3d printed 3D Printed VF-1D (not mine)

[Texan29]

Hello folks! How is everybody?

 I haven't posted here in years but I wanted to tonight because I found something I knew some of you would be interested in seeing. First of all, this is not me - just a fella I have watched since he started making Mospeada/Macross models into STLS.

This guy has modeled in 3D the entire kit, and is building it slowly. He has several videos of his progress, and is almost finished. This is the same person who did the "Cy-Kill" model and sold it on ebay. All his files are on thingiverse if you're interested. 

 

If this is the wrong category, I apologize and hope a mod will just move it to the proper place  instead of deleting it. This guy deserves to be seen for the work he has put into these models. Thanks y'all!

 

 

EDIT: 

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by Texan29

[big F]

Very nice.

 

As soon as 3D printers became a thing, I knew I would need one and at some point would be using it to make Macross stuff.

 Now I have one, it has so many uses. Why spend hours making a little bit of plastic to repair some item when you can print one it in 10 mins.

scratch building takes on a whole new level of I can make that, vs the before of I would love to make that but cant.

[Chronocidal]

That may only apply in certain cases though, unfortunately.  I've been able to make some great parts, but half the time, the printing process and part prep takes more time than building one from scratch.   He goes into the process a bit too, sometimes the extra work to get a good print means a lot of troubleshooting, and some restarts

It's definitely amazing for making nearly finished parts though, and printing panel lines is a lot more reliable than scribing everything for me.

I think he could save himself some work printing in a better orientation though.  I've had a lot of success printing with parts arranged vertically, with some minor supports added that I can cut/break away.  Wings print -much- better if you place the root against the bed.  Might just be the printer I use though, I never can get good results printing large flat parts.

[big F]

Yes admittedly I have had some issues with orientation. Sometimes a print will go fine then the next time I print the same thing with the same filament it goes wrong. I put it down to room temp, but for me it often highlights my orientation was not optimal in the first place.

I have some really fine nozzles that help with the after work required but substantially increase print time. You cant win at that no matter how dialled the printer is. 

 

Recently Every-time I get things dialled, something changes and I need to fine tune again. My placing of the printer doesn't help as its near a door so is likely affected by temp. My work shop is not complete so I live with the issues for now, untill it gets its new location and I can control the environment its in. 

[Sanity is Optional]

I have spent quite a lot of time figuring out how to tweak the 3D printer we use at work to spit out flat parts (we want stuff flat to 0.1mm or so). It still only works about 3 in 4 times for larger things (it's a 16" x 16" build area).

For best results: use a heated bed, and decrease the bed heat every few layers until it's just above room temp (I go down 5deg C every 2 layers from 65 to 35).

Alternatively, put an enclosure around the printer so the temp stays constant.

FDM has huge issues with leftover internal stresses due to the thermal expansion/contraction of the plastic as it cools, as well as the build plate if you use a heated bed.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Sanity is Optional

[Custom Fabrications]

Hey, this is me (the one printing this and posting to YouTube).  I appreciate  all the interest and comments, and it being shared  here. I do agree that I could have done a better orientation on some of the parts. Especially the wings. I may do more builds like this in the future, but don’t think I’ll do all the smoothing and painting. That has proven to be much more work than I expected. Maybe just leave it printed like I did the Cy-Kill model. 

Thanks again,

Scott;  custom fabrications

[big F]

1 hour ago, Custom Fabrications said:

Hey, this is me (the one printing this and posting to YouTube).  I appreciate  all the interest and comments, and it being shared  here. I do agree that I could have done a better orientation on some of the parts. Especially the wings. I may do more builds like this in the future, but don’t think I’ll do all the smoothing and painting. That has proven to be much more work than I expected. Maybe just leave it printed like I did the Cy-Kill model. 

Thanks again,

Scott;  custom fabrications

Im sure that many here would love to see what you could do with other Macross mecha.

Edited June 4, 2020 by big F

[wmkjr]

Very nice! The Workshop! section would be more appropriate for this.

[Anasazi37]

7 hours ago, Custom Fabrications said:

Hey, this is me (the one printing this and posting to YouTube).  I appreciate  all the interest and comments, and it being shared  here. I do agree that I could have done a better orientation on some of the parts. Especially the wings. I may do more builds like this in the future, but don’t think I’ll do all the smoothing and painting. That has proven to be much more work than I expected. Maybe just leave it printed like I did the Cy-Kill model. 

