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Hello everyone, I will use this thread to track and share my various 3D sculpting and printing projects.

General info:
Programs I use
1. zBrush -This is mostly what I use right now. I own the full version of the software so I have access to all the features.
2. Fusion 360 -This is a very powerful CAD/CAM software. It is free for personal use. I haven't really done much more than download the software and create an account.
3. Blender -Free open-source 3D Package. Gets better and better with every release. I have started learning how to use it but haven't really done anything completely with it yet.

Printers I own
1. Moai 130 -Resin printer. Laser based and not LCD.
2. Photon -Resin printer, LCD based.
3. Ender 3 -FDM printer.

Ok, on to the less boring stuff.

I was trawling through some old hard drives looking for reference images that I had saved and I came across pictures of some figures that I had converted and painted for a contest some years ago. The contest was for Alpha Forge Games and their Star Mogul game/setting. The idea was to build and paint a Salvage Crew. Don't remember who won or what the prize was, but I remember really enjoying building and painting their stuff.

Here is a pic I took for the contest:

That shows the entire crew and the vehicle that I painted for them. All models were Alpha Forge miniatures with a few conversions here and there.

So that spiked my nostalgia hard and I decided to make updated versions of that crew. If they get used for gaming, it will most likely be in Mantic's Deadzone rules, or possibly Blood In Space for some Solo gaming. The general theme of a salvage crew riding around and picking the bones from carcasses fits in with Mantic's overall setting so I decided to set the crew in that universe as well.

Ok, so, I decided to start with the vehicle, know as the Salvage Dog:


Cool model for it's time and I really enjoyed building and painting it. In order to update it, I decided to go with the GCPS Mule Transport vehicle from Mantic. Really liking the model so far. Pretty much no flash to speak of and everything fits together extremely well. I do hate the tires for it though so I decided to knock some of my own up and print them out. I am also thinking about adding some sort of crane or grabbing arm onto it since it is a cargo vehicle and not so much a transport. Not decided on that yet.


Really excited since this is the first thing I have managed to get to print well and at the correct size. I was really having trouble with the software resizing items on me seemingly at random. Super frustrating. Seems to be working with me for now though. Mine are the lighter colored tires, just to be clear.

Here is a picture from inside zBrush for anyone who might be interested:


Of course, after I got them off the printer, cleaned up and cured, I realized that I forgot to mirror 2 of them so the tread is incorrect on one side. I will have to fix that and reprint.

The models for the crew will be some mix of printed sculpts of my own or conversions of more modern figures that I like.

I started working on a sculpt for the power armored figure, which I named Abraham:
Old Figure


zBrush Sculpt WIP



I also work on various other sculpts at the same time. I tend to bounce around so as not to get too caught up on one sculpt. Going from one to another helps keep me looking at them with fresh eyes, and lets me practice a variety of skills.

Here are a couple sculpts from what I refer to as the Nostalgia Project:

Eric from the Saturday morning Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.


I need to rework parts of him as the prints I managed weren't to my satisfaction. The details weren't good and my sizing issue seems to have returned. I'll attempt to get decent pictures of them this week, but I start back to work and will not have tons of free time.


Talisman Barbarian Number 1


Original figure (not my figure or photo):


That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by.

Really like that old Abraham figure, looks alien yet still human.

If they are a salvage crew I could see them salvaging four of the left(or right) side tire from a planet and not wanting to go back once one of them figures it out .

Oh....subscribed by the way. I’ll have to glean some knowledge off of programs from you. Unfortunately all I have is a chromebook, so downloading real programs isn’t in the near future .

 Theophony wrote:
Really like that old Abraham figure, looks alien yet still human.

If they are a salvage crew I could see them salvaging four of the left(or right) side tire from a planet and not wanting to go back once one of them figures it out .

Oh....subscribed by the way. I’ll have to glean some knowledge off of programs from you. Unfortunately all I have is a chromebook, so downloading real programs isn’t in the near future .

Thanks Theo. I like the old figures too. They certainly have old school vibes. My tastes have moved to more precise and well defined sculpts though. More modern, if you will.

The salvage angle definitely fits, but it would also affect the performance of the tire so I'm sure they would flip them on their rims. I printed a new set...

I don't know how much knowledge I can impart, but I will certainly do my best to answer questions for you. An actual PC with a fair amount of power will probably be necessary if you want to get into creating stuff.

Here is a bad picture of my 2 prints:

Red Box--1st Print--2nd Print--Perry
Spoiler for huge picture

Still tons to figure out.

More later after I get something else done and or printed.

Thanks for stopping by.

The prints are looking good . Are those resin or FDM? Details look like they came out well either way with not-Eric.

 Theophony wrote:
The prints are looking good . Are those resin or FDM? Details look like they came out well either way with not-Eric.

Wow, I thought I amswered you Theo, sorry.

Resin print on my Photon.

Details are decent but the chainmail is barely there so I need to investigate a new method for it.

I have been working on and finally finished another figure.

Sgt. Slaughter from G.I Joe.

