Nicolas Ward<p><strong>You Wouldn’t Download a TIE Fighter</strong></p><p>A few weeks ago <a href="https://tacobelllabs.net/@ultranurd/114287858798554968" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I asked</a> what good entry 3D printer options I should consider. The tween peer pressure has increased as there’s been more fidget printing and trading this school year, and I got interested in some fun possible use cases as well.</p><p>I had long ignored the category for various reasons, but mostly just the fact that we didn’t really have a dedicated space for such a device. However, with the advent of RTO5, we’re flipping the space I had been using as a home office into more of a tween hang and guest room.</p><p>The feedback pretty much fell into two categories: get a Prusa since it’s open and EU manufactured; or get a Bambu because they’re fairly cheap and easy. There were a few other outliers. We decided on the <a href="https://bambulab.com/en/a1-mini" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bambu A1 Mini</a>, mostly on price since we’re not sure this hobby will “stick”. (Technically we thought we were getting a great price on an A1, but it was actually a Mini and we didn’t read the listing carefully enough.)</p><p>We didn’t get an <a href="https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/ams-lite?from=home_web" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AMS</a>, in part because multicolor printing seemed more wasteful. If we love printing things I could see upgrading to something like a <a href="https://www.prusa3d.com/product/prusa-core-one/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Prusa CORE One</a> eventually. Another consideration was that the Mini was in stock in US, so with fluctuating tariffs that was also a factor for the price.</p><p>Of course we had to start off with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3DBenchy" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Benchy</a> made from the sample filament that came with the printer.</p><p>And a very satisfying <a href="https://makerworld.com/models/643268" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“impossible passthrough” fidget cube</a>:</p>Timelapse!<p>I was curious about model making so tried a clip out and snap together AT-ST. Unfortunately something with the thickness of the layer settings that I couldn’t figure out made it so the tabs didn’t fit into one another.</p><p>After that I tried <a href="https://makerworld.com/models/460710" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a TIE Interceptor model</a>. I need a better tool (or some sanding) for getting the parts out of the frame. I also put two parts together out of order so one of the side flanges snapped off a bit. Lesson learned for next time.</p><p>Not sure yet what’s next. Something that is a combination of fun and useful, like a better toilet paper holder than the ones that came with our house.</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.ultranurd.net/tag/3d-printing/" target="_blank">#3DPrinting</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.ultranurd.net/tag/star-wars/" target="_blank">#starWars</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://blog.ultranurd.net/tag/toys/" target="_blank">#toys</a></p>