as impressive up close, but they pass muster from a distance at least.

I wanted to check out the quality of Shapeways and I always liked the look of the Planetary Defenders in X-Wing: Alliance, I figured they would be one of the ships FFG were least likely to do so I gave it a go.

One thing the Shapeways models showed me is just how much intricate detail is actually on the FFG models; I didn't really notice until I compared the two next to each other.

Now, I really need to get my Nebulon B mounted on it's base...

One technique I read was a acetone bath. Obviously use in a well ventilated area!! You get a tub large enough to hold your 3d printed item, and pour some acetone into the tub. I think think it has to be much, maybe an inch deep? You then lower your figure into the tub on a rack, so it's not actually in the acetone at all! You then leave it in there, until you think it looks smooth enough. This takes trial and error and you'll probably destroy a few items. And I'd say that the bigger the item is the longer you'd have to leave it in there. This works because the vapors from the acetone are still caustic enough to melt the plastic the figure is printed from, and this will start to melt the surface of the figure. I'm not sure that this would work with X-wing figures because of the fine detail. And also, if you can get the smooth finish with the Frosted Ultra Detail, then why bother?

Frosted ultra is what i suggest for all my minis (except for the ones too large for the option) I looked at the price for frosted extreme and it was almot double so with FUD looking very nice as is im not sure if it worth the extra cost. I might seeif the acetine methodworks on some of my larger ships snce FUD is not available for ships over a certain size

Frosted ultra is what i suggest for all my minis (except for the ones too large for the option) I looked at the price for frosted extreme and it was almot double so with FUD looking very nice as is im not sure if it worth the extra cost. I might seeif the acetine methodworks on some of my larger ships snce FUD is not available for ships over a certain size

Frosted Extreme Detail will likely only be worth the cost where the designers have gone above and beyond the call of duty putting insane amounts of intricate detail into their work.

*nudge*

Examples. Bothans and Scum in WSF

No negative reflection on the artists who painted them just showing the less than perfect surface texture

Starwing and an extremely small Federation (actually Imperial) ship in FUD

The difference is pretty clear i think. Or should i say frosted

Frosted ultra is what i suggest for all my minis (except for the ones too large for the option) I looked at the price for frosted extreme and it was almot double so with FUD looking very nice as is im not sure if it worth the extra cost. I might seeif the acetine methodworks on some of my larger ships snce FUD is not available for ships over a certain size

Frosted Extreme Detail will likely only be worth the cost where the designers have gone above and beyond the call of duty putting insane amounts of intricate detail into their work.

*nudge*

Also, Frosted Extreme Detail is VERY limited size wise. I dont think the intention of that material is for ships like this. Its only available for ships smaller than a TIE Fighter.

It will be good for Armada Fighters though.

One trick to get a better finish on the grainy WSF material is to first wash them thoroughly in mild soapwater, let dry and the give them one or more thin coats of dilluted PVA glue as a varnish (ratio 3:1 later 4:1). People also use Pledge Klear or Future 'floor wax'.. followed by ligt sanding on flat surfaces and then spray primer. All these methods has been used extensively with the Wings of War crowd for 1/144 WWI models.

Since no TIE Avenger in wave 7, may be placing an order for 1 to lead my Advanced's from you guys soon.

I'll have to see the limitations size wise but any excuse is a good excuse to go overboard on detail. There is a reason im redetailing my Armada scale ships. Its one of my favourite things to do *L*. The email sent out to designers said that frosted extreme is stronger so im hoping it will be good for smaller craft. One of my cruiser designs is printable in FED at about 4.5 inches so certainly enough wiggle roomas far as size goes for any X Wing fighters and several Armada ship scales. Im more concerned about cost. Even with my pitiful markup the base cost seems to be quite a bit higher for FED

As an aside, I've just placed an order for a couple of your Z95 designs Gosric. Looking forward to seeing how they come out!

I have such a huge shapeways order coming in from Mel - basically the entire Clone Wars in a box. I'm so excited.

I have such a huge shapeways order coming in from Mel - basically the entire Clone Wars in a box. I'm so excited.

Pics please once they arrive! I'm interested in adding some V-19 and ARC-170s.

I have such a huge shapeways order coming in from Mel - basically the entire Clone Wars in a box. I'm so excited.

Pics please once they arrive! I'm interested in adding some V-19 and ARC-170s.

I didn't get the V-19s, I got 2 ARC-170s, 2 V-Wings, a bunch of droid stuff, 3 Jedi Interceptors, the Naboo Royal Starship, and some more Naboo N-1s. I was going to get some clone Y-Wings, but it was getting expensive, so I held off. Mel said he'd make me the Rogue-class Starfighter, AKA Porax P-38 though, so I'll definitely be ordering some of those too.

Here is my Corellian Star Shuttle I had printed by Shapeways in White Strong & Flexible Polished. Polishing tends to soften a lot of the detail. After priming it doesn't look too bad.

I wanted a CSS-1 that was a lot larger in scale and more detailed. Being a 3D graphics artist by trade, this was easy for me, but unfortunately finding good reference shots of this ship which appears only briefly in Episode 1 was kind of difficult. I'm also wondering if the real one was just CGI.

For size comparison:








I will post pictures once it's painted.

At $40, (even though I did a good job of hollowing in the inside), printing in Ultra Detail Frosted would be cost prohibitive (over $100).

In 3D Studio Max:

I would like to buy one of those for my Clone Wars collection. Should be similar in length to my Naboo Royal Starship.

At $40, (even though I did a good job of hollowing in the inside), printing in Ultra Detail Frosted would be cost prohibitive (over $100).

In 3D Studio Max:

Its a beautiful model, and its a shame people wont be able to buy it with that price.

I can't do STL, I can do OBJ. Are you able to work with OBJ?

Shapeways CSS-1 Corellian Star Shuttle

I've a feeling that hollowing it out further won't make it cheaper unfortunately, but I'm open to trying.

Shapeways is down now :S Yes, I can do obj.

Here is my Corellian Star Shuttle I had printed by Shapeways in White Strong & Flexible Polished. Polishing tends to soften a lot of the detail. After priming it doesn't look too bad.

I wanted a CSS-1 that was a lot larger in scale and more detailed. Being a 3D graphics artist by trade, this was easy for me, but unfortunately finding good reference shots of this ship which appears only briefly in Episode 1 was kind of difficult. I'm also wondering if the real one was just CGI.

For size comparison:

That looks awesome and I totally want one (ok, two). $40 is steep, though. Very nice work, Fanbus!

Hey Gosric,

Would you be able to point out what ships you've re-done for Armada at some point? I've really enjoyed looking through your work, but am specifically looking for some Armada scale ships to print up! Thanks!