Hey neat video
Few thoughts ::
1) Biovores have ork heads because they are orks! Or rather some of the old lore for them is that they arose when a hive fleet fought orks for a prolonged period and used ork genetic data to create a new critter. Hence why they throw spores in the air much like orks do. Only Tyranid ones are way bigger and way more deadly!
2) Fantastic choice of printer and you're totally right, the 9inch buildplates are ever so much more practical for tanks and big things. Small printers can print many of them too, but in way more parts and sometimes can result in difficult joining seams or just a really slow time because you have to run way more prints to get all the parts.
3) I'm only mentioning this because of your choice of clip - but would have been good to have mentioned after that that you cannot use latex for 3D printing, only Nitrile or Butile (sp). Resin will eat into the latex in seconds whilst the other two have a more practical working time before the resin eats into the material.
4) Take that metal scrape - take a file or whetstone and sharpen the front edge. The default ones in printers are often blunt at the front and this means they bash into those rafts. Sharpen the front edge and the scraper will slide under the raft way way more easily. It's easier, safer and risks less harm to models or yourself.
5) Get a silicon spatula to do your resin tank checks and anything near the
FEP. It's soft and gentle and that's what the
FEP wants to avoid scratches, marks and degrading it before its time. Silicon spatula is fantastic and I honestly don't even use my plastic one for anything now.
6) As an aside watch this video for a really great way to get resin stuck on the
FEP off without having to drain down the VAT and deal with all that mess and time. Yes it uses some resin, but one layer 30seconds cured thick is a tiny amount of resin compared to what you lkely lose in pouring it back in through filters and the like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKzkQZOczVI
7) When handling the models after washing and before curing please remember that the resin still counts as uncured in this phase - so its gloves on.
8) Hot water method legit works - however remember uncured resin came into contact with water. So safe disposale is a must, which means leaving it to evapourate off and any remaining residue gets UV blasted. Or just leave the bucked outside and let the sun do its magic (which in the
UK can be a challenge)
Personally I pull the supports off after the first wash in IPA since the supports don't need a full wash. So a quick 30second dunk with the model to get the worst of the wet resin off; pop off the supports and give the model the final wash whilst the supports go into a container to be cured later (typically just leave it outside and let the sun do the work along with any other residue from the print process, eg gloves, towels and such - before disposal)
9) Curing times vary but 5 mins sounds way too short. I tend to blast for 30mins, flip the models over and then another 30mins. This is followed up by leaving them on a windowsill for a day or so to degas and finish curing.
You will hear lots of stories of overcuring, but basically you can't do it*. Once its cured it stops reacting. The thing is the final state of many resins when fully cured is more fragile than some like; and some cheaper resins can be very fragile. It also leans into designs, some 3D print designs are just poorly done for actual game items unless you're using a very durable resin or a high end technical resin.
That said as you've worked with forgeworld models chances are the Aqua 8K is probably going to be quite similar in performance; at least I know the Aqua 4K I use is pretty similar once cured.
10) Also if you're gonna print - share. Shove the link to where you get files into the description cause if you're showing off cool models others will want to join in too.
*in theory you can, like anything will degrade with enough UV/sunlight. However we are talking months upon months upon months of prolonged exposure if not possibly years to get to that kind of degradation. 3D print resin is less reactive than cast resins to UV light, once its cured
