Original post: 4/21/2018
This is the IJN destroyer Yugumo, created in 1/450 scale. I designed and printed it using XYZprinting’s da Vinci Mini 3D printer and XYZmaker software (with a little help from Blender). I was gifted the printer for Christmas 2017 by Christa’s mom Anne (Thanks again Anne!). This ship fills a whole in my set of 1/450 scale Japanese WWII warships.
The Yugumo is my second 3D printed ship project, my first being the USS Compton, an Allen M. Sumner class WW2 destroyer. This project came out a little better than the first with lessons learned improving the print outcome. Vertically stacked sections (without significant overhangs) were printed in one piece, I was able to print the slightly longer hull in just 4 sections (instead of the Compton’s 6) by laying out the sections diagonally and rather than print fine details like: AA gun barrels and masts, I created them using wire from tie-wraps and Christmas tree ornament hangers!
Also on this project I spent (too much) quality time with Blender, trying to create a smother more accurate hull than I could with just XYZmaker, XYZmaker is great for fast and easy stuff and it is my preferred editor but it hits a wall when lots of “hole” type edits are made to one object. The edits become slower and slower then XYZmaker just dies. When I import one of these complex objects into Blender I think I see the problem. Each “Hole” edit creates dozens to hundreds of new vertexes and surfaces. The numbers grow exponentially as the edits compound. In Blender I can: group, average and delete the redundant/unwanted data to simplify the object but it’s quite time consuming. I’m still new to this, so maybe there’s an easier way…
You may have noticed one of my parts pics has two tone PLA, this was my first print using a new clear filament spool. The extruder still had some of the original yellow in it when it started printing. Clear is the cheapest color and while the quality is about the same it’s harder to know how good or bad the print is until it’s painted.
XYZmaker design, printed parts and initial build pictures below.
Even with the software and printing limitations I’ve run into, I’m still blown away by what I can do with my Da Vinci Mini, it really is a great $200 3D printer.
My next project may be pushing the envelop too far – A 1/450 scale model of the IJN Light Cruiser Sendai. It will be the biggest subject I’ve printed yet.
Stay tuned! 🙂
Update: 6/5/2018
I ended up giving this model to a friend as promised. However I still wanted an example for my 1/450 Japanese fleet and so I built her sister, the IJN Yugumo V2 🙂