Scratchbuilt Bushmaster PMV 4x4: now with paint!

[GMK]

22 hours ago, Uncarina said:

I’ve built a fair share of 1/16 scale kits, but conjuring one—serious respect!

 

Cheers,  Tom

Too kind, Tom. Would like to see your 1/16 work. 
 

Well, the upper hull is 36% done at the 72 hour mark. 
 

 

Some of the support material has printed a bit flakily, but as that’ll be torn away & discarded, I’m only focused on the quality of the component itself - which is excellent!

[GMK]

This 7-day print is testing my patience! Here’s the progress at the 132 hour mark. 

 

132 hours = 69%, with the print being 217mm/8.54“ of the total 323mm/12.7“ height. 
 

[GMK]

Upper hull print done!

 

 

182 hours of continuous printing for this one piece. Not a bad test run of the new printer. 
 

 

The weight includes support material, which will be removed. 
 

Some quality issues, but workable after clean up. 
 

 

634 hours 15 minutes of printing thus far. 

Edited September 26, 2020 by GMK

[GMK]

First test fitting is “workable with modifications”.

 

 

[Uncarina]

It sure looks the part! It’s really coming together.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[GMK]

18 minutes ago, Uncarina said:

It sure looks the part! It’s really coming together.

 

Cheers,  Tom

Thanks, Tom. 
 

Certainly been a journey!

[GMK]

To give an idea of the wastage associated with support structure, here’s the upper hull at the completion of the print. 
 

 

And, after cleanup:

 

 

Luckily the filament is $25 a kilogram, so it’s not cripplingly expensive. 
 

This is the piece to be discarded. One of the reasons I use PLA for printing is that it’s biodegradable if left unsealed. 
 

Edited September 28, 2020 by GMK

[GMK]

Not much progress this week. Found a chap online who’s scratch building a 3D printed 1/10 scale Tornado GR4. Apart from a hugely impressive project, he had a lot of tips for working with PLA, the material I’m using for this print. 
 

I now have PLA plastic sheet, courtesy of Tamiya. That’ll help with the detailing to come, permitting the use of Deluxe’s Plastic Magic glue, making this more like a plastic kit. 
 

Spot primer has also made an appearance: amazing stuff!
 

Also discovered a higher quality filler primer from Rustoleum, as well as some automotive finishing sandpaper that’s higher quality than what I can get from the hardware store, at around the same price. 
 

So, using those new-to-me tips, I cleaned up the upper hull print, using spot primer, the Rustoleum filler primer, sanding, then finishing with Tamiya fine primer. The last step was to mask off the anti-slip pattern and add it using Tamiya light sand texture.

 

 

Other side:

 

 

I was also afforded the opportunity to look over some destroyed Bushmasters at the War Memorial annex this week. Very handy for references. 
 

[Uncarina]

Great work as always Greg, and I really like the anti-slip. Certainly looks the part!

 

Cheers, Tom

[GMK]

Thanks Tom, I like the added texture. 
 

No real updates this week - just halfway through a veeery long print. 
 

 

 

[GMK]

Well, ten days later...

 

 

Weighing in...

 

 

Results in a new lower hull without tolerance errors. 
 

 

[GMK]

The ten day print was required to address a tolerance error induced by splitting the lower hull to fit the build volume of the older printer. 
 

The new printer consolidated what was previously 12 pieces into three pieces. 

 

Here they are, largely cleaned up and with the anti-slip texture added. 
 

 

The new printer also has a laser cutter. So, after reading the instructions, I put some of Tamiya’s 0.5mm PLA plate onto the plate & started to cut.

 

 

Here are the flanges for the suspension shock absorbers.

 

 

Workable. And great for multiples of identical parts. 

[Uncarina]

This is fantastic stuff! It is really taking shape, and a testimony to your great work.

 

Cheers, Tom

[GMK]

Thanks Tom, I’m enjoying the problem solving. 
 

Test cut of the windows for a fit check. 
 

[GMK]

Phew! Long week. 
 

One of the side effects of the tolerance error for the original version 2 print of the hull is that all of the stowage bins & interior parts that had been glued on were unusable on the new hull. Cue reprinting all of the stowage bins!

 

The larger printer bed of the new 3D printer (320x350x330mm vs. 125x125x125mm) means less potential for tolerance errors, but longer individual prints. 
 

The front right stowage bin/exhaust grill currently printing is a single, 190mm long, part, compared to four pieces on the original version. It did, however, take 82 hours to print!
 

Once the reprints are complete, I can move onto printing the newly designed parts, such as the shock absorbers, towing frame, hatches, & RWS mount. 
 

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by GMK