Global Scale Modeller

Hey Guys,

I feel really awful for not completing the USS Voyager in this SiG.... It's acually the first time this happens; I normally finish the builds that I commit to (in time).

But I want to participate in some way and I decided to throw myself at this 3D printed model

The subject is the Mondoshawan from "The 5th Element" movie directed by Luc Besson


From the 5th Element Wiki:
The Mondoshawan are a race of aliens that are friendly to humans. Standing slightly taller than a Human, the Mondoshawan are quasi-biblical beings that serve as the caretakers of both the Four Elemental Stones (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) and guardians of the Fifth Element. Although little is known of their homeworld or race it can be assumed it is some distance from Earth, remaining relatively secluded from the other races. Little is known of what the Mondoshawan actually look like as they are only seen wearing an impenetrable gold-metallic armour.
At some point in Ancient History, the Mondoshawan visted the Humans "before time was time". A succession of Priests were established to protect the Fifth Element and the Chamber in Egypt. Evil attempted to destroy the world 5000 years prior to the events of The Fifth Element, possibly multiple times - and perhaps even causing the Moon to form around Earth.

In The Divine Language, the word 'Mondoshawan' translates as 'guardians'.

Earth, 1914

In 1914, prior to the Outbreak of World War I, a Mondoshawan ship visited Earth, specifically the Chamber in Egypt. Upon arriving, the ship's crew were greeted by the current Priest who ensured them that the stones and Fifth Element were safe, despite an archaeologist and his apprentice investigating the chamber. After rendering the archaeologist unconscious, the Mondoshawan proceeded to extract the stones and Fifth Element. When the priest asked why the Mondoshawan were taking Earth's only defense against Evil, the Leader replied "War is coming, stones not safe on Earth anymore". The Leader (distinguished by the large spikes on his armour) was unfortunately shot at by the bewildered apprentice and was sealed in the chamber, but not before passing the Key to the Priest with the command "Pass the knowledge to the next priest as it was passed on to you". The Mondoshawan then left Earth, returning 300 years later.

Sol System, 2214

Returning with the Fifth Element as they had promised, the Mondoshawan made their way to Earth as the Great Evil returned. Unfortunately, Mangalores hired by Zorg shot down the Mondoshawan's ship as it passed Jupiter in a vicious attack that left only one survivor, the Fifth Element who was later retrieved by Human Scouts and reanimated back in New York, Earth.

Fate

Although only the Mondoshawan accompanying the Fifth Element and Elemental Stones were seen, it is assumed there are other Mondoshawan. The Mondoshawan are also excellent strategists and back-up planners. Although they failed to safely deliver the Fifth Element to Earth themselves, they did seperate the Fifth Element from the Elemental Stones, preventing the loss of them all.


The "kit" is a 3D model that can be downloaded from a number of sites on the Internet; I grabbed the STL-files from Thingiverse:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2962875

The parts where printed with my Anycubic Photon and I had to scale down the model to 66% to fit the buildplate.


I had to add a couple of supports around the backside of the body and also to support the delicate "antennas" on the head, but part from that it was printed flat on the buildplate and the model printed beautifully with almost no printing artefacts.
The model was hollowed out and I added a number of venting holes, in locations where they would be hidden when the figure was assembled. The purpose of the vents are to let air flow in and out of the model during printing so resin won't get trapped inside. And it also simplifies the cleanup of uncured resin afterwards.


The assembly is pretty straight forward, you just have to figure out which arm goes where, but that's it basically it. I had a couple of fit issues attaching the arms, so I had to trim them a bit...




Ready for primer!



Tommy

COOL !

thats awesome really cool

Oh I remember these guys...ya that was a weirdly cool movie
Holy cripes you 3D printed this yourself

Hey we are extending the sig to end September 30 now...so more time for ya

Very, very cool. May have to print one of these up myself.

wow that is so cool love that film

Thanks guys!

I found a documentary on the making of the Mondoshawans



I have put some black Ultimate Primer on the figure.




There are a couple of layer lines and gaps that needs to be sanded and filled.




I used 2x anti-aliasing setting for this print to minimise some of the layer lines. It's possible to select 8x AA but that will soften the details - so selecting the right amount of AA is a tradeoff between detail and smoothness....


Tommy

Surface looks really good to me, not too many lines and detail is great!

This is really cool (I know, I'm not being original but it IS!).

I was wondering, how much extra trouble would it be to make the body in two parts so LED lighting could be added?

This is just brilliant!

