Shapeways

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Do you find that WSF takes paint well? How are people priming this stuff?

Jodee

I am not sure how to answer your question, because generally I have my figures painted for me. The three I am going to post, the psittacosaurus done by copper, the herrerasaurus and yinlong both painted by Martin Garratt, all are members here so perhaps one of them can ring in on the topic.

Yinlong painted and based by Martin Garratt
Model by Manuel Bejarano




Herrerasaurus painted and based by Martin Garratt
Model by Manuel Bejarano



Psittacosaurus painted by Copper
Model by Aaron Doyle



These are all Shapeways figures , however the only one ordered in WSF was the middle piece. The other two figures were done in higher detail levels.

[tyrantqueen]

Do you find that WSF takes paint well? How are people priming this stuff?

Jodee

I have primed with both hobby primer (Vallejo) and artist's Gesso. I would say that priming is quite important. At first, WSF is very porous and doesn't take detail well, but after a few layers this disappears and the surface becomes much smoother. I think this is really important to keep in mind when you're painting WSF, because it affects how drybrushing works on the model. Basically, in my opinion, the model will look horrible if you don't fill in the coarseness with primer.

Btw, you can fill in those weird ridges/striations/whatever they're called with primer too. It doesn't completely cover them, but it will look a lot better in the long run.

I don't use the sanding method anymore, I realised it destroyed too much precious detail and was too difficult to carry out

[postsaurischian]

1:40 Olorotitan by Manuel Bejarano (mb-cg) ~ white, strong & flexible, painted by Martin Garratt

[jtn144]

Wow, that's in WSF? That came out far better than I thought possible with that material.

[Bokisaurus]

Beautiful paint on that Olorotitan

My latest Shapeways, got them a while back, but never had a chance to photograph them
[

[Libraraptor]

Yess! A playing dinosaur! (pic 3) Probably enjoying rolling in the mud! Reminds me of the playing sauropod in "The All Yesterdays".

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Yess! A playing dinosaur! (pic 3) Probably enjoying rolling in the mud! Reminds me of the playing sauropod in "The All Yesterdays".

Actually that is precisely what he is doing. When the artist was designing the various poses for the model I suggested that pose, somewhat similar to the way you see larger animals roll in the dust to clean their backs and remove pests. I believe he even titled the pose " Dustbath" if I remember correctly. I like how it turned out !!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Pretty cool pose..have to add that one to my extensive list..

[postsaurischian]

1:40 Pentaceratops by Manuel Bejarano (mb-cg) ~ white, strong & flexible, painted by Martin Garratt

[ataraxus]

interesting paintjob. looks a bit different to his other paintjobs. maybe he used new technics?

[tyrantqueen]

Aaron Doyle's new 1/40 Quetzalcoatlus





Gorgeous model, Battle Brak has outdone himself again XD I pose him with CollectA Hatzegopteryx for comparison.

The face does have more detail than the photos show, I just suck at photographing WSF.

[Gorgonzola]

Man, I really need to get my Parasaurolophus sometime soon, every time I see other people post photos of them I get really happy with how they look.  I'm so glad everyone likes the dustbath pose!

I think if I were ever to get some I'd love to send them over to Martin just to get some really nice paint work on it.  Maybe once I finish up the Amargasaurus model...

TyrantQueen, Battlebrak's Quetzalcoatlus looks stellar.  How thin are the wings on that fellow?  Back when I was thinking of doing that one I wasn't sure if it would stand up to Shapeway's material restrictions.

[tyrantqueen]

Man, I really need to get my Parasaurolophus sometime soon, every time I see other people post photos of them I get really happy with how they look.  I'm so glad everyone likes the dustbath pose!

I think if I were ever to get some I'd love to send them over to Martin just to get some really nice paint work on it.  Maybe once I finish up the Amargasaurus model...

TyrantQueen, Battlebrak's Quetzalcoatlus looks stellar.  How thin are the wings on that fellow?  Back when I was thinking of doing that one I wasn't sure if it would stand up to Shapeway's material restrictions.

I'd say they're similar in thickness to the CollectA Hatzegopteryx mostly. They're not paper thin, but not so thick that they look unrealistic.
Sorry if I can't be more descriptive, you could alway ask Aaron Doyle himself

[radman]

Man, I really need to get my Parasaurolophus sometime soon, every time I see other people post photos of them I get really happy with how they look.  I'm so glad everyone likes the dustbath pose!

I think if I were ever to get some I'd love to send them over to Martin just to get some really nice paint work on it.  Maybe once I finish up the Amargasaurus model...

TyrantQueen, Battlebrak's Quetzalcoatlus looks stellar.  How thin are the wings on that fellow?  Back when I was thinking of doing that one I wasn't sure if it would stand up to Shapeway's material restrictions.

I have a bunch of your paras and they're all great, I really like them.  My only small complaint would be that the legs seems a bit short.  I also got the BB Quetz, in 1:72, and I like it also, although most of the long toes and fingers were broken off, and the back was a little broad (?) compared to some other figures.  Heck, I don't know, I like 'em and enjoy 'em.  Will post some pix eventually. 

[Derek Sohoza]

How much of a difference is there between the white, strong, & flexible models and the frosted detail ones? Do the frosted ones really have that much more detail worth spending extra money on?

