How do you feel about 3D modeling?

[Carl W]

Thanks for your feedback Dave and everyone!
I have also used online 3D production services and found them good. But the cost can be high and then you may have shipping costs. I have used SLS plastic (Selective Laser Sintering Nylon 12 white) which is durable and has no supports required and much cheeper than a Resin which is basically almost unaffordable thru a print service. The SLS process does have a slight grainy surface which is ok for larger scales. I used it on my 1:12 scale outboard motor. See Video. The cost was acceptable. See Photos of the outboard motor cost and with Free shipping and tax the total cost is $20.24 So basically you could purchase a 3D STL file online and use a print service rather than buying a 3D printer is some cases. You can also use your 3D slicer program to reduce the item to the scale you want within reason. As when the grain kills the details or falls below the 3D print guidelines for the 3D material chosen. Here an example of my Steam Punk Kayaks one with the girl is Resin Printed and the man is Printed SLS. Both are acceptable. See the grain difference up close on the man and man's Kayak. Kayak scale 3/4 inch to the Foot.

Dave, your Steam engine would be a real challenge to design in 3D but impressive.

 

[mberg]

Good morning

1. Potentially down the road as a plastic kit, but no plans for anything like that right now.
2. No
3. Yes, thought about buying one for years, moreso recently.
4. Yes
5. No, but my work does and also my local library.
6. Mainly figures, fishermen, sailors, navy, commercial and casual. Some small items would be fun to fill semi dioramas, eg. Lobsters, fish, traps, fishing rods, barrels, buckets, etc.

 

[Clayton7025]

Questions:
1. Would you buy The Rum Chaser Patrol Boat as a Kit if it was available rather than printing it yourself on your 3D printer? Plastic Kit? Wood Kit with some metal or plastic parts?
No
2. Do you currently own a 3D printer? If so what kind of Printer Resin or String?
Yes, a resin printer. Also I have access to a string printer (Son-in-law)
3. Are you thinking about buying 3D printer for model building?
I may buy a string printer as well. My resin printer is for fine details, but it's in my unheated/uncooled shop, so it has good ventilation but is temperature-sensitive.
4. Are you aware there are model parts available for Free or purchase on 3D websites?
Yes
5. Do you belong to a model group that has a 3D printer?
No
6. What kinds of model parts or figures would you most interested in?
Fine detail parts - cannons, etc.
7. Any comments you have will be helpful.
I am new to this, having only done free or relatively inexpensive models. I got into this to do ships and submarines that are hard to get or nonexistent as kits (like early submarines or Civil War ironclads). Generally, free requires a lot of smoothing, filling, and other processing for larger parts. Otherwise, even at higher resolution, you can still make out the layer lines (though it is also a nice effect sometimes). Attached is my first model (I know, not up to the standards for many on this forum, but good for teaching purposes).

 

[seadeep]

My Name is Carl Whitten, a 3D model designer that has created figures and parts for the African Queen and most recently The Rum Chaser Guard Prohibition Patrol Boat.
I would be grateful for your feedback about 3D printing interest you have in model building. I share my 3D model creations I have made for my own models on Cults3D and what little I make goes toward my 3D subscriptions. I focus on model things I can't find already available and I want to build. I am wondering if I should continue spending so much time on 3D. Any comments you have will be helpful.

Questions:
1. Would you buy The Rum Chaser Patrol Boat as a Kit if it was available rather than printing it yourself on your 3D printer? Plastic Kit? Wood Kit with some metal or plastic parts?
2. Do you currently own a 3D printer? If so what kind of Printer Resin or String?
3. Are you thinking about buying 3D printer for model building?
4. Are you aware there are model parts available for Free or purchase on 3D websites?
5. Do you belong to a model group that has a 3D printer?
6. What kinds of model parts or figures would you most interested in?
7. Any comments you have will be helpful.

You may answer simply: 1. Yes, Wood, 2. No 3. Yes, etc.

