My Afinia 3d printer has arrived!

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 4:01 pm

I'm looking at designing some knee joints for Abby.
As a little aside, I found another use for the little battery powered LED light that I have in the printing closet...

: IMG_2198.JPG (206.07 KiB) Viewed 4692 times

It works great as a "connector finder", lol.
They show up so clearly that I can mark them on the legs so I know where to cut!

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 5:18 pm

Are you going to 3D print the joints?

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 6:25 pm

rubherkitty wrote:Are you going to 3D print the joints?

Yup. Unfortunately (or fortunately I guess) I have actual paying work I need to do so it's going to be a while.

I wish I could just retire and have fun making stuff all day long.

skybird100000 · Post by **skybird100000** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 2:29 am

I wish I could just retire and have fun making stuff all day long.

hah I know the feeling...

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:35 pm

Well moving kind of slow on this - trying to balance work time with fun time.

The flared shoulder cups printed out very nicely and fit like a glove into the existing holes...

: IMG_2209.JPG (373.76 KiB) Viewed 4567 times

There's only room for one magnet but I think that should be sufficient for the arms.

I'm trying to decide on a head for Abby.
I've pretty much narrowed it down to these 3...

: head choices.jpg (118.99 KiB) Viewed 4567 times

The first one is the Sammie head so I already know what that one is like, the second one has great eyes but may be a little too square jawed.
The tan one has kind of an Asian quality that's interesting - smaller chin and lips.

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 10:24 pm

RE: the flared cups. Something you might consider is to blend them in at the top w/ putty. I am going to widen the chest on my build + build the shoulders up flatter across the top rather than the heavy down slope they are now.

I've always like the center head. She's quite a goddess. Both 1 & 2 are square jawed, just head 2 looks either wider or shorter in height. What wig you pic will make a big difference too on how the head appears. With your photo shop skills, you can probably do some wig & face experiments.

I do like long haired asian babes though!!

ETA: 6-20 1:00 PM
RE: Netwits comments below. I enlarged the "heads" pic and head 3 does look very nice. She has that half closed eyes look.
She would be a very elegant, refined and exotic woman w/ the right hair.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:04 pm

rubherkitty wrote:RE: the flared cups. Something you might consider is to blend them in at the top w/ putty.

Yes I plan on doing that with all the glued on pieces. Maybe give her some collar bones in the process?
The nice thing about using the flared cups is that I don't have to grind out the big connector post just inside the arm hole.
Right now everything is just dry fitted. When I get all the pieces glued on there will be a lot of blending/finishing work to do.
The center head is a classic beauty I agree. Nice big eyes and beautiful bone structure.
I think in a way I have fallen in love with the Sammie face though. Those lips are very very kissable.

Fryppe · Post by **Fryppe** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:33 pm

Impressive project! It’s very interesting to follow the progress you are doing.

Post by **netwit** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 1:48 pm

Welcome to the forum, Fryppe. I agree, this is fascinating!

I like the 3rd head, MF; it reminds me of a few women I like.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 3:19 pm

Fryppe wrote:Impressive project! It’s very interesting to follow the progress you are doing.

Thanks Fryppe and welcome to the forum!
This is going to be a long drawn out thing, but I'll keep posting the progress to this thread since most of Abby's mods will involve 3d printing.

Netwit wrote:I like the 3rd head, MF; it reminds me of a few women I like.

Thanks Netwit, I was hoping to get some opinions from other members.
That head does have some intriguing qualities. Hmmm, I wonder what it would look like with elf ears?
Eventually (if I ever finish this during my lifetime, or what's left of it anyway) I'll probably end up doing more than one head for her.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 6:25 pm

Gah, I'm not really liking the Khaki color for the steel balls.
I'm trying to find a better color for them closer to the suntan glow skin color.
It's alright if the color is a bit different but the Khaki is just too gray.
The Rustoleum works really nice on the steel balls and Walmart has it cheap but the colors are so limited.

Theoretically, if I were to use a base coat of the burgundy (purplish red) and then before it dries go over it with a thin top coat of the sand color (yellowish tan) I should get something like a fleshtone if they mixed 50/50.

: rustoleumskin.jpg (181.42 KiB) Viewed 4511 times

Has anyone tried mixing colors by painting two thin coats on top of one another to get a different shade?

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 7:20 pm

I've tried to "mist" a base coat w/a 2nd coat of something else, but it's hard to get the mist even. It always looks like over spray from another project. You will also have the wear factor.

You might try a automotive paint shop. They can make you about any color you want. They can even pump the paint into a spray can if you don't have a spray gun. This is not a cheap alternative though.

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 10:39 pm

Wow, I just learned all about decanting spray paint!
And they have these neat little reusable aerosol bottle sprayers at Home Depot...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Preval-9-oz- ... RRWidgetID

rubherkitty · Post by **rubherkitty** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 9:47 pm

MannequinFan wrote:
rubherkitty wrote:Yes, w/ the wider shoulder socket, she may be able to pull her hands in tighter to her hips too. The My Size Barbie "as is" doesn't allow much room for chest garments under the arms either.

Are you going to start a separate Abby build thread that covers some of the other mods?
Hi RK,

I'll probably start a thread if I can get the pelvic unit printed successfully. If not, the project just won't happen.
I'll most probably need to print it in 2 or more pieces on the Afinia.
I decided to print the boobs in 2 pieces since it will be easier to fill a hairline seam than to fix the deformity on the bottom of the boob.
Just to show the accuracy of the printer, here is the 2 piece boob print:
The attachment IMG_2171.JPG is no longer available
I used little 1/8" birch dowels for the pins which worked great. That way all I have to do is create the holes in each half of the part.
The joint will actually be tighter than shown in the photo - it's not glued yet so gravity is pulling it apart some.

Why could you have not printed the boob as one piece as shown in the pic on the RH side, nipple pointed up? Can you print a set of boobs nipples point up if the under side is just flat?

MannequinFan · Post by **MannequinFan** » Sun Jun 30, 2013 11:48 pm

Hi RK,

I actually tried a print with the nipple up and it failed straight away.
The underside needs to be contoured to the existing body so it can be simply glued on.
The hairline crack will be easy to fill and you'll never know it was there.

MF