Really looking forward to seeing you bring it to life Tommy.

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:49 pm Surface looks really good to me, not too many lines and detail is great!

Thank you, mylord!

AAC wrote: Mon Aug 26, 2019 10:13 pm This is really cool (I know, I'm not being original but it IS!).

I was wondering, how much extra trouble would it be to make the body in two parts so LED lighting could be added?

There are actually a set of STL-files where the body have been split in an upper and lower part...
I was playing around with the thought of adding LEDs and fiber-optics, but I wanted to keep this simple

Tomcat64 wrote: Tue Aug 27, 2019 11:21 am This is just brilliant!

Really looking forward to seeing you bring it to life Tommy.

Thanks Neil - I'm happy if it's not brought to life and stays put on the shelf when I'm finished


Okay.... some minor progress...

I painted the arms with a "dark silver" metal tone. My own mix of Gunze H-8 Silver and H-18 Steel


Next up some masking and I will paint the first layer of Gold metal


Tommy

This is such a great project with many facets
I tested a 3D scanner last week for work and am seriously considering it
I would also possibly need a 3D printer at work and the one you show is a good candidate

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 5:29 am This is such a great project with many facets
I tested a 3D scanner last week for work and am seriously considering it
I would also possibly need a 3D printer at work and the one you show is a good candidate

That sounds awesome!




Okay... some masking done to the arms






And I painted a first layer of "gold" - a mix of X-34 Metallic Brown and X-12 Gold Leaf



Tommy

Nice progress Tommy - really like the "antiquey" feel you've got on that gold layer.

Tomcat64 wrote: Wed Sep 04, 2019 9:52 am Nice progress Tommy - really like the "antiquey" feel you've got on that gold layer.

Thanks Neil, let's hope the next steps will bring it forward

I have added a couple of faded spots and highlights using X-12 Gold Leaf thinned with MLT


Removing the masks


Drybrushing some more highlights and scratches with Gunze H-9 Gold (a lighter tone than X-12)


Painting some details, eyes and "lightspots"





Tommy

Hey Guys!

I started to do some weathering using Tamiya Panel Line wash


One arm finished

This will take some time.....

And I forgot to paint the "under-carriage"-lamp (or whatever that is...)




Gunze H308 (FS36375) works for this I think...





Tommy

It's looking great Tommy, coming along really well

I've downloaded these files but I've got to get someone to print it for me as I don't have (or want) a 3D printer.

AAC wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:54 am It's looking great Tommy, coming along really well

I've downloaded these files but I've got to get someone to print it for me as I don't have (or want) a 3D printer.

Awesome! Hope that someone can help you out with the printing - it's a really great 3D model. Good luck


Tommy

Nothing like having a dedicated lamp for your naughty bits

Looking great Tommy, he is coming along

Definitely liking this it's making me want to buy a 3D printer for when the cave is finished nice work so far mate

Stunning work mate. Great subject too

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:35 pm Nothing like having a dedicated lamp for your naughty bits

Looking great Tommy, he is coming along

Thanks Scott, I'm totally clueless when it comes to Mondoshawan anatomy, but I'm sure they have some nawgty parts somewhere

Kingdan wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:46 pm Definitely liking this it's making me want to buy a 3D printer for when the cave is finished nice work so far mate

Thanks Dan, make sure you have good ventilation for the printer, some resin (like the gray I'm using) is quite smelly

Stokesy44 wrote: Sat Sep 07, 2019 11:09 am Stunning work mate. Great subject too

Thanks!


So, I'm pressing on with the weathering, trying to make the dark shadows looking decent; My idea is to soften them to add shades rather than hard lining







I'm working in small areas one at a time, so this will take a while. The arms and front torso are done.


Tommy

It's looking really great, fantastic work Tommy

AAC wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2019 12:39 am It's looking really great, fantastic work Tommy

Thanks AAC!



Small update; I'm moving forward slowly

Added wash on the back and the belly





Tommy

Hey Guys!

Doing the final panel line washes...


After a coat of gloss I masked the lights and eyes


A flat coat using GX-113 thinned with MLT

...and we can remove the masks

Figure finished!





But I think the figure deserves a base, so I decided to make a small one...

