Initially, I was going to hunt around and see if I could buy belts similar enough to what is shown in the Shae Vizla reference material, but after a closer examination, I saw that the upper belt is actually made up of interlocking plates. So, I set out to make these out of resin.
I began by CAD modelling the plates.
Since the design is so simple, it took about 10 minutes to get the model finished, and sliced for 3D printing.
I then printed 3 sets just in case, and used acetone to smooth out the 3D printed striation. Normally I use acetone vapour to do it, but this time I just dipped my finger into the acetone, and smeared it over the surface of the plastic until it smoothed out. Probably not the healthiest thing to do for your skin (not to mention that the rate of evaporation means your hands will get VERY cold and very dry). Oh, and a respirator is a MUST!
The minimal amount of prep work was extremely nice, and allowed me to jump straight into molding. So, I built 2 boundary boxes out of scrap ABS and plasticine, and poured in some Mold Star 15.
Several hours later, demolding revealed a perfect print coat.
Next came the gruelling task of having to coldcast a dozen or so copies of these sets to have enough for a full belt.
Next came came another mind numbing stage of having to sand (since some 3D printing striation was still evident), and buff each piece with steel wool.
Next, I painted them the same colour as the rest of the build, masked off the sides, and painted the middle section a dark blue.
When I had all the links done, I weathered them down using steel wool.
To be continued…
Thanks for looking!
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