Others will differ, but I would not buy buy Acrylate again. If you can remove the knobby ridge things, it's definitely a better over all material than WSF, but it's not a small task depending on the ship / mini.

Just now, Chuntsinger said:

so for a separatist ship, would you recommend the black acrylate or the standard white?

I'd almost never *recommend* the white - if you're on a super-tight budget, it can be made to work - I'm sure it was Vykes who had a comparison on this topic somewhere else on this forum - the white soaks up paint like no one's business, so there's some prep work and filling you might have to do. I will explore this with the bulk freighter. Obviously the more knowledgeable can wade in with specifics until then, or have a poke around.

Pretty sure I've seen Mel recommend FUD over everything else also.

5 minutes ago, MajSharpe said:

I'd almost never *recommend* the white - if you're on a super-tight budget, it can be made to work - I'm sure it was Vykes who had a comparison on this topic somewhere else on this forum - the white soaks up paint like no one's business, so there's some prep work and filling you might have to do. I will explore this with the bulk freighter. Obviously the more knowledgeable can wade in with specifics until then, or have a poke around.

Pretty sure I've seen Mel recommend FUD over everything else also.

FUD is super expensive. Depending on the size of the ship, I don't think WSF is all that bad. The Vindicator and Dreadnought in my pics above are both WSF.

But I've never tried to paint them beyond just a primer spray.

20 minutes ago, jscott991 said:

Others will differ, but I would not buy buy Acrylate again. If you can remove the knobby ridge things, it's definitely a better over all material than WSF, but it's not a small task depending on the ship / mini.

Hmm yes, looking at http://www.allscaletrek.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4072 it does look a little problem-fraught, on big curved surfaces. I shall see how my Station turns out, as I've seen a far greater number of figures/miniatures looking OK... I've got a pretty good macro lens, so time will tell!

cool, just post your pics here. thanks for the input guys, this is really helpful. if and when i get my ship i'll do what i can to post a picture

What's the difference between the FUD and the Hi Def Acyrlyte

14 minutes ago, FourDogsInaHorseSuit said:

What's the difference between the FUD and the Hi Def Acyrlyte

They're different types of plastic, from the 3D printer.

https://www.shapeways.com/materials/high-definition-acrylate - Black Acrylate

Bit of an unknown for most of us, reasonably new, jscott doesn't like it much and I'll be giving it a try soon...

(edited: the main "problem" with Acrylate seems to be that it is in its own supporting material too. With FUD, they use a stinky kinda wax in a dual-part process to make the part. When the model is complete, they bake it and melt off the wax, leaving the FUD part pretty much unscathed. This doesn't happen with the acrylate it seems, which means some effort needs to be put into clean up - effectively it's a little cheaper for what may turn out to be a bit more work... I shall report back)

https://www.shapeways.com/materials/frosted-detail-plastic - FUD

FUD is what I'm used to for Mel's stuff (and some other bits and pieces); it's glassy, kinda brittle (very brittle in some pieces, and will smash if you drop anything substantial made of it), but picks up detail really well. It smells weirdly coconutty from the printers, and needs to be washed thoroughly in normal soap before you do anything with it. If you leave it in your painting queue for long enough it also goes a sort of nicotine yellow (though that doesn't seem to affect it in any way)

In my experience with materials (which isn't much, I've only ever ordered 2 sets of ships) the black acrylate is very time consuming to get looking decent, and because of the size of some models you may not be able to get into every nook.

On the plus side however, I do prefer the texture of black acrylate, as it looks very similar to the ffg plastic. (Again judging this by the one FUD ship I've ever gotten, which was on the rough side.)

You can see the supporting material if you look closely. The problem is that because the material is black these bumps can go unnoticed until after you've started painting.

However if you're willing to put in the time, the results are simply fantastic.

that looks really good man, thanks for showing me. again guys, all of your feedback is extremely helpful.

Here you have a comparsion of the three materials with a black primer:

And this is an exam`ple of the dropplets on BHDA:

Although the user told me he cleaned it pretty well with sandpaper.

Does Mel do ships in sections so there's no holes on the bottom, like on that Naboo thing or the Arq? I mean it would be easier to paint/ mod if it was in pieces.

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/mel_miniatures?section=Armada+Ships&s=0

here's the link man. the stuff on here is way cool.

5 hours ago, melminiatures said:

Here you have a comparsion of the three materials with a black primer:

And this is an exam`ple of the dropplets on BHDA:

Although the user told me he cleaned it pretty well with sandpaper.

when you have to go to the source...mel, I am on the cusp of handing you my money for a separatist ship. do you have any pictures of any of them? Also, I just wanted to say thank you for all of your hard work, you inspire us all.

Those are from adorablerocket and cynanbloodbane

Although I dont have a proper picture of it, the Recusant is one of the miniatures I'm most proud of the final result.

