1/250 USS St Louis ( CL-20 ) my first 3D printed model

[Dave Ward]

Interesting Dave. Do you have any idea how much the filament first for a job this size?

I think so far I've used just over 200m of filament - including printing a replacement bow section - a spool contains 330m of filament. I don't think that the smaller parts will take that amount. Like all things recently, the price of a spool has gone up to £11.99 delivered but all in all I think less than one spool for a model this size isn't bad. - After the Budget last week, I wondered how much a packet of ciggies was ( I gave up 23 years ago ), cheapest is around £10! - a bit of perspective
Dave

[adt70hk]

I think so far I've used just over 200m of filament - including printing a replacement bow section - a spool contains 330m of filament. I don't think that the smaller parts will take that amount. Like all things recently, the price of a spool has gone up to £11.99 delivered but all in all I think less than one spool for a model this size isn't bad. - After the Budget last week, I wondered how much a packet of ciggies was ( I gave up 23 years ago ), cheapest is around £10! - a bit of perspective
Dave

Thanks Dave, so actually cost wise not too bad, just a lot of time. Not being a smoker had no idea how much a packet of ciggies costs but no idea it was that high!

Thanks again.

Andrew

[minitnkr]

I remember paying $.25 for a packet of Lucky Strikes.

[Dave Ward]

A bit more printing............................

Funnels etc only dry fitted, some of the mating faces need a little cleaning up. I have doubts about whether some of the tiny parts will print, so a degree of scratchbuilding, or replacement parts will be needed - anchor chain for one!
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Whilst trying unsuccessfully to print some tiny ventilators, I picked up the original bow section, and painted it roughly to see how the paint took, and if masking was going to pull the paint off!

Answer is very well and no, this was just slapped on with a 10mm flat brush, the deck with a smaller pointy brush. I just picked the grey up, as it was the first I came across! The St Louis ,may be finished in the white/buff scheme used by the USN early in the 20th century, I haven't decided yet............
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Printing the smaller parts isn't easy - a lot need supports ( the printer can't print in mid-air ), and removing these supports can be a real PITA, I've broken several, and had to reprint them, often in a different orientation, to see if the supports are easier to remove

I was unsure about whether the propellers would work, but they turned out well. The two gun mounts on the bows and the stern are not good, I can't get them to clean up - I'm on my third attempt so far today. I think it's time to shut the printer down & make my dinner...............
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Now I've got enough of the bits to consider starting to paint some of the sub assemblies. This is the scheme I'm going for:

Buff superstructure, wood decks, white upper hull over a dark red lower hull, separated by a thin black boot-topping.
It raises a minor problem................I'm used to smaller models, so I'm going to have to get some paint in rather larger quantities than I normally have, and priming that large hull will make inroads into the bottle, so I'll need more of that as well. I'll have to cobble up some larger cardboard boxes for a spray booth too! Another task further down the line, will be clearing my mantelpiece, as it's the only space that the model may be displayed!
Dave

[Dave Ward]

I realised finally that this was a bit too much for me to attempt - it's too big, even though I scaled it down to 1/250 ( from 1/150 ). There are still over 100 parts, some of them in multiples, that I haven't even looked at, let alone printed. My enthusiasm for the new 3D printer carried me away..............
I will store the hull away. just in case I decide to pick it up again.
I'm starting to build something a bit less advanced - the Jaureguiberry in 1/350 & started a new build thread.
It's a case of running before I could walk & not thinking things through - all part of the learning curve with 3D printing!!!!
Sadder, but wiser
Dave