UK Shapeways equivalent?

[Xenith]

Hi all, I'm looking at gettting some shapeways printed flesh tearers icons, however shipping takes ages, and is really expensive, I'm assuming these are comingfrom the US.

 

Does anyone know if there's a UK equivalent 3D printing company that I can get some from? Search didnt bring up anything useful.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Xen

Edited February 27, 2020 by Xenith

[Grim Dog Studios]

Cant really help with knowing if the UK has a similar service as I’ve never looked, but I tend to order from shapeways regularly and I normally get my orders within a week of ordering, compared to the estimated delivery times shapeways provides.

For UK orders I believe they are printed and shipped from a facility in Europe somewhere, can’t remember now as I don't have any dispatch paperwork lying about from my last order!

 

I do agree they are expensive however, have you tried finding the icons or something similar on thingiverse or similar 3d model sharing sites? If you can, you might be able to find somebody who is willing to print stuff for you at a cheaper price!

[Arkhanist]

Hi all, I'm looking at gettting some shapeways printed flesh tearers icons, however shipping takes ages, and is really expensive, I'm assuming these are comingfrom the US.

 

Does anyone know if there's a UK equivalent 3D printing company that I can get some from? Search didnt bring up anything useful.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Xen

 

There are UK-based 3d printers, but that's for your own designs rather than other people's - there you're stuck with the shop they're already using, i.e. shapeways. For printing your own stuff, or free designs from thingiverse etc, as with most things, it's speed, quality and price - pick 2.

 

However - shapeways do in fact print and ship from the Netherlands for EU orders, that's where my stuff has come from. Depending upon order priority of course, it's usually about a week, or up to two for a big complex one. 3D printing does take a bit longer than picking pre-cast resin off a shelf!

 

God knows what the state of play will be next year when the transition ends and we actually leave the EU though.

[Fajita Fan]

In the US more and more public libraries are doing 3D printing (one of the things I do on a daily basis) so you might check there.

[Firedrake Cordova]

In the US more and more public libraries are doing 3D printing (one of the things I do on a daily basis) so you might check there.

Sadly, lots of local authorities are shutting down libraries due to funding cuts :( 

 

There are an increasing number of community initiatives ("maker hubs" or similar), which might be worth looking at.  There's two near my office, one of which is actually run by Barclays of all people ...

[Xenith]

Cant really help with knowing if the UK has a similar service as I’ve never looked, but I tend to order from shapeways regularly and I normally get my orders within a week of ordering, compared to the estimated delivery times shapeways provides.

For UK orders I believe they are printed and shipped from a facility in Europe somewhere, can’t remember now as I don't have any dispatch paperwork lying about from my last order!

 

I do agree they are expensive however, have you tried finding the icons or something similar on thingiverse or similar 3d model sharing sites? If you can, you might be able to find somebody who is willing to print stuff for you at a cheaper price!

That's super helpful thanks! It was the month lead time and week expensive shipping that put me off, but if it's EU delivery then super!

[Axineton]

There’s a bloke on Facebook who goes by the name of PriMarneus Calgar that does 3D printed shoulder pads. In fact he advertised them yesterday and looks like he’s in Plymouth. 
 

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=primarneus%20calgar&epa=SEARCH_BOX

[Xenith]

So if anyone else has doubts about the UK/EU shipment time being in the 5-6 weeks region I ordered 3x packs of stuff on Friday and on Sunday I got the shipment notification. That's super fast. Thanks for the input guys!

[Grim Dog Studios]

So if anyone else has doubts about the UK/EU shipment time being in the 5-6 weeks region I ordered 3x packs of stuff on Friday and on Sunday I got the shipment notification. That's super fast. Thanks for the input guys!

 

I'm glad it worked out! When I first bought something from shapeways I wasn't looking forward to the shipping times they give as estimates, but I have nearly always had my order delivered within a week of placing it. 

[Xenith]

Aaand the stuff arrived. That's pretty speedy service and well worth the £6 for postage!

[Xenith]

On another note, I tried to place one of the pad icons today, however it was too curved for the pad, or only curved in one plane, and the top of the icon as not sitting flush with the pad that curved away. Can I put this plastic in hot water and bend to shape like forgeworld resin? Is there another reccommended way?

