tundrayeti

I have discussed these issues with other members all of whom have been very understanding. Neko got his kit. What had happened is I had sent out 12 kits which were lost in the mail. 12 kits may not seem like a lot but it is. They were insured but I still haven't seen a dime from the post office. I had to cover the costs out of my own pocket.

I talk regularly with other members and what a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of us who make these kits do so in our spare time. I have a family and they will always come first. But I always try to keep in communication. That loss of 12 kits was over 2 grand I had to cover out of my own pocket. I do okay but I don't have 2000 dollars to give away. That setback affected other projects that I was working on. I have almost recovered from the shipping mess that was not my fault at all. I have been trying to finish up all outstanding orders but my family will come first. Only one person has been understanding in personal conversations and damning in public. We have other responsibilities too. Keep it in mind.

ichijo, that is incorrect. I have responded to every pm you have sent me. It's not the end of October yet and I have explained to you that there have been a lot of things going on in my personal life. I had to move because my company went under, my wife had a new baby and I have basically had to start over. I have seen this explained in other threads by people that know me. It's been a hectic couple years. When you ordered this from me I explained to you that I would be going back to school in order to get my PE. I stopped taking orders because of this but you insisted. I told you up front it could take awhile because of things going on in my personal life and you told me you understood. It's not easy losing your job and having to uproot your family and move to another city. Your kit is ready to go. I had the parts printed and I had to unpack the rest. If you want a refund I have no problem at this point. I explained the situation from the get go and EVERY time you pmed me I responded. I tried to take the high road and keep the particulars of our arrangement off the thread but it appears you cannot. Let me know what you wanna do.

I did not renew my table for Wonderfest this year and I have really dialled back on new projects. Once school is done in May I will be opening the shop up again and start making new stuff. For now I have been trying to get caught up.

It's on its way. A lot going on with my personal life. Wife is expecting baby number 3 and my company is sending me to school. after May things will get back to normal somewhat. Again I apologize for the delay but trying to juggle work school and family right now.

I am trying to get all of these loose ends tied up. My time has been very limited as of late due to some things going on in my personal life guys. Hang in there I'm trying to wrap it all up. It's not easy juggling work, family and your hobby. I have effectively shut the shop down in order to use my limited free time to finish these outstanding projects up.

Not forgetting guys. Things have been busy but I'm working as fast as I can tying up all of these projects.

I think Neptune got the 2 mixed up. The zentran dropship is the one that's was available making more. These big ships are pretty involved.

Let me update. The clamship is in the final stages of prototyping. I'll post some pics this weekend but I am starting pre-orders. The I still have some bioroid assault ships available. Starting another run of drop pods. Hoping to have the clamship done by Christmas, late January at the latest. No money will be taken until the kits are finished so order now!

Thanks

okay i was delayed but here is the list. Every Person on this list has been confirmed for either a bioroid assault ship or a reentry pod. If you're not on the list please PM me so I can add you.

List is as follows:

sbantonelli

Bad_Syntax

sierra-ii7

Felindar

DarkArchon3000

Mike1975

I will be posting the List tomorrow. If you do not see your name on the list and still want a kit you must pm me as soon as possible to get in on the first run. Just a friendly reminder.

Twich Twich. Can not wait.

Oh BTW can we get the contact info for the people making the Tanks and Bioroids in case we wanted extra?

Thanks

Pete

Okay pre-orders are now finished. If you havent pmed me yet i would get it in now. I will start PMing folks that are on the list. If you dont hear from me in the next week, let me know I may have missed you.

Thanks all

Upgrades are finished printing. It goes out this week. Your kit was one of the ones the post office "lost". You will be getting the upgraded parts in this kit. Again I apologize for the wait I have been getting these out as soon as I can.

I worked my way through engineering school as a machinist. I have deburring tools, but thanks for the offer. I have mentioned it to form 1and they are going to fix it

Still have 2 weeks left to get on the preorder list. I'll still offer these after but I would like to get the majority out in one shot

Try some kapton tape on your heat bed. It works well for me

Good question. We'll I have had this printer for over 3 and a half weeks. I have to add this little tidbit since I've had a couple folks tell me about the new ultimaker 2 (I think that's the name) they pretty much told me that it prints in 20 micron layers. Now I have to point out that there are many types of 3d printers out there. This particular unit is an extrusion printer like the maker bot etc... The form 1 is my fourth 3d printer and it is an SLA printer which means it uses a uv laser to harden the resin. Some folks gauge a 3d printer by the layer thickness and I'm not knocking the extrusion printers ( I own one myself) but layer thickness aside, I find it hard to believe that a hot glue gun is more accurate than a laser. Even if they can get the layers that thin, there are a lot of problems with warping and deformation of the parts. A heat bed helps but not much. The laser is also faster being able to cover more area in less time. So it's not just the layer thickness, it the accuracy. I had a guy at wonderfest pull out a magnifying glass and inspect a part. His reaction was basically "damn!" ( in a good way)
Check out some of the prints in the anime section under the 1/350 scale anime post. You can't see the layers. Nuff said on that and I will post some pics of prints I have done.

