Don't worry, I was sorta confused at first where the sword blades went, but then I went to see the Shapeways product pictures and saw how they connected.
Looks really good, what plastic did you print in. You need some 3rd party to add these ideas to an inevitable Bruticus upgrade kit - injection molded matched plastics would be awesome. You'd think Hasbro could have made minor re-tools to this mould instead of just milking the Blades mould. Maybe Takara will show 'em up. Could a mark 3 rotor base be made with a hinge up then a through hole to allow a removable rotor assembly attach from either sides? Just a thought but I'm not designer. Keep up the good work
my UW Blades has stress marks on the rotors, is there a kit to replace the rotors (a 4 bladed rotor that is)
I love your design so much, I decided to pick up the upgrade parts for Vortex. I was loving it, until... it seems shapeways may have.. forgotten something.... That's the first negative experience I've had shapeways-wise, and I'm not sure what to do about it.
I suppose I could've thrown this post in any "shapeways" related thread, but since this is the purchase I'm considering, I'll do it here: Soooo....how on earth do you get a paint job on Shapeways parts to look good? I find that with all this uber creativeness that people have, and the ability to MAKE these parts, they always look marred in the end by crappy, grainy paint jobs. I'm hesitant to pick up these parts because my experience in the past, as well as seeing others, was poor. Any advice is appreciated....I'd really like my Vortex to look like that; along with a Blastoff head.
ive seen this happen quite a few times before actually. things sometimes get lost in the packaging process, or a part broke off during printing and whoever packaged it didnt realize that a part was missing. contact shapeways and inform them that the print you payed for was missing parts. they should either send you a new print for free, or the missing parts.
It depends on the material used. for strong flexible material even with polishing you alwasy end up with grainy surface. what I do to alleviate this problem is to spray on a slightly thicker layer of primer, wait for it to complete dry, then sand the surface wet. Repeat the process (I usually do this once) a few times if you want, then spray on a final layer. If you do this too often, even more detail will be lost. for Frosted detail material, I would wash with alcohol to remove excessive "goo", then soapy water, then again a very light layer of primer before painting. Hope this helps!
A good wash on any of the materials is a must. For WSF i do a lite sanding with very fine grit sandpaper then a coat of future. That also keeps it from soaking up the paint, just make sure to let it dry completely first. For FUD i skip the sanding and just coat it with future first. It really makes a difference.
So my other question is in regards to painting.... Do you guys hand paint, spray paint, or air brush these parts? That's my other main gripe about shapeways....it doesn't take into consideration that the majority of us aren't model builders and really have no clue how to paint a part. I know I don't....I mean, I can do touch ups and details here and there...but painting large parts like helicopter tail fins and replacement heads...prob is going to look a little off.
