Weapons 3D Printable Zam Wesell Blaster

aprilstorm

Jr Hunter
Hi,

Someone has asked me if I could design a 3D printable zam blaster, so I thought I would have a try. THis isnt finished, but there is where I got to tonight:

Fullscreen+capture+7082013+104057+PM.bmp.jpg


I still have to finish some of the details and adjust some of the proportions.

Im going to print the handle in black plastic and the body and trigger in "silver" plastic, but this would need to be rubnbuffed with silver to make it look right.

I noticed in the list of parts for zam, that the blaster is listed as having a metal body. Does it actually need to be metal? or is looking like metal enough? I have done this before with other blasters and rub n buff looks very convincing.

3D printing this in ABS plastic would be fairly economical as its not a particularly large blaster.

I'd be interested in feedback

April
 
In my opinion, rub n buff isn't enough for the barrel. With my kit, my significant other did Alclad chrome and clearcoat to give it the chrome finish. Rub n buff just isn't shiny enough.

Your model looks good, however you should double check the cradle the barrel is sitting in. The screen used gun looks as though the cradle covers the lower half of the barrel and extends past the end of the gun. Will there be any sort of cooling fins inside the recessed area on the barrel? Also the thumb switch or safety seems to be incorrect in design. The inset rectangle on the block isn't on the screen used gun.

Here's a great picture for your reference:

KYD-21_VD.jpg
 
Cool, thanks for the reference picture, I was just going off a picture I found on the net and there seem to be a few variations, but if that is the proper one then thats great, its actually easier for me to do than some of the others

I can print the barrel in silver plastic, but its more like lego plastic, and I should be able to get it chrome plated if I needed. Either way once Im done I will open source the files and make it freely available for others to download and print. And I can also print for people if they need this. One can also get the barrel printed in stainless steel on shapeways.com and get it chrome plated, though that is rather expensive.

I did some more work, though its not finished, and I will redo the cradle.

Fullscreen+capture+9082013+15144+PM.bmp.jpg


Has anyone got a good view from the front?

Fullscreen+capture+9082013+15248+PM.jpg
 
Little things I would change:
-Remove the "carved section" right below the barrell. I don't see it on the original
-Remove the "eye" right above the grip.
- Remove the "screw" above the trigger. Rather make a thread and screw/glue in a thumbscrew later. Those screws are/were used on printer/monitor cables to secure them
 
I printed the first prototype to get a feel for the size. I need to make the vents and the dart wholes more pronounced or they will get filled with paint too easily but otherwise i think it looks ok?

P1220211.jpg

P1220212.jpg
 
Let me explain the "carved" on your prototype. The most upper part of the black grip, where the barrel sits in. But in your prototype I can't see that carve anyway.

A size comparison in your hand would be good. How stable is this compared o resin?
 
Its ABS plastic, you could throw it across a room and its unlikely to brake, basically the stuff kids toys are made from, its much lighter and stronger than resin, the only downside are the print lines which take some sanding to remove. I will upload some more pictures later. I think the barrel can be slightly wider.
 
Man April you are rocking the **** out of 3d printed props. I really want to learn how to do 3d modeling, can you recommend any books and easy to use software?
 
Maybe its time we start an FAQ on this. Im not the only one who does modeling and 3d printing, and people all have their favorite techniques and programs

Im a visual person, so I find CAD programs too restrictive, but some people are more familiar with these particularly if you have an engineering background. I on the other hand use Sketchup 8, though I am using the Pro version plus a bunch of add ons.

There are plenty of you tube videos that teach you how to use sketchup and it has a large user base so its easy to get help online and in forums. It is however, really bad and certain things like organic modeling.

Hope that helps.
 
I know how you could make a lot of people REALLY happy.

There is currently no real good maker for Jangos Westar 34....so when you finished this baby, maybe give it a try.
Perhaps there is someone around that has the MR version so you can take some measurements.
 
I have a bit of a list. I was going to finish the EE-3 the princess Leia sporting blaster, then Jango Guantlets, then I might look at the westar 34.

But I thought it was easy enough just to modify those rubies ones.
 
Oh, well that list is pretty long, but people are already waiting a while, so they are used to it ;)

Easy to modify yes, but far away from beeing accurate.
 
Maybe its time we start an FAQ on this. Im not the only one who does modeling and 3d printing, and people all have their favorite techniques and programs

Im a visual person, so I find CAD programs too restrictive, but some people are more familiar with these particularly if you have an engineering background. I on the other hand use Sketchup 8, though I am using the Pro version plus a bunch of add ons.

There are plenty of you tube videos that teach you how to use sketchup and it has a large user base so its easy to get help online and in forums. It is however, really bad and certain things like organic modeling.

Hope that helps.

LOOKS great.
I too tried making a 3D model using SolidWorks software. I got about 75% done, than lost interest. I also wanted to have electronic sounds in mine.
My intention was to have it printed with resin like you did.
I was using the photos from one of the Star Wars reverence books. I scaled it up to what I thought looked proportionaly correct.
Keep up the good work.
 
I don't know if anyone will pay attention to this since it's an older thread, but just in case... Has anyone tried making any other pieces of the costume with a 3D printer? The pistol is awesome! I know someone with a 3D printer who is going make a pistol for me. I didn't know if you'd tried anything else, and if so, how did it go? Are there any files out there to download for Zam besides the pistol? Just curious! :)
 
Haven't found any other files, sorry.
But this blaster looks PRIME! Way cool.

All hail the new millennium- the library in my neighborhood has an entire 3D printing lab available to the public. I'm going to see if they'll let me do blasters (gun concerns :unsure) and if they do I'll make us a bunch. Maybe they can teach me design too, and we can work on some other Zam parts. Hoo-rah!
 
Aprilstorm printed this for me, one of my local handy 501st members (who we call Q for a reason) managed to put sound and lights in this. It's amazing.

I'd love to get something for the rifle however we have been looking at getting a plastic prop shotgun and adding plastic pipe to the end of it to see if it can be made to look like her rifle. Let you know how it goes.
 
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