Tintin rocket

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Migrant
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Tintin rocket

Post by Migrant »

When I was 11 my Dad got a job as the librarian at a teachers' training college in Yorkshire, and every week he'd bring a selection of books home for me and my sisters to read. Amongst these were the full collection of Hergé's Tintin books. I loved the stories, but most of all I was fascinated by the detailed illustrations, especially the mechanical subjects. I'm pretty sure that Hergé's illustrations were a fundamental influence in my choosing to follow a career as a graphic designer and illustrator later in life.

One of his most iconic images is the red and white rocket that took Tintin and his companions to the moon in 'Destination Moon' and 'Explorers on the Moon'. About a year ago I decided to have a go at modelling the cover image from the first book.

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My original plan was to scratchbuild the gantries from Plastruct rod and tubing but after studying the drawings I figured I'd never be able to achieve the precision to build one, let alone two identical towers. However they seemed the perfect subject matter for 3D-printing, so I've spent a fair bit of time building the various elements in a 3D program. The gantry is basically the same structure replicated 8 times (with a slightly different base unit), and the rocket itself is a fairly straightforward lathed object. Here's a low-res render of my model.

Image

Although it's possible to print 3D in colour, it's an additional cost and (as I discovered) 3D-printing is already an expensive process, so I'll be using the basic white material. The price is based on a set-up charge and the amount of material used, plus shipping. I use Shapeways in the US for most stuff. Even though it'll be a fairly small model – the rocket is 6" tall – the cost for printing the two towers and the rocket is prohibitive, so I have a cunning plan. I plan on building one tower, half a rocket, then using a first-surface mirror to reflect them:

Image

Which should result in something like this:

Image
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Migrant
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Re: Tintin rocket

Post by Migrant »

My first test print last year was less than successful. The material wasn't rigid enough to form the 'floors' of the tower, so they sagged badly, even though the file itself met the stringent tolerances required by Shapeways.

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The vertical sections holding the levels together effectively acted as sprues to protect the parts while shipping. The models are fairly fragile and easily damaged, as I've learned from experience.

My plan now is to dispense with the printed floors and make them out of styrene sheet, so I've adjusted the 3D model to allow them to be dropped in. Red parts are the 'sprues'.

Image
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montessa315
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Re: Tintin rocket

Post by montessa315 »

Design the top of the floors so they are flat, have each layer printed upside down, so the floor is directly on the bed of the printer, even a raft would not be needed and the floor would be flat. A few locating pins and holes for the vertical pipework and then just assemble each layer to get the tower.


Alan......
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DavidWomby
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Re: Tintin rocket

Post by DavidWomby »

Amazing to see how this is comes together. Very, very clever using the mirror!

David
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TeeELL
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Re: Tintin rocket

Post by TeeELL »

This looks fascinating, not had the courage to try 3D printing.
Tony

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splash
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Re: Tintin rocket

Post by splash »

The rocket is a subject I have always fancied.
My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
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iggie
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Re: Tintin rocket

Post by iggie »

Fascinating stuff!!
Best wishes

Jim
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Re: Tintin rocket

Post by ShaunW »

This is very interesting indeed, Mike and the mirror trick shows great ingenuity. 3-D printing certainly has its uses in model making and is arguably the future of the hobby - no doubt the cost will eventually go down and the quality will get better.
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