3D print media question

[JohnEB]

I am thinking about spending (far too much) money on a 3D printed C-124 in small 1/239 scale to add to my 1959 Monogram Air Power kit.

 

The company (Shapeways) describes the plastic as "White natural versatile plastic".  

And...

" White nylon plastic with a slight grainy feel".

Okay...

 

Has anyone worked with this type of plastic?

-Is it so grainy that it won't have a decent finish, or will a coat of primer fix it?

-Also, would it be too grainy for a decent model in that scale?

Without doing the math, it should be about 6" long.

 

 Any thoughts or comments welcome. I am out of my depth here when it comes to 3D stuff.

Edited December 16, 2022 by JohnEB

[MoFo]

You're not going to be happy with versatile plastic.  It's made by laser sintering a fine nylon powder (melting it together with a laser) and has a relatively rough, grainy surface finish.  It's a little bit like the faux-velvet flocking you see on Christmas ornaments.  You can't really sand it smooth, as it's nylon so it doesn't abrade well, so you'd have to do multiple primer coats and sand that to smooth it out.  You'll also probably want to replace the props and landing gear, as they'll be super simplistic.

 

If possible, I'd go with Frosted Detail plastic instead; it will be significantly more expensive, but at least you'll get usable parts.

 

Here's a (very large) image showing the difference between a few laser sintered options and Frosted Detail plastic: 

https://cf.geekdo-images.com/original/img/hcWLMEWtuihdxGsl31xYdE-nRtA=/0x0/pic4785712.jpg

 

And this Twitter thread compares a few different plastic types:

https://twitter.com/mel_miniatures/status/1150063321959284737

 

[JohnEB]

Thanks, that is the kind of information I was looking for.

No need to pay $60 for unusable parts.