Current Project: Iron Creed Trench – Gun Pit (Iron Creed Trench (Lip Circle))
Secondary Project: Plasma Obliterator Rebuild/Print
A few weeks ago I bought a 3D printer. Sticking with the suggestions from a friend, I picked up the Ender 3 v2 and took plenty of time learning exactly how it worked. I broke it several times, only to find out the parts are easy to get and replaceable without too much work. As of March 17th I have printed 1 crater, 2 Trench Ends, 1 Trench Intersection, 1 Long Trench, 1 Gun Emplacement, and parts to make the Plasma Obliterator Turret.
Needless to say, I have learned that creating piece with the 3D printer allows me to assemble and paint up something between print jobs so that I do not get overwhelmed with bulk orders of models. That being said, it doesn’t hurt the the Mournival Events Field Manual has all these cool fortification rules I want to take advantage of.
My primary project right now is to create compatible terrain that carries the markings of the Iron Warriors. The Iron Creed Trench Network (Ravencos) has a beautiful aesthetic that I was hoping to print out and use extensively. Adapting other designs to this network will create a fine modeling challenge for me and should be very pleasant looking in the end. Besides filling out the Trench Network itself, I am working on printing the Bunker associated with it, but also building a Plasma Obliterator to work with it as well. The turret is turning out to be the most complex part, though I will still have to build a compatible entrance for the bunker part of the weapon.
Currently printing the Gun Pit, and I underestimated the complexity of the prints. Thankfully, these are presented as pieces that are then assembled into the trench network’s parts, but I grossly underestimated the complexity of the kit. Initially, it was broken down into 9 different prints to create the full design, but I had to redesign 2 of them and now I have it at 11 parts. As of this writing, I am the 5th print, so I would say I am making good time.
Not gonna lie about the complexity of 3D printing (along with the frustration of learning the ins and outs), but it is something that I am very happy I finally committed to. While I have detailed my successes thus far, I should note that I broke the machine at least half a dozen times (parts easily found on Amazon), and I have numerous failed print jobs that I am using as scrap for hobbying. At this point I have a much better understanding of all the little nuances of my machine and I have a working grasp on the software side of things. I already have several special prints that I am working on for family members for non-hobby related things and I cannot wait to get started on them.
Shout out to Bo for being a great sounding board for the process of purchasing and learning what comes next. Without him I would probably still be drooling over the keyboard while trying to look through search results on Amazon and ratings sites.
143rd Expeditionary Fleet 