Thank you
Carl Whitten

1. No. I really don't do plastic model ships, as I prefer the wood kits. A personal choice.
2. Yes. Bambu Lab A1 w/AMS Lite. That's an FDM (fused deposition modeling) filament printer... I've never heard the term "string" used before. Seems a bit demeaning, but maybe I'm just reading more into it than I should. It would appear you use a steriolithography (resin) printer. Messier, but far better with small details.
3. I print all kinds of models, and have put over 5,000 hours of production on my A1. It pretty much never stops. I print what I need or find interesting and design what I can't find using Tinkercad and AutoDesk Fusion 360. I've also created a few models using A1 model generating tools, as well as MakerWorld's own set of model generating tools in the MakerLab part of the site. Since most of what I design are functional tools, AI generation doesn't really come into play other than for entertainment value.
4. Yes. Being a Bambu Lab owner, the website I participate in is www.makerworld.com That's where I source 99% of the models I print, but I occasionally also source them from Cults3D, Thingiverse, and Printables, I seldom purchase 3D model files, as I'm more into sharing what I make for free. I also enjoy models that integrate electronics into the model (ESP32 boards, light strips, motors, etc.) I'm crappy with soldering, but getting better. lol
5. No
6. The parts that I have the most interest in printing as it pertains to ship modeling are small bits like unique blocks, anchors, and various other fittings. As you can tell from my autosig, I'm working on a Corel kit of the Victory, and the pressed wood fiber content they provide with the kit is kind of crappy, so I've scanned some of those items using a Creality Ferret, and cleaned them up for printing using wood infused filament. I've considered figures, but so far having pursued any for any of my completed models. Certainly if that's what a person is interested in, a resin printer is the way to go because of the far greater fine details that can be accomplished. Supports for overhangs and bridges are your enemy with small, finely detailed items... and that's where resin shines.
7. The only advice I can offer is to what you do that makes you happy. Personally, I would never want to turn something I enjoy into a business, because then I'm focused on the money as much if not more than what I'm actually producing. Again, a personal choice, and nothing better or worse if people choose to pursue it as a business opportunity. I'm not sure if there's such a thing as vendor accounts here on this forum, but if you're pursuing selling your product, I know that on some forums, vendor accounts offer more advantages than regular user accounts.

Thank you for posting your query, as I'm sure it's sparked a fair bit of thought from many forum members.

 

[Airdale]

My Name is Carl Whitten, a 3D model designer that has created figures and parts for the African Queen and most recently The Rum Chaser Guard Prohibition Patrol Boat.
I would be grateful for your feedback about 3D printing interest you have in model building. I share my 3D model creations I have made for my own models on Cults3D and what little I make goes toward my 3D subscriptions. I focus on model things I can't find already available and I want to build. I am wondering if I should continue spending so much time on 3D. Any comments you have will be helpful.

Questions:
1. Would you buy The Rum Chaser Patrol Boat as a Kit if it was available rather than printing it yourself on your 3D printer? Plastic Kit? Wood Kit with some metal or plastic parts?
2. Do you currently own a 3D printer? If so what kind of Printer Resin or String?
3. Are you thinking about buying 3D printer for model building?
4. Are you aware there are model parts available for Free or purchase on 3D websites?
5. Do you belong to a model group that has a 3D printer?
6. What kinds of model parts or figures would you most interested in?
7. Any comments you have will be helpful.

You may answer simply: 1. Yes, Wood, 2. No 3. Yes, etc.

Thank you
Carl Whitten

I have been thinking about a 3D printer to make up model parts
Mostly concerned about the software if it's similar to CAD

 

[Airdale]

I have been thinking about a 3D printer to make up model parts
Mostly concerned about the software if it's similar to CAD

 

[Pete Leach]

Hi Carl,
1. No, I don't care for kits, although I've built a few plastic model kits over the years
2. I sort of acquired a resin printer from my son recently. I am a total newby!
3. N/A
4. I am just becoming aware. I purchased your dory man file recently, and love it.
5. No
6. I see the printer as another tool. I also cast parts from a scratch built master. I am learning to draw my own parts for 3D printing
7. I am a scratch builder at heart. I jump between ships/boats and model railroading. I am using your 3D dory man on my new model railroad layout under construction.
Pete

 

[Mash]

Unfortunately, one aspect of 3D printing wasn’t mentioned. Yet it’s a real headache in some areas.
I collect German Wiking ship models and repair them, etc., run the world's most comprehensive free website, With metal models that are nearly 100 years old, damage and missing parts are naturally a problem. The lead used back then is long gone, which is obviously evident. For example, missing cannons can be quickly and inaccurately 3D-printed, and the repaired model can then be sold as an “original.” It would be fair to point that out. But what’s left that’s fair in our time? Fairness takes place in the human spirit....
I read that the first AI programs are now offering files for printing complete (!) models based solely on a photo. Let´s have fun
I’m off to buy some wood—no hard feelings.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 

[RegW]

I have been using several different 3D printers. All of these use resin. Two are owned by the company I work for, and I own another. The company uses these printers for manufacturing parts for the aircraft they build (CL-415's, DHC-8's etc.) The resin used in aircraft builds is very expensive but also impressive in strength and function. I use my printer mostly for hobby purposes. Being of Scottish heritage, I searched for the best deal when I purchased mine. The price didn't break the bank. I also downloaded a free 3D modelling app called Blender.

