Design, Sculpting And 3D Printing
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ABC Mouse.com’s Maquette
The Making-Of an Little Maquette…



3D Printing
Another “interesting” project. We created a 8” maquette (20.32cm,) for a series of statues that were going to be built 5’-tall (1.524 meters) for the lobby of ABCMouse.com

The model was started in Maya and then finished and prepared in ZBrush. It was then exported - via ZBrush’s 3D Printer Exporter-plugin, as an STL. I then opened the file and set it up for printing on the FormLabs’ Form +1 printer.

Here are some pictures of the 3D prints and why we did it this way:

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The maquette was printed in 3 parts: Head/upper-body, lower body and tail…

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Because the ears were so thin, there were some issues with the print, so we had to re-print the head/upper body…

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Once re-printed, it was time to remove the support structure. I used a nail-clipper for pets because its a heavy-duty tool yet small enough not be in the way…

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I cut away from the model to avoid creating holes where the support structure touches the model…

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…this way I can file the part of the supports that touch the model rather than damaging the model…

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It is also easier to remove the support structures by twisting them…

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Some of the supports come-off easier than others, but leaving a little-bit of the support and sanding those afterwards creates a better surface than having to fill the holes and then sanding…

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In the areas where the support structures touches the model create a “warping” on the surface. This can be fixed by sanding them with a fine #3200 scale-model file…

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The striation of the surface has to do with the level of detail selected for the printing…

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The pieces are hallow to prevent print-fails and to save on the resin used…

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Another detail of the striation and the support-material to be sanded…

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Detail of the transparency of the new ears. I had to thicken the ears to 3mm to avoid print-fails…

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Detail of the washing of the pieces with isopropyl alcohol. This hardens the resin and gets rid of the non-cured resin around the support structures…

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…more isopropyl alcohol and a soft toothbrush will do the trick…



Gluing and Primering
Krasy Glue and How To Hide Striation With Car-Primer…


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Once the parts are glued with Krasy Glue, yes, Krasy Glue… I use a Krylon Color Master primer. This is a cheap, thick primer that you can find at any hobby/craft store. It helps hiding the striation of the print but retaining the detail-layer…

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Notice that the tail was premiered and glued afterwards…

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Back-side…

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3/4 front…

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Detail of the ear…

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This is the first layer of primer that will be mostly sanded. I tend to do this two or three-times, depending on what the client needs…

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Placing the model by the window so that the primer cures (4 hours…)

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The tail was done separately and attached after the pieces were primered and sanded…

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After I attach the tail I give the whole piece (attached to a base,) a last layer of Tamiya’s fine primer

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And here’s the final piece.

Well, I hope this helps someone!

Cheers!