So i just took the leap over into the 3d printer world. I was always interested, but the cost + exactly what I would be making was kinda a barrier. Now with Legion, I've gotten the push I needed to justify the purchase, which, after some research, became within the realm of possibility with cost. I went with XYZ's da Vinci mini w, which as of this writing, is $200. It has a few good reviews + awards for what it is; a beginners 3d printer. After downloading a few stl files from Thingiverse this weekend and printing out, I am happy to report that I am very satisfied so far. I can attach a few photos if anyone's interested in seeing the job it did.

My question for those of you out there with a printer already is this...

What do you use to prime your prints? With the layers that are thrown down, do you use a thin filler on top? Special spray can of filler? Do you sand down?

Just looking for different methods of smoothing out those layers.

Thanks!

I'm interested in pictures, can you take some close ups?

me too, me too!

Print lines are an inevitable bye product of FDM printing. Sprayed automotive filler primer and sanding will help massively, as will textured sprays, which are especially useful for building and terrain.

One of the guys who did a blogpost for Imperial Terrain uses Gesso to act as a filler/primer.

I nabbed some today and am going to give it a go, I’ll post before after pics when I do.

17 hours ago, MrFiggy said:

I'm interested in pictures, can you take some close ups?

Here Ya go...

Credit due:

Power Generator & Comm Tower by: Sablebadger

Crate by: BattleBear

For whatever reason, I screwed up by adding large files, and now I can only add 2 extra smalls.

Sand the print first, prime with Rustoleum filler primer, sand again if any bigger lines still show then prime with your normal color primer, that's what i do with all my prints. Or you can skip the first sanding and do the filler primer first, try it both ways and see what works best for you.

For larger surfaces, Bondo automotive putty should work, though I've not tried it on a 3D print. It works well for terrain and gap filling on minis, so I would *assume* it would work for your prints as well, but I don't have any first-hand experience.

At any rate, Bondo is inexpensive, dries hard, and can be sanded and painted when dry.

Thanks for the tips thus far gents.

I added two other pics since i was graced with more MB over night.

I too have been looking at 3D printing for the better part of the last three years. Recently I made the decision to jump in and was about to purchase the same printer (the XYZ Da Vinci mini w is $200 and yes, it has very solid reviews). The only thing that is turning me away from it is the inability to do any real upgrading and the small print area.

I'm going to spend an extra $100 on the Monoprice Maker Select V2 only because the reviews on it are just as good as the Da Vinci and the extra $100 yields a lot of extras.

I'll have mine shortly but can't wait to get started making terrain for Legion.

I hope you don't mind my following you @Galahax ... I'd be interested to bounce ideas, thoughts, and tips off each other in the future?

I've done professional-quality models involving 3d-printing and can second advice from @SFC Snuffy and @pdrinkut. Bondo is great for getting a smooth surface. Particularly curved surfaces where the layer lines become more prominent. Just, please, use it in a well-ventilated area and wear a respirator :). My technique was to lay some Bondo on the surface and then, using a scrap piece of acrylic or any straight edge, scrape it off perpendicular to the layer contours until it looks like almost nothing happened. Do this several times (sanding down in between layers) and you'll have a very smooth area. Make sure to mix small batches at a time because it starts hardening in like 5 minutes. After all that, I spray filler primer and sand it down before going on to the final paint layers.

From those photos, it looks like you should be able to get by with just sanding and automotive filler primer. Probably a few layers. Show us your final work when you have it!

I have been 3D printing for years and have 3 home printers. The cr-10s is my go to, and is a beast for the price (print volume, moffset, heated bed, etc...).

All the above information on smoothing is spot on. Desert buildings are perhaps the easiest, as just a coat of spackle and paint can give it the desert look. I have a few items lined up to print over the next several weeks for legion, including a crashed at-at cockpit and have started printing panels for a modular imperial base interior.

Those prints look great!!

1 hour ago, Sephlar said:

I too have been looking at 3D printing for the better part of the last three years. Recently I made the decision to jump in and was about to purchase the same printer (the XYZ Da Vinci mini w is $200 and yes, it has very solid reviews). The only thing that is turning me away from it is the inability to do any real upgrading and the small print area.

I'm going to spend an extra $100 on the Monoprice Maker Select V2 only because the reviews on it are just as good as the Da Vinci and the extra $100 yields a lot of extras.