[tyrantqueen]

How much of a difference is there between the white, strong, & flexible models and the frosted detail ones? Do the frosted ones really have that much more detail worth spending extra money on?

I'd say no, since with FD you get the extra risk of breakage because the material is rather brittle. I have never had a WSF break, but the few FD I did order have snapped if handled roughly or dropped. If you want more detail, I'd reccommend FUD (frosted ultra detail). It's also nice and solid, and much more pleasant to paint than WSF (which is horrible to paint, to be honest)

[Derek Sohoza]

How much of a difference is there between the white, strong, & flexible models and the frosted detail ones? Do the frosted ones really have that much more detail worth spending extra money on?

I'd say no, since with FD you get the extra risk of breakage because the material is rather brittle. I have never had a WSF break, but the few FD I did order have snapped if handled roughly or dropped. If you want more detail, I'd reccommend FUD (frosted ultra detail). It's also nice and solid, and much more pleasant to paint than WSF (which is horrible to paint, to be honest)

That's a bit weird that the FUD would be more solid and less breakable than the FD. I would've expected the opposite. What makes the WSF so horrible to paint? I paint all my not-already-painted models gray, so I'm not sure if that aspect would be a deciding factor.

[tyrantqueen]

How much of a difference is there between the white, strong, & flexible models and the frosted detail ones? Do the frosted ones really have that much more detail worth spending extra money on?

I'd say no, since with FD you get the extra risk of breakage because the material is rather brittle. I have never had a WSF break, but the few FD I did order have snapped if handled roughly or dropped. If you want more detail, I'd reccommend FUD (frosted ultra detail). It's also nice and solid, and much more pleasant to paint than WSF (which is horrible to paint, to be honest)

That's a bit weird that the FUD would be more solid and less breakable than the FD. I would've expected the opposite. What makes the WSF so horrible to paint? I paint all my not-already-painted models gray, so I'm not sure if that aspect would be a deciding factor.

Frosted detail is hollow, which is probably why it's cheaper (and more fragile)

Regarding WSF, the material is very coarse and sucks up paint like nobody's business. It takes several layers of "filling" in the coarseness to get a satisfactorily smooth finish. This consumes a lot of paint and eats away at the hairs on paintbrushes (at least in my experience) That's why I prime mine, so I don't have to waste paint.
I'm not saying I hate WSF (it's good for what you pay for) but it can be a pain to paint.

Of course, your mileage may vary

[Derek Sohoza]

How much of a difference is there between the white, strong, & flexible models and the frosted detail ones? Do the frosted ones really have that much more detail worth spending extra money on?

I'd say no, since with FD you get the extra risk of breakage because the material is rather brittle. I have never had a WSF break, but the few FD I did order have snapped if handled roughly or dropped. If you want more detail, I'd reccommend FUD (frosted ultra detail). It's also nice and solid, and much more pleasant to paint than WSF (which is horrible to paint, to be honest)

That's a bit weird that the FUD would be more solid and less breakable than the FD. I would've expected the opposite. What makes the WSF so horrible to paint? I paint all my not-already-painted models gray, so I'm not sure if that aspect would be a deciding factor.

Frosted detail is hollow, which is probably why it's cheaper (and more fragile)

Regarding WSF, the material is very coarse and sucks up paint like nobody's business. It takes several layers of "filling" in the coarseness to get a satisfactorily smooth finish. This consumes a lot of paint and eats away at the hairs on paintbrushes (at least in my experience) That's why I prime mine, so I don't have to waste paint.
I'm not saying I hate WSF (it's good for what you pay for) but it can be a pain to paint.

Of course, your mileage may vary

Makes sense. I suppose I'll have to buy one in WSF and see how I like it. I have primer, so the coarseness may not be a problem, but I won't know for sure until I get one.

[tyrantqueen]

How much of a difference is there between the white, strong, & flexible models and the frosted detail ones? Do the frosted ones really have that much more detail worth spending extra money on?

I'd say no, since with FD you get the extra risk of breakage because the material is rather brittle. I have never had a WSF break, but the few FD I did order have snapped if handled roughly or dropped. If you want more detail, I'd reccommend FUD (frosted ultra detail). It's also nice and solid, and much more pleasant to paint than WSF (which is horrible to paint, to be honest)

That's a bit weird that the FUD would be more solid and less breakable than the FD. I would've expected the opposite. What makes the WSF so horrible to paint? I paint all my not-already-painted models gray, so I'm not sure if that aspect would be a deciding factor.

Frosted detail is hollow, which is probably why it's cheaper (and more fragile)

Regarding WSF, the material is very coarse and sucks up paint like nobody's business. It takes several layers of "filling" in the coarseness to get a satisfactorily smooth finish. This consumes a lot of paint and eats away at the hairs on paintbrushes (at least in my experience) That's why I prime mine, so I don't have to waste paint.
I'm not saying I hate WSF (it's good for what you pay for) but it can be a pain to paint.

Of course, your mileage may vary

Makes sense. I suppose I'll have to buy one in WSF and see how I like it. I have primer, so the coarseness may not be a problem, but I won't know for sure until I get one.

You'll still need to use many layers of primer (I meant that I would rather use up a lot of primer, because I have a big bottle of the stuff, while I don't have as much paint)

You might need to give your new model a quick wash in the sink before doing any priming or painting work, because leftover nylon powder from the laser process can collect in crevices and is very annoying.