The Blender app has many YouTube videos that can teach anyone how to make 3D models. There are some tutorials on that website that take you from scratch thru an entire build in very simple steps.

Resin is expensive but for the small things that I print, a 1kg bottle goes a long way. For example, the 1:48 scale figurehead that I made for my Surprise cost about 15 cents worth of resin.

The printer I own is an Anycubic model, and is excellent resolution for the money.

As far as resin odour, there are several types of "water wash" resins available now. Clean-up with these is easy and there is almost no odour. When I'm printing items with the Ultra Tough resins, I have an airfliter system built-in to the printer case.... ergo no smell.

 

[Magic Mike]

My Name is Carl Whitten, a 3D model designer that has created figures and parts for the African Queen and most recently The Rum Chaser Guard Prohibition Patrol Boat.
I would be grateful for your feedback about 3D printing interest you have in model building. I share my 3D model creations I have made for my own models on Cults3D and what little I make goes toward my 3D subscriptions. I focus on model things I can't find already available and I want to build. I am wondering if I should continue spending so much time on 3D. Any comments you have will be helpful.

Questions:
1. Would you buy The Rum Chaser Patrol Boat as a Kit if it was available rather than printing it yourself on your 3D printer? Plastic Kit? Wood Kit with some metal or plastic parts?
2. Do you currently own a 3D printer? If so what kind of Printer Resin or String?
3. Are you thinking about buying 3D printer for model building?
4. Are you aware there are model parts available for Free or purchase on 3D websites?
5. Do you belong to a model group that has a 3D printer?
6. What kinds of model parts or figures would you most interested in?
7. Any comments you have will be helpful.

You may answer simply: 1. Yes, Wood, 2. No 3. Yes, etc.

Thank you
Carl Whitten

1. yes, wood kit
2. No
3. No
4. Yes
5. No
6. No.
7. Thanks for your interest

Magic Mike

 

[seadeep]

I have been thinking about a 3D printer to make up model parts
Mostly concerned about the software if it's similar to CAD

It really depends upon what you're thinking of when you refer to CADD, because then I could more directly respond to it compares. My history with CADD goes way back to building 3D models using some pretty primitive software back in the early 1980's... Intergraph Interview workstations tied to DEC (Digital Equipment Corp) midframes. Trust me when I say things have seriously improved since then. lol

TinkerCad is, IMHO, dead simple to start with... and free. IMHO, it wouldn't be a good fit for what you are doing, as though its fast, the way you build models with it is somewhat primitive. Basically adding positive and negative shapes... like if you wanted to make a plate with a hole in it, you'd first create positive plate by dragging the shape onto the build area and resizing it to whatever dimensions you're looking for. Then you'd drag over a negative cylinder shape, resize it, place it where you want the hole to be and then select both shapes and merge them. The negative eats the hole out of the positive and voila... a plate with a hole in it. But working with ship model shapes would be too difficult in that software. It does have the ability to sketch shapes, but it just doesn't have the level of control I think you'd be looking for.

Next up would be AutoDesk Fusion 360. If you're familiar with CADD, you know AutoDesk... as well as Bentley/Intergraph and Microstation. Since you know CADD you're very familiar with the concept of X Y axis, and if you've done any 3D CADD, you know how Z axis fits into the mix. So Fusion 360 is a full blown parametric modeling tool, and the basics are pretty easy to pick up on. Basically draw an outline in two dimensions and then extrude it in the third to give it thickness. There are quite a few good books that walk you through the basics pretty quickly. The plus side is that if it's for non-commerical use, it's free. If you use it for business purposes, you need to purchase a license... and as you know with other CADD applications, you're now talking serious coin. That said, there are some other alternatives with a lot of the same capability, but more targeted to the 3D modeling process. Unfortunately, I can only speak to the two AutoDesk products... Tinkercad and Fusion 360, and they're the only two I've personallly worked with.

Here's a link to a YouTube video where a modeler compares a group of five or six common applications and rates them. By watching it, I think it will give you a good idea of which you might prefer to try. I hope this helps...

 

[AndyA]

An interesting discussion. I feel that the overriding issue is that we are talking about a hobby. A hobby is for fun. I can understand the fun in creating objects with 3D printing. I can also understand the fun in assembling an object from parts made by someone else by 3D printing (I have assembled a large number of plastic models from kits starting when I was a tad). But now I most like creating things in wood with my hands. Why? Who knows? Fair winds!