As far as volume goes, as much as you can fit on the build plate. I've done 50 of the 1/350 bioroids in a single printing which took 12 hours. I could never do that with traditional casting methods. I would suggest you download the software from form 1. It's free and you can play around with it. The software gives estimated volume of your print and time. The resin comes in 1 liter containers which run about $150. After having this unit for over 3 weeks of constant use I finally killed my first liter of resin. It's not as cheap as a pla or abs extruded printer, but the results are spectacular and won't break your wallet. I hope this helps and please feel free to keep the questions coming.

( we Yetis have to stick together!!!)

Hello all! As mosr of you know I attend Wonderfest in Louisviulle Kentucky every year as a kit designer and dealer. This year I had the pleasure of showing off the new Form ! 3d printer that is due to be released in July. The nice folks at Form 1 let me play with the machine early and I showed it off at wonderfest. I must say it was a big draw to my table and lots of folks seemed very interested in this machine. But the results spoke for themselves. I have been playing with 3d printing for over 6 years now and let me tell you it has come a very long way! This machine is incredible. A lot of you have been marveling over the detail that some of the kits myself, Exo and NeptuneSurvey have been producing and this little powerhouse has been one of the big reasons behind it. Of course the designers have a huge part in it but this machine makes those small, High detail parts a reality. As far as ease of use and reliability, this little machine really does it all! I will break down this review into pros and cons and then basically a final review.

First the Pro's:

This machine prints at 25 microns per layer. That allows for fine detail printing but unlike other machines, you have a lot of control in this area. You can also print at 50 and 100 micron layers as well.

The software allows direct control over the density of the support material as well as touch point size. this means you can have tiny areas touching your model and they break off very easily.

The software is pretty savvy when it comes to aligning your 3d models for maximum printing results.

This machine was also quick to set up and use, I was printing 15 minutes after i opened the box! The forums on their website are full of tips and tricks so that you can use the machine to its full potential!

The resin is very inexpensive and allows you to print small parts very cost effectively

Now the Cons:

The software gets very slow if you load a bunch of high detail models. Not a deal breaker but it does affect setup time.

The build platform has an aluminum surface that the parts are built on. the drawback is that the edges of this are sharp and you have to be carefull when removing models. (I have lost some knuckle skin due to this) I have made Form 1 aware of this and they are looking into it.

The resin tank wears over time, it is basically an acrylic tank with a soft gel in the bottom. After long use the gel can get pitting in it and the clear bottom becomes foggy. I had this happen early on and Form 1 thinks it may be a defective tank. They are sending me a replacement, but at $69 per tank it's not going to break the bank if you want an extra on hand. In fact they recommend having 1 tank for each color.

Overall:

The small drawbacks aside I love this machine! It really has made things easier and allows me to provide small detailed parts without the cost or time of producing a mold and casting copies. I can print several small parts at once, and this machine works while im asleep or at work. Really saves some time!

The build area is 5 inches by 5 inches by 6 inches high. Not very big, but those of us with experience can divide a larger model up and combine the parts after. I'm sure a larger version of this machine will come out. I cant tell you how many folks came up to me at Wonderfest and said "Ive been looking at this machine, but I wasnt sure about it till i saw it in action and held the results in my hands."

The price tag on this machine is $3299 but that price you get the form 1 printer, a cleaning kit that has gloves, a scraper, a pair of snips and some other tools, 2 tanks, and a basket that are used to wash your parts. The cleaning solution in your run-of-the-mill 90% isopropyl alchohol. Not expensive at all. I think this machine was worth every penny i paid for it and the folks at Form 1 have been more than helpful. They are a company that is starting out and they still have a few bugs to work out but keeping that in mind, everyone I have delt with at Form 1 has been very helpful.

Okay well that's my 2 cents here are some pics of my table at Wonderfest showing off the Form 1. Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

you know they say you haven't made it till your stuff is resold. congrats DarkArchon enjoy the kit!!!

well you can get these now and hopefully your wallet will recover when the Sheldo is done. :D

The master is still being worked on. Don't want to rush this because I really want to do it justice. Give it some time it is being worked on.

Yes they are 1/350th

Thanks I just want to see how they turn out on the form 1. Check out my results on the 1/360 thread.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=40821&page=8#entry1125467

Why don't you let me try them on my printer?

Keep in mind also that when I did this kit, 3d printing was expensive. Some of the parts I had printed simply because they were more detailed and less expensive to print. The wheels on the landing gear were all printed. Did a test run with the seats and landing gear and I got some good results. Any money I have made on these kits has gone into refining and improving the quality of the kits. So now that I have 3d printers of my own, I can make masters and small parts cheaper. The printing cost for the masters alone was immense. So having said that, I am compiling a list of those that want replacements. Neko, I appreciate your patience, your order is taking a bit longer so that I can include the ground support vehicles as well. The molds gave out a while ago and since you were one of the ones whose kit was lost in the mail I'm printing you replacements for those as well. It takes time. Those are being done now. So folks I hope to have this all finished up soon.