I found a piece of 10mm MDF board in the "scrap box". I will use that and some 1mm styrene sheet


I cut the styrene into tiles


...and glue the styrene tiles to the MDF board


I made a small pillar from some styrofoam, where I used a hobbyknife and a sanding paper to shape it


The 3D printer is working now with one of the element stones... it will be finished in an hour I think


Tommy

That's looking awesome mate it'll be even better on a base really really nice work

Kingdan wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:11 pm That's looking awesome mate it'll be even better on a base really really nice work

Thanks Dan


Tommy

I know my comments are getting boring because I keep saying the same thing... but this looks so cool

Excellent work, looking forward to seeing how the base turns out as well as "the stone"

Go Tommy Go!!
You always wrap up the loose ends and give your projects that extra something

Gotta be one of my favorite builds on here atm

AAC wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2019 11:35 pm I know my comments are getting boring because I keep saying the same thing... but this looks so cool
Excellent work, looking forward to seeing how the base turns out as well as "the stone"

Thank you very much, Alexander!

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 1:51 am Go Tommy Go!!
You always wrap up the loose ends and give your projects that extra something

Thanks Scott!
I'm in Finishing Mode with this one now, so let's hope that my ideas work

digger303 wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 2:32 am Gotta be one of my favorite builds on here atm

Thanks! I hope I won't disappoint you when it's completed


Okey... let's continue with the base.

The layout looks something like this


I tried to add some texture to the tiles using Acrylic Gesso, instead of my ursual mix of plaster.




The first print failed, but I adjusted the supports and made a new print - and that came out OK


I also added some sand and fixed that with a mix of PVA-glue, water, technical alcohol and dishwash. It took ages to dry




After that I used my Yellow Ultimate Primer for the first time

Yes, it's very Gelb right now...

I tried to tone down the yellow a bit and add variation


And I tried to add some more variation using Ultimate washes.


I have soaked the base with water so I can blend the washes a bit. But now I have to leave that overnight so all the water evaporates....

Stay tuned!

Tommy

No words this time just...

AAC wrote: Sun Sep 22, 2019 10:08 pm No words this time just...

Thanks

Okay, final hurdle....

The water has evaporated leaving the pigments. That was sealed with GX-113 flat coat.


I made a futile attempt to use CA-glue to attach the figure to the base, but that failed

So I used PVA glue instead and that worked fine....


And here is the finished vignette









I will rig my DSLR tomorrow and take more presentable photos for the Final Reveal

Stay tuned!

Tommy

Great job Tommy, this has been the most enjoyable thread I've followed for some time, well done

Nice work Tommy
A pleasure to witness this start to finish, all made and assembled by your own hand
Very cool

I enjoyed watching you bring this together ...well done

Yep definitely a great execution to a great model from start to finish it looks great mate

AAC wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:06 pm Great job Tommy, this has been the most enjoyable thread I've followed for some time, well done

Thank you very much, Alexander

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:16 pm Nice work Tommy
A pleasure to witness this start to finish, all made and assembled by your own hand
Very cool

Thanks Scott, I enjoyed this a lot.
Thank you for doing all the work with making this Summer Sci-Fi SIG happen!

digger303 wrote: Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:22 am I enjoyed watching you bring this together ...well done

Thank you very much

Kingdan wrote: Tue Sep 24, 2019 8:04 am Yep definitely a great execution to a great model from start to finish it looks great mate

Thanks Dan!



Okey... The reveal post is here: viewtopic.php?f=692&t=27686

This was a very pleasant build with a lot of new things going on; 3D printing, figure painting, metallic tones with highlights...

The print of the figure didn't some out perfect; but I'm surprised how little of the issues that is showing. The Element Stone, on the other hand, came out from the printer without any evidence at all that it had been 3D printed. I scaled it down from 20cm to 2,5 cm and some of the texture and cracks was still preserved in the print.... Insane....

The 3D-model files where downloaded from Thingiverse.


Tommy

saw this print on reddit, deffo going to print the STL and finish this model, love the film too :O)

rob12770 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 9:46 am saw this print on reddit, deffo going to print the STL and finish this model, love the film too :O)

It's a great 3D model, good luck with your Mondoshawan


Tommy

TommyKillander wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:36 pm

rob12770 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 9:46 am saw this print on reddit, deffo going to print the STL and finish this model, love the film too :O)

It's a great 3D model, good luck with your Mondoshawan


Tommy

you did an Amazing job Tommy,

rob12770 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 10:37 pm

TommyKillander wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:36 pm

rob12770 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2019 9:46 am saw this print on reddit, deffo going to print the STL and finish this model, love the film too :O)

It's a great 3D model, good luck with your Mondoshawan


Tommy

you did an Amazing job Tommy,

Thanks a lot, rob12770 !


Tommy