Also, this happened while I slept last night:


The details on Sgt. Slaughter came out really quite well. Its hard to see that here but I think it will show them much better once painted.

Pretty excited.

I also started trying to dial in my Moai, and I can't wait to print the Sgt. on it. The detail level will be similar to the Photon, but the prints should be much crisper.

Looks pretty awesome, are you planning more GI Joe inspired ones?

 H wrote:
Looks pretty awesome, are you planning more GI Joe inspired ones?

Yes. Very much so. No particular rhyme or reason to which ones I do in what order, but so far I'm working on: Snake Eyes, Nemesis Enforcer, Big Boa, and the S.N.A.K.E. Battle Armor.

 Taarnak wrote:
Yes. Very much so. No particular rhyme or reason to which ones I do in what order, but so far I'm working on: Snake Eyes, Nemesis Enforcer, Big Boa, and the S.N.A.K.E. Battle Armor.

Awesome, I hope to maybe actually gain some modeling skills myself to do the same sort of thing myself. Right now, I don't even know how to model even the simplest of things just yet though. I haven't even set up my 3D printer yet though, but I'm getting closer.

Great work on the Sarge.

He will be a wonderful commander for Catchcans

H wrote:Awesome, I hope to maybe actually gain some modeling skills myself to do the same sort of thing myself. Right now, I don't even know how to model even the simplest of things just yet though. I haven't even set up my 3D printer yet though, but I'm getting closer.

Not sure if you have software yet or not, but I posted some thoughts for you on software and hardware in Theophony's 3D Printing thread.

Whichever you choose, there are almost certainly enough tutorials on YouTube to get you going.

Theophony wrote:Great work on the Sarge.

He will be a wonderful commander for Catchcans

Thanks Theo.

Thinking about resizing him to fit with Catachans, and doing a couple more prints to dial in resin settings, made me reevaluate his proportions.

Here is a shot of the 3 test prints next to a figure from Star Wars Legion:


As you can see, his proportions were much more "true scale" than "heroic scale". He looks tiny next to the Legion figure, even at the same height. I went back into zBrush and adjusted his proportions a bit.



In addition to that, I widened his body, and thickened it. Plus a few other little changes, mainly for print purposes.

Also, I decided to try to make an animated GIF of him. I had played around with this previously with other sculpts. Still not entirely sure I like the results. Needs more tweaking, I think.

That animated gif is missing roller skates , just reminds me of my youth and people skating and doing tricks like spinning in circles .

I went and printed him out at the 40mm scale you had him in. He came out great, a little damage on his back where the supports I put on him went, but nothing terrible. Here he is with a couple of striking scorpion (he calls them maggots) who have joined the cause to fight Cobra.

I need to find my hobby files to take care of the tiny bumps on him from my printer settings. I’ve been using clippers, but some are just so small I wind up doing damage instead of removing excess.

Great model .

Thanks Theo! Did you manage any work on the Sgt.?

No new print for me yet, but this happened:


Still WIP.

Sorry, no painting has happened....except house painting. Almost all three kids rooms are done, master bedroom done, kitchen done. Still need both bathrooms and family room done.

Cobra Commander is just screaming to be made into a chibi, and I dislike chibi.

 Theophony wrote:
Sorry, no painting has happened....except house painting. Almost all three kids rooms are done, master bedroom done, kitchen done. Still need both bathrooms and family room done.

Cobra Commander is just screaming to be made into a chibi, and I dislike chibi.

Sorry it took so long to answer you Theo. Real life has been a bitch. I need to get a new roof, so I'll be joining you in the house work soon. Amusingly, you are the second person that suggested that I chibi Cobra Commander. Lol.

Still able to sneak sculpting time on the computer though.

Here is some stuff that I've been working on:


All done. On the printer as I type.

Here are shots with the parts breakdown:


He is another of my inspired by Talisman nostalgia sculpts. Here is the original:

Not my mini or my image, just one I found on the net that was clear and very well painted.

Big Boa:


He's done but needs some tweaking after the test print.

I've always loved Greek Myth and there have been several games using that setting that I really enjoyed. Titan Quest and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey chief among them. My Greek Fantasy figures will basically be a love letter to all of those games.

Barbarian:


"Paladin":

Not sure about the column styled 2H Mace. Might be a bit much. Also not sure what to call her class exactly. Paladin doesn't fit. I was thinking of "Devoted" as a title.

Last for now:


Picked up the Indomitus boxed set for a decent price. Going to make the marines Exorcists. This pad needs some adjustments also after a test print.

That's it for now. Thanks everyone for stopping by.

Big Rocky Bal-Boa .

Your skill set of design are awesome. Now that you have reminded me I’ll try and prime slaughter with my latest batch and possibly put some paint to him later.

 Theophony wrote:
Big Rocky Bal-Boa .

Your skill set of design are awesome. Now that you have reminded me I’ll try and prime slaughter with my latest batch and possibly put some paint to him later.

Yep. Apparently they were never able to get the rights for the Rocky character. I honestly never made the connection before I started digging for images and came across that bit of info.

Looking forward to seeing how the Sgt. looks with some paint.