Thanks again,

Scott;  custom fabrications

The Revell Changers kits were the very first Macross things I ever bought when I was a kid (which I knew as Robotech at the time). When I started to get back into this in 2001 and looked around for something I could afford as a very poor grad student, I found the IMAI/Bandai kits that Revell repackaged for the Changers line. It didn't take long for me to get hooked on collecting toys and building kits, which I'm still doing over 19 years later. I have a soft spot for this one and it's nice to see someone giving it some love in this way. If you haven't come across the 1/20 Plamax kits that have been released over the past year and a half, I think you'll appreciate them:

https://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/7226/PLAMAX+MF+25+minimum+factory+VF+1+Super+Strike+Gerwalk+Valkyrie.html

https://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/8276/PLAMAX+MF+37+minimum+factory+VF+1+Super+Strike+Fighter+Valkyrie.html

https://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/8302/PLAMAX+MF+38+minimum+factory+VF+1+Valkyrie+Armament+Set.html

https://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/8904/PLAMAX+MF+45+minimum+factory+VF+1+Fighter+Valkyrie.html

Edited June 5, 2020 by Anasazi37

[big F]

Thinking bout the scale of this if printed at 100% its about 1/72 scale 

X 3 its around 1/20 this got me thinking at that scale lights and extra details and gimmicks are a real possibility.  Frankly with a big enough printer-bed or clever slicing up of the stl files to fit your printer you could build one the size of a toddler. 

That gets me thinking...............

[Anasazi37]

5 hours ago, big F said:

Thinking bout the scale of this if printed at 100% its about 1/72 scale 

X 3 its around 1/20 this got me thinking at that scale lights and extra details and gimmicks are a real possibility.  Frankly with a big enough printer-bed or clever slicing up of the stl files to fit your printer you could build one the size of a toddler. 

That gets me thinking...............

You mean mods like these?

 

[big F]

Yes that the kinda thing. 

 

I always wanted a 1/6 scale to allow me to place an Action Man (GI Joe) in 

just think of the detail level required to pull that off correctly..............

[Texan29]

And it has finally come to fruition! 

It will be put on ebay shortly, from what the creator said.

Love this guys work, it's awesome!

[big F]

I downloaded the stl files for that. Gonna print one for myself. Fancy upsizing it a bit as well.

[claude grant]

You should also check out the 25" tall tv ver.  SDF-1 someone commissioned him to build...phenomenal!

[505thAirborne]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-24-scale-RoboTech-VF-1D-Valkyrie-3D-printed-model-based-on-Revell-1-72-kit/224249991826?hash=item3436575292:g:O40AAOSw3iBfvqo6

And it's officially for sale! 

[peter]

$1200 usd....wow

[big F]

1 hour ago, peter said:

$1200 usd....wow

Runs to printer to press print on first parts.

[MWUser]

On 11/29/2020 at 1:42 AM, peter said:

$1200 usd....wow

Item was relisted as an auction with a reserve price of $950.00 and a "buy it now" price of $1,300.00; as of the time of this post this auction is set to end at 12/09/2020 (Wednesday) @~2:30 PM EST.
Link:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/224261717539/

Edited December 7, 2020 by MWUser

[big F]

To be fair,  thats not a bad price, theres the time spent measuring and producing the cad files then the hours printing and then the hours finishing.

We all know how much time it takes to finish a Macross kit. Its been several decades since I last built a Macross/Robotech Revell kit. But even if its fit is as good as current Hasegawa, theres a good few hours there just getting it to fit together.   
 

Shame is half the people seeing this auction will probably have no clue to the time and effort Scott put into it

[MWUser]

On 12/5/2020 at 12:31 PM, big F said:

To be fair,  thats not a bad price, theres the time spent measuring and producing the cad files then the hours printing and then the hours finishing.

We all know how much time it takes to finish a Macross kit. Its been several decades since I last built a Macross/Robotech Revell kit. But even if its fit is as good as current Hasegawa, theres a good few hours there just getting it to fit together.   
 

Shame is half the people seeing this auction will probably have no clue to the time and effort Scott put into it

True.
As an update, it sold at $950.00: https://www.ebay.com/bfl/viewbids/224261717539?item=224261717539&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2565