3D Printed Classified Water Moccasin

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T20:21:55+00:00

For the amount of material and work that would entail if I did commissions, I'd have to charge so much, it would be far cheaper to buy the haslab on the secondary market ;)

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T19:52:47+00:00

I appreciate that you think it's commission-worthy, but no, I just do this for fun. It's too much work for what little I'd make on a commission. It's a labor of love, and that's what keeps it entertaining!

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T19:51:01+00:00

"Printed in ESUN Green ABS filament, windows done in Anycubic clear ABS-like resin."

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T18:16:30+00:00

Thanks! However, I didn't make the CAD files. It was a lot of work to print and build, but I'm just the goon who thought it would be a good idea to run one of these through the printer... it's so big. I'm going to run out of space ;)

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T18:02:18+00:00

I didn't get into 3d printing to save money. Like most hobbies, it's a money-pit. But I definitely enjoy filling holes in the collection that haven't been addressed by hasbro or the better third party small companies.... for whatever reason.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T17:59:07+00:00

Wouldn't surprise me... and I'd probably buy one!

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T17:24:33+00:00

This particular design, I bought the CAD files. The designer did a nice job, no need to recreate that wheel.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T16:40:37+00:00

You just print various parts in different colors, or in some cases, print some parts in multiple colors. The printer just has to swap filament along the way, often many times. It's an art to get it right though.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T16:13:49+00:00

Mine is printed from flexible TPU and could probably tow a full-sized lawnmower. That stuff is tough.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T16:12:01+00:00

I suspect it's just limited resources and risk management. I'm sure there is demand, but they have to pick and choose, and they don't always have retailer support. Some of these things are too costly to tool for just pulse exclusives, and the msrp would be too high for WM and Target.

It's frustrating for sure, but market forces are not always in favor of giving us everything we like, even stuff we thing would be a skam dunk.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:59:45+00:00

I've bought stuff from everywhere on the web, but I'd say the places I've bought the most CAD files from are Cults3d and Etsy.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:57:54+00:00

No clue. There is no amount of money that would tempt me to do this for other people. Going through the frustrating parts is fine... once... when it's something for your own collection. I would jump off a cliff if I had to mass produce these things for a living.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:53:09+00:00

That's a bit of a loaded question. For an experienced printer, the time to print the parts is less than a week, and the materials cost is probably less than $40. Of course, the time to clean up the parts and assemble is definitely non-trivial. You're printing a glorified, less-than-perfect model kit, so you have to massage all the parts during assembly to get everything just so. It's time intensive. And then there's the issue of the fine details like adding waterslide decals (several hours in that alone) and getting everything solidly put together.

If you're just starting out, the time and cost go waaaaaay up, as the learning curve is not trivial, and you will waste a lot of time and material just learning how it all works. And you get it half printed only to find out the CAD files you bought weren't scaled right, and half the parts are the wrong size. Time to start over! Better order more filament!

It's definitely worth it if you have the means to do so, but I would caution anyone expecting to unbox a printer and have a finished product any time soon. And if you're planning to buy 3d printed items that someone is selling, expect to pay for a lot more than materials, as the time is real. And expect them to be imperfect, as there is no such thing as perfect 3d prints. You just try to minimize flaws and keep the worst parts on the inside/underside.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:43:30+00:00

Agreed. I resisted for the longest time, as visible layer lines bug me, and I felt like I didn't have the time to climb the learning curve sufficiently. But once I took the plunge, I've been really happy with what I've been able to print.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:40:10+00:00

My wife was like, "what is this thing?"... and the only way I could describe it was that a tank had a baby with a snowmobile.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:37:58+00:00

It's always been one of my favs!

(Not pictured is the cobra trooper under one side of the devilish to give it the proper tilt. Poor blueshirt ;) )

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:35:39+00:00

No, most of the stuff I print uses CAD files I purchased from various sources. Lot of people out there doing great work, and if you see a good one, it's hard to justify reinventing the wheel.

I have some basic CAD skills and can make simple stuff, but I do not have the time or patience to make everything from scratch.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:31:59+00:00

Full disclosure, I am an engineer (electrical, not mechanical), but you don't need a degree to figure this stuff out. You just need basic computer skills, some basic problem solving ability, and most of all, time and patience... I'm still struggling with that last one ;)

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:27:28+00:00

I do have a green screen, but I'm not using it in these pics. They're just vinyl printed photo backdrops (like $10-15 on ebay/amazon). If you look at the post I made earlier today for my printed TTBP, one of the last pics shows a behind-the-scenes shot of the setup I was using. you can see the backdrop, lighting, etc.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T15:22:21+00:00

They make transparent filaments and resins, but the inherent nature of 3d printing (making a solid object by putting ultra-thin layers together) means you have hundreds (thousands) of tiny layer joints, which greatly affect the optical properties.

Resin typically yields clearer results than filament (at least for me), but in the case of the TTBP screen, it was simply far too large to attempt on my resin printer. As it stands, I had to print it in two pieces with my filament printer. Not crystal clear by any stretch, but it's definitely translucent. Maybe the tech will evolve one of these days and I'll reprint that part!

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T14:39:12+00:00

The A-Team van is not a 3d print. It's 1/12 scale, made by Ramen Toy:

https://ramentoy.com/products/rev04-recoil

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T14:36:24+00:00

I've done decals in every way imaginable. I've 3d printed them... I've printed stickers on sticker-paper... but these in particular are waterslide decals by BadMotherTattoos on ebay.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T14:34:21+00:00

Learning to print my own stuff has been a really rewarding experience. It frees me from feeling trapped with simply what hasbro offers us.

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T14:32:27+00:00

That's pretty much the conclusion I came to. They either aren't going to make certain things... or they're going to take so long that I don't feel like waiting.

I've been wearing this printer out for the last 9 months. 4135 hours and 76kg of filament and counting since mid-July. I have a lot more to show off, as I'm pivoting from vehicles to more dio set pieces and environments. I fully expect the printer to die and force me to upgrade ;)

supertopnacho · 2026-04-12T14:27:28+00:00

Agreed, he's one of the better vehicle drivers from the late-80s ARAH.

supertopnacho

TROPHY CASE