Thanks for all of the great pictures and comments. this has been so helpful in me making my decision. I will pull the trigger on something next week. that providence looks really good. Thank you all again for all of your posts guys. very helpful

Does anyone know how much, if any, better frosted extreme detail is over ultra detail?

Almost none. I don't recomend it myself.

I just completed 13 ships made with WSF , I have had no problems whatsoever with the material.

1) Wash in soap and water, rinse and let dry

2) 2 base coats of flat gray to seal the plastic,

3) Then the main color, let dry ( the plastic actually works to your advantage, no smudging and paint dries fast.)

4) Then a light coat of gloss coat, let dry

5) Nuln oil for shading,

6) then dull coat,

7) Dry brush

So far the results are very good. So if you want to try the techniques go ahead .

I'd love to see pics of the finished WSF ships.

seconded. as many pics of mel's ships as we can get!

Woohoo, they've started printing my order! Mel, you're totally gonna have to post us some pictures of your luxury yacht in Monaco ;-)

(and I've managed to pick up one of Utar's Resin bulk freighters, too so that'll be good for a comparison too!)

I hate to pollute this thread of awesome paintjobs with the crime of what I did to mine, but you asked for it. I consider these "works in progress but look ok on the table if you're standing up straight so they're fine while I paint other things that are unpainted". Also please note that I am NOT a photographer, my background choice was very bad for these shots.

DP20 Corellian Gunship: Honestly this is probably my favorite Star Wars capital ship. I originally got this to use in place of a corvette if I was running multiple CR90's, but I might use it in place of an Assault Pelta if I use more than one of it.

Lancer class frigate: Designed to kill squadrons, I got this to sub in for a Raider when I outfit it for squadron hunting

TIE Avengers: I got these to sub for Aggressors when using multiple generic ones since it bothers me lore-wise to have a bunch of Aggressors in a battle

Assault Gunboats to sub in for Firesprays for the same reason as listed regarding the Aggressors. I'm currently considering options for Lancer Pursuit craft, YT2400's, YT 1300's, and VCX's. Any suggestions on subs for those for lore reasons?

1 minute ago, Audio Weasel said:

I hate to pollute this thread of awesome paintjobs with what the crime of what I did to mine, but you asked for it. I consider these "works in progress but look ok on the table if you're standing up straight so they're fine while I paint other things that are unpainted". Also please note that I am NOT a photographer, my background choice was very bad for these shots.

DP20 Corellian Gunship: Honestly this is probably my favorite Star Wars capital ship. I originally got this to use in place of a corvette if I was running multiple CR90's, but I might use it in place of an Assault Pelta if I use more than one of it.

Lancer class frigate: Designed to kill squadrons, I got this to sub in for a Raider when I outfit it for squadron hunting

TIE Avengers: I got these to sub for Aggressors when using multiple generic ones since it bothers me lore-wise to have a bunch of Aggressors in a battle

Assault Gunboats to sub in for Firesprays for the same reason as listed regarding the Aggressors. I'm currently considering options for Lancer Pursuit craft, YT2400's, YT 1300's, and VCX's. Any suggestions on subs for those for lore reasons?

The Lancer model is just liquid coooooool, but for reasons of ye olde lore, I'm going to replace my pair of raiding raiders with Neb-B2s. Lancers were supposed to be hideously slow one-trick ponies, and there's nothing suitable in-game yet I can replace them with... maybe one day (or I'll find a crew happy with player content). You've also just totally validated my decision in throwing in some TIE Avengers. I'll be replacing *most* of my TIE/lns with droids, too.

I've been using a mix of gunboats and assault transports in place of the Decimator (because no one needs an "evil" YT-1300), and the odd stormtrooper transport to replace shuttles (which are a weird choice for a squadron, but heyho, iconic and all!)

Loving your vibrant paint scheme, especially on the gunship & gunboats. I'm waiting to see what the next wave bringeth, and if the Hammerhead is out whether the gunship'll be an appropriate sub. Probably weather the heck out of it, make it look like a big Falcon (cos that's what Ralph designed it as, after all).

1 hour ago, Audio Weasel said:

I hate to pollute this thread of awesome paintjobs with the crime of what I did to mine, but you asked for it. I consider these "works in progress but look ok on the table if you're standing up straight so they're fine while I paint other things that are unpainted". Also please note that I am NOT a photographer, my background choice was very bad for these shots.

Photography tip: If you're going to do more photos like this build an inexpensive light box. It'll greatly improve your pictures.
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Inexpensive-Photography-Lightbox (cheaper/easier way: white tissue paper and something for a frame)

I like the DP-20, give it another coat of wash and it'll really pop.

And by a lightbox, Outerrim means 'a piece of white paper with a salt shaker behind it' to prop the thing into a bend. It sure ain't perfect but it'll do in a pinch to help the pictures a lot. A proper lightbox is just, you know, gravy/icing. They look right good, mate.