So, for anyone still interested, a bit of an update, all still very WIP:

S.N.A.K.E. Battle Armor (GI Joe)


Ram Man (MotU)



TriKlops (MotU)


TwoBad (MotU)

S.N.A.K.E. WIPs:



Size Comparison with Sgt. Slaughter:

Your new sculpts are awesome. Great nostalgia.

Those things are ridiculous.

I love them ^^

Theophony wrote:Your new sculpts are awesome. Great nostalgia.

Albertorius wrote:Those things are ridiculous.

I love them ^^

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

Here is some more work on various figures:
He Man (MotU)


Beast Man (MotU)


Man At Arms (MotU)


More work on Ram Man (MotU)


Outback (GI Joe)


COBRA Flight Pod (GI Joe)


Hopefully I'll actually have some prints to show soon too. Printer is being a bit of a PITA right now.

Thanks for looking.

Where's Skeletor??

 MDSW wrote:
Where's Skeletor??

Working on him! Not happy enough with the progress to show him yet.

Here is some more work for everyone to point and laugh at. Lol.

Swashbuckler:


My version of this Talisman mini:

Not my mini or image. If anyone recognizes the owner, please let me know so I can give credit.

Big Pharaoh 6 from the Slugfest Solo Superhero rules:


Still very WIP, but I'm happy with the direction he is going in.

Mr Jaadoogar, also from Slugfest:


Pretty much done. Although I have recently been informed that I cannot sculpt cloth worth a gak so maybe I should start him over.

Thanks everyone for stopping by.

Picked up a new printer recently, so hopefully some actual prints soon.

Just wanted to say that that Talisman re-deux is really nice - captures the Classic GW vibe really well, and the lil octopus on his handguard is a nice kinda mordheim-y flair. Great work, dude.

 posermcbogus wrote:
Just wanted to say that that Talisman re-deux is really nice - captures the Classic GW vibe really well, and the lil octopus on his handguard is a nice kinda mordheim-y flair. Great work, dude.

Replying again since a mod felt the need to delete my whole post rather than just trim off the part from Ricochet & Bayonet.

Thanks posermcbogus for stopping by and dropping a comment. It sometimes feels like a graveyard in here. Lol.

I wanted to add my own touches to the figure redos that I make. Adding the octopus and making the skull on the belt into a coin necklace are what I did for this guy. The details on the coin need to be made a bit bolder. I did a test print that failed, but enough came out that showed me the necklace needs work.

I’ve been picture work blocked for a while and little time at home to keep up, but your progress is looking great. Love the internal workings of the SNAKE. The Pharoah reminds me of Shaq which is not a bad thing . Really like the swashbuckler as well. Keep up the good work.

 Theophony wrote:
I’ve been picture work blocked for a while and little time at home to keep up, but your progress is looking great. Love the internal workings of the SNAKE. The Pharoah reminds me of Shaq which is not a bad thing . Really like the swashbuckler as well. Keep up the good work.

Thanks Theo. I appreciate it.

I'm tempted to go all MaK on the SNAKE. Add tons and tons of detail to the interior. But that would also require making it a bit larger than it is currently, so I will probably not do that. For now. Lol. Glad to hear you like where it is currently at though.

I guess BP6 does look kinda Shaq-ish in the face now that you say that. I'm cool with it.

Thanks everyone for stopping by.

So, I picked up a Sonic Mini 4K. After having to return the first unit due to power supply issues. the second one is performing excellently so far. Quick, and slightly crappy (sorry) pictures inbound.

Sgt Slaughter (GI Joe):

Shown side by side with the prints from the original Photon, the quality is pretty impressive.

Cobra Commander (GI Joe):

His helmet is blutacked on right now. I printed the masked head as well, but I mangled it taking it off of the supports.

Big Boa (GI Joe):

New print is actually in 5 pieces (head, body, separate hands, legs). I got tired of dropping the hands so they are glued on here. I will be re-attaching them in the sculpt for future prints. Major PITA... I also reworked the sculpt a bit so quality difference isn't entirely due to printers.

Magnus Armstrong (NOLF):

I split him into two parts thinking it would help with keeping the details crisp. Thinking about it now though, it would have been ok to leave him in one piece. As with Big Boa, I did some extensive resculpting here so the difference between the two prints isn't entirely due to printer quality.

SNAKE Battle Armor (GI Joe):

This is in 7 pieces, lol. I wanted to be able to make weapon swaps possible. Not sure I like what I have now so some revisions for ease of use may need to happen. Some major looking print lines in the pictures but not that visible in hand.

Comparison shot with Slaughter.

Mr Jaadoogar (Slugfest):

Head and cap are a separate piece. Blutacked on for this picture.

Swashbuckler (Talisman):

My print from the Photon for this guy was messed up and I threw away what was there so no comparison shot. I am going to attach the dagger to the body for future prints. It is just too small and not fun to deal with on its own.

Did some work on the Grey Knights bits I started many moons ago. I've basically resculpted all of this:
Justicar Torso


"Basic" Torso



Heads that I have made so far



Test prints later today hopefully.