I'll have mine shortly but can't wait to get started making terrain for Legion.

I hope you don't mind my following you @Galahax ... I'd be interested to bounce ideas, thoughts, and tips off each other in the future?

Sure thing. Always good to have like minds, especially when starting from the ground up.

And yeah, I was thinking that if I was already spending $200, what would and extra one or two hundred more be? Then I reminded myself that I already spent close to $800 alone on Legion minis, supplies and paints and thought that my wife would really kill me if I spent a lot on a printer. Thank God she thought that what I had made so far was actually cool.

I can already tell you an ambition to design "shield" fx, either shield barriers and/or personal shield generators a la Battlefront 2 using the transparent PLA. I know it's not exactly transparent, but I wanted to try it out.

2 hours ago, Galahax said:

Thanks for the tips thus far gents.

I added two other pics since i was graced with more MB over night.

host your pics elsewhere (https://imgbb.com/, as an example) and just link them here, that way you have no space issues.

On the topic of bondo and putty, wood putty works just as well and is easier to work with. I've been printing for about 5 years now so feel free to include me in any discussions you guys are bouncing around.

My Monoprice Maker Select V2 arrived last night and I got it together, dialed it in, and made my first print (a recliner chair that stands 3cm tall, the test print it came with).

I've already purchased some hatchbox wood filament I want to try printing with, and some TPU (spongy, silicone type material). I also have a Raspberry Octopi 3+ on it's way and a cheap PlayStation camera so I can monitor and interact with the print (mostly to check on it) 24 hours a day. After some mods to get print quality even better, I'm hoping that within the next few weeks I'll start printing various STL files from Imperial Terrain.

Of course my kid wants to print some custom legos.

23 hours ago, Sephlar said:

My Monoprice Maker Select V2 arrived last night and I got it together, dialed it in, and made my first print (a recliner chair that stands 3cm tall, the test print it came with).

I've already purchased some hatchbox wood filament I want to try printing with, and some TPU (spongy, silicone type material). I also have a Raspberry Octopi 3+ on it's way and a cheap PlayStation camera so I can monitor and interact with the print (mostly to check on it) 24 hours a day. After some mods to get print quality even better, I'm hoping that within the next few weeks I'll start printing various STL files from Imperial Terrain.

Of course my kid wants to print some custom legos.

Your house is gonna be "bidding for time" on that thing now, lol.

What is gained by spending more on 3d printer? Print speed doens't seem to be in the equation?

2 hours ago, Thraug said:

What is gained by spending more on 3d printer? Print speed doens't seem to be in the equation?

Print speed is a minor factor.

Print quality is the primary "gain" in spending more. And probably overall sturdiness to hold up to the rigors of printing over time and how much repair work you'll be doing.

In a world in which our gadgets have fewer and fewer moving parts, 3D printers are the exact opposite. Where as many of our gadgets these days have few or no moving parts and only heat removal from our nanometer sized transistors is the main concern... with 3D printers you have the heat issue to deal with sure (hot extruder) plus all kinds of moving parts that take wear and tear constantly. With any 3D printer the question is not "will a part fail?" THAT is a given. The question is how often will a part fail and how easy and quickly can it be replaced so your up and running again.

Agreed speed is not a huge factor. For me it is about print size, support and reliability. There are other options as well, such as print in multi-color or more medium.

We use a Formlab Form 2... it makes some beautiful stuff. More expensive though...:(

... ummm, that is like not bad for $200.....

12 hours ago, Lord Ashram said:

We use a Formlab Form 2... it makes some beautiful stuff. More expensive though...:(

Sla printers are definitely amazing for making minis and yours look great, but I gotta say yours are creeping me out with all of them having the exact same head!

Hah! Well, those are all the same dude, my buddy Mike! We started a small company and what we do is take your head and put it on a miniature! We’ve got a big catalogue of custom sculpts... Napoleonic colonels, Scottish Warriors, Norman knights, WW2 American officers, Roman Generals, Vikings... with more to come (cowboys and pirates and 30s gangsters and Civil War officers and giant space soldiers and an *entire* D&D set!)... and coming out next month will be a figure that could even be used as a character in Legion!

If you want to see more, in case you are interested, check out our website!:)

https://www.minutemanminiatures.com/