Working with 3D Prints

Working with 3D Printed Resin

This model is 3D printed, so there shouldn’t be much cleanup and definitely no mold lines. I’m just looking everything over for supports or print errors. Those little nubbies on the bottom don’t matter because you won’t see them.

I’m putting a mask on to sand out imperfections—with resin prints, you don’t want to breathe that dust in.

Fixing Broken Parts

With 3D printed resin, you’ve got to use super glue. This wing was broken—looks a little gnarly at the connection, but I’ve sanded it pretty flush. I got it hot with a heat gun, then bent it to follow the natural curve of the wing.

Both swords were crooked, so I got them mostly straight with heat gun work.

22 Minutes of Hobby Time

Today I had exactly 22 minutes of hobby time. Doesn’t seem like a lot, but I got all of these primed and most of the annoying build parts done—supports off, everything straightened with the heat gun, parts glued and filed together to look like one piece.

The Lesson from Two Rough Weeks

These last two weeks have been very rough, but I’ve learned so much. Sometimes I only had 10 minutes, 20 minutes. Tonight’s 22 minutes is probably the most hobby time I’ve had in two weeks.

But when I look back at all the stuff I got done—the goblin spears, half the skin, the Fantasm tonight—it’s proof that there really isn’t an excuse to skip doing the things you love. Even 5 or 10 minutes a day to refill that bucket makes a difference.

If I wasn’t down here making videos, it would have been even worse. It seems like so much to overcome when you’re in the thick of things, but afterwards I feel much better. I’m going to bed in a good mood, happy, and hopefully refreshed to get beat down again tomorrow. But it’s going to get better, and doing this hobby stuff is what keeps me going.