Working with 3D-printed things

All the hard parts for Enfys Nest, except for the helmet and the decorative teeth, are going to be 3D-printed. The Enfys Nest costume community has done a great job in sharing files for basically everything that you need. There is even a file for the helmet, but that would be a huge print. I am glad that I have friends with 3D-printers and they have helped me to print what I need. 

This week the first box arrived. 

The biggest parts are for the electrostaff and the chstbox, then there are a lot of small things and greeblies. I also have a bag of resin teeth from a person in the Enfys Nest community. 

Now even if it's 3D-printed, that doesn't mean that it's just to start assemble it all. The 3D-printer builds up the pieces with a lot of strands, so a lot of the surfaces have rills and grooves. The person who printed this for me has been really nice and printed it a very fine resolution, but tere are still rills that are both visible and possible to feel. During the weekend I have started to sand down the rills so that the surface is really smooth.

The matt side has been sanded, while the shinier is still unfinished. I work with three different sanding papers, from a coarse to a very fine one. The best way to judge if it's smooth enough is to feel with your fingertips, they are a lot better than the eyes for that kind of judgement. I also used the nail, a smooth surface gives another sound than a the rills with going over it lightly. 

It's a good thing that it's been a big TV-sport weekend, so I've been sitting in the sofa watching skiing and sanding, and sandning until my fingers and hands have started to cramp. I have more sanding to do, and then it's time to prime, sand some more and then it's finally time to start putting it all together.