 

Super glue or plastic glue?

 

Thanks in advance!

[RikuEru]

On another note, I tried to place one of the pad icons today, however it was too curved for the pad, or only curved in one plane, and the top of the icon as not sitting flush with the pad that curved away. Can I put this plastic in hot water and bend to shape like forgeworld resin? Is there another reccommended way?

 

Super glue or plastic glue?

 

Thanks in advance!

Not wanting to call you inept, but (generally!) you might have to wiggle a little to make it sit right in the middle. Some symbols are sitting a bit lower than you might expect.

 

Atleast all the ones I bought from 'Pop goes the Monkey' sit 99% flush with the surface.

Tho the 'Ear' of the SW Legion Wolf doesn't always touch the shoulder pad either.

 

Some Easy-to-Build Primaris shoulders (because ouf mould-lines/the angle they lie in the mould) and Old Terminator Shoulders always have the 100% standard curvature, I have found.

 

I use gel super glue. It should close all minor differences there are.

 

I don't know if the half-clear plastic can be warmed up and bent. I know you can put some sliiiiight pressure on it tho, to make it fit to the shoulder.

[Arkhanist]

I did try to use warm water and bend a couple of BA icons (the wing tips didn't quite sit flush) and it just snapped off the wings entirely, but that is a _very_ thin piece. The material does seem fairly brittle given their tiny size.

 

Echoing they do need to sit lower than you expect to get best results - almost touching the bottom rim, which is where they should be based on artwork.

 

You may have more luck with warm water given the flesh tearer icon is more solid - just watch the edge teeth!

 

I do also tend to give the icons a gentle sanding with very fine micromesh pads to remove any visible print lines after glueing; the powder helpfully settles in any very small gaps (in my case sometimes the very tip of the wing tips) which the primer covers.

 

I believe the frosted detail parts are a form of UV resin, so I use superglue.

[Xenith]

On another note, I tried to place one of the pad icons today, however it was too curved for the pad, or only curved in one plane, and the top of the icon as not sitting flush with the pad that curved away. Can I put this plastic in hot water and bend to shape like forgeworld resin? Is there another reccommended way?

Super glue or plastic glue?

Thanks in advance!

Not wanting to call you inept, but (generally!) you might have to wiggle a little to make it sit right in the middle.

Heh, believe me I've tried the dry fit.

I did try to use warm water and bend a couple of BA icons (the wing tips didn't quite sit flush) and it just snapped off the wings entirely, but that is a _very_ thin piece. The material does seem fairly brittle given their tiny size.

Echoing they do need to sit lower than you expect to get best results - almost touching the bottom rim, which is where they should be based on artwork.

You may have more luck with warm water given the flesh tearer icon is more solid - just watch the edge teeth!

This is were I'm at so far. I can put the icon as low as possible, but it doesnt sit flush at the top unless the icon is overhanging the bottom trim of the pad.

So my shapeways FT icons arrived and I'm trying to get them to fit onto my marines, however there are some large gaps at the top where they dont fit the upper curve. I'm thinking I'll have to heat and bend them.

Apologies in advance for the close up blurry pics.

The icons do look great, however I cannot find a good place to site them without part not being in contact with the model.

Out of contact at the bottom

I contact wt the icon top, and the bottom is out of contact.

As you can see there is a significant gap there, almost 1mm, which I dont want to splodge glue in. I'm going to try hot water later. I've only attached at one side where possible, then will bend the other side down when malleable.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Xenith

[Fajita Fan]

Were those meant for terminators?  Generally none of the plastic you get from 3d printers works with our GW-type plastic glues, I use gel superglue for most of my 3d printed parts with thin superglue dripped into cracks to seal up gaps.  

[Arkhanist]

An alternative to hot water would also be a hobby hot air gun. I have one (see below) I originally bought for heat-shrink tubing that works really nicely for softening up resin parts after a few seconds - usually for straightening, but also works for bending! Same principle as a hairdryer, but much narrower 'area'. Should allow you to get it bedded down a bit better in principle.

 

You can also use a much beefier DIY heat gun, but obviously you don't want to risk heating stuff up so much it starts to melt so care advised!

 

Edited March 18, 2020 by Arkhanist