A while ago I got myself a kit, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with it, nor was I willing to work on fibreglass in my apartment. Anyway, I decided to 3D model and print my own version instead.. So, herewith the process:
The biggest part of the print, the AN/PVS-5 frame:
Very, very nice. I’m astonished at how smooth you were able to get your 3D printed visor. I knew there might be some tricks out there other than the brute force sanding it took to get my 3D printed lenses smooth-ish. I was vaguely aware of Mr Surfacer. I’ve never heard of coating an item in resin. Can you provide more detail on that aspect?
Do you have a sense of how long it took to clean up your printed visor?
I like the look of your silver paint, too.
Are the side knobs and battery cover “real” parts? How about all the snaps?
Nice photos, too, both of the build and the final.
Well, the resin is XTC-3D by Smooth On. It’s specifically meant for 3D printing. You mix the stuff in a 2:1 ratio, then brush it on. A little goes a long way, mind you. After it cures wet sand it for best results. I started with 180 grit and ended with 400. I think in all, including painting the resin on and letting it cure, was about half a day.
Overall the whole thing took five days, excluding the 3D modelling.
The side knobs and battery cover are Nick-a-tron resin casts, all the snaps are regular snaps found on eBay.. The strap is a genuine AN/PVS-5 strap.
Very impressive work, great job on the finishes! I’d be interested in the files as well but can understand that they probably took a considerable amount of time to create.
What type of filament did you use and also what color paint did you end up using?
I used Colorfabb olive drab and black PLA. Paints used were:
Frame: Initial coat of Tamiya primer to check the sanded finish for imperfections, Mr Surfacer 500 and Mr Surfacer 1000 filler primers, Tamiya TS-28 and then Tamiya semigloss lacquer
Right lens: Alclad grey microfiller primer after sanding, which was then sanded and polished. Alclad gloss black base enamel on the lower, Alclad gloss black base followed by Alclad Airframe Aluminium and Alclad Chrome.
Left lens: Alclad grey microfiller primer after sanding, which was then sanded and polished. Alclad gloss black base enamel on the lower, Alclad gloss black base
Interior: Alclad grey microfiller primer after sanding. Alclad gloss black base. Alclad light sheen varnish for the base plate, Alclad aqua gloss for the round lens plates.
Interior greebly: Alclad grey microfilmed primer, Alclad gloss black base, Alclad semigloss lacquer, a brushed on coat of Vallejo flat black for the lower displays, a brushed coat of Citadel chain mail for the bezel, Vallejo black green for the screen, some resin water for the lens. The screens had printed readouts held in place with some acetate.
