3D Printing, Painting, & Dioramas

Using CAD I designed a UFO that would accept an LED light strip and acrylic light filter.  To complement the design and hide the control box & wires, a base and tower were also designed in CAD.  Once everything was 3D printed, Mod Podge Ultra Matte spray sealer was used on the UFO’s shell for smoothing, and Stuart Semples Mirror Paint provides the extraterrestrial finish.  Combined with a clear canister of proper size for the base, the completed diorama was assembled to protect it from dust while providing a custom LED light setup.

Testing with the Mirror Paint

 

After creating a wood base for an underwater diorama it seemed a little bland with no lighting or accents.  To light and provide a scene, I found some wood planks on Thingiverse and sized them appropriately to create a bridge around the dioramas outer edge.  3D printing the planks, painting them brown, and gluing them down to the acrylic border was complimented with LED lighting underneath and mini trees found at the craft store coated with Mod Podge.

The trees are secured to the bridge using UV curable resin and combined with hot glue and Black 2.0 the LED’s are contained to provide directional lighting and a nice experience enhancing details of the diorama.

 

 

To power an LCD from a USB Power Bank, I incorporated a USB 5-12V converter chip and paired the output with a female barrel jack.

A small case and USB cap were designed & 3D printed to house the finished setup.

 

 

Simulating smaller pelican cases, these were designed in CAD and 3D printed to hold small items like USB device components or jewelry.  They’re assembled using M2x25mm screws with snap locking hinges while the inserts are layered and can be customized to fit specific items.

For the jewelry box, inserts were lined with felt for further protection.

 

 

Taking some initiative for a detailed painting project, these Treasure Chests were found and printed in Bone White filament.  Tamiya Acrylic colors were then mixed up to match what I thought would be best for accenting, and painting commenced.

The end results had the look and feel of real Treasure Chests!

 

Another fun side project, these Baby Yoda’s caught my eye and I had some extra bright green filament left over.

A couple of them were printed up and after some experimentation with colors, I painted the details carefully.