Dealing With 3D Print Failures - Why I Pushed PAUSE on My Mando Build // The Mental Side of Making

[@GalacticArmory]

Take care of yourself! I know running printers while also running a KZbin channel can be pretty stressful so don't forget to take care of #1

[@vaultfox]

Thank you :) That means a lot, especially coming from you ... I forget that making videos consistently IS work too (as much as I love doing it) and that's why I make these videos on occasion to be like ... hey, it's ok to take a break when things get too overwhelming.

[@GalacticArmory]

@@vaultfox I think it's great you do that! Really shows the whole picture and the realities of cosplay

[@tomkness6959]

As a Pittsburgher the shirt makes me thirsty for a beer. The learning curve on this hobby is so steep, I started when was around 13 and only at...never mind that part do I feel like I'm getting better.

[@vaultfox]

Grist House really needs to sponsor me LOL it doesn't help that most of their merch is green so I basically live in it. And yeah, this hobby is ridiculously vast ... there's so many skills that go into it and I constantly feel like a jack of all trades but master of none

[@tvathome562]

People sharing information about causes of failure are worth a thousand reviews and videos of people showing you their success. Thank you. Regarding personal failures this week, missed appointment at hospital, lost wallet, which lead to many other failures, unplugging orangepi crashing octoprint ruining print & sd card and forcing me to reinstall octoprint, which is no easy task as I formated my pc hard drive last month thus destroying octoprint backup, need I go on? Good luck out there.

[@vaultfox]

I'm glad these videos help, I feel the same way. Sharing failures and problems encountered during builds (or just everyday life , lol) are how I learn and I'm glad that they resonate. And oooooof , if it makes you feel better I had to reschedule my doctors appt TWICE because I forgot to go get blood work and legit lost my wallet the other day :-/ hang in there!

[@Suaga7]

Thanks for sharing your story! I'm constantly checking my prints. Learning from mistakes like improper supports. I appreciate your helpful lesson!

[@vaultfox]

Glad to help! I experience ... a LOT of failures in 3D printing and just want to stay transparent :)

[@thedudedylan]

i found this video at the perfect time. i over processed my mando helm and have to do it over and like you, i have relegated the old helm to be a paint test. still having a blast doing it.

[@vaultfox]

oh man .... yep, been there! it sucks! ahhaha, but glad you found the video to help out. I took me a long while to get over getting to the LAST step of the helmet only to need to completely re-do

[@FinnenFabrications]

It's so nice to follow a maker who is honest about learning and making mistakes. It really helps me feel. Normal and stay motivated. Thanks for the video!

[@vaultfox]

Thank you :) I’ve always thought it was silly to pretend I’ve got it altogether

[@FireboltAce]

So glad I follow you. You’re one of the driving forces of inspiration for my Mando build this year. I had a bit of fatigue and some mess ups and considered quitting for the year but seeing you be so honest about the same issues and your failures makes me want to start it back up again!

[@vaultfox]

Awwwww, thank you so much :D Mando's costume is NOT easy and I've def been intimidated by a lot of it (I swear I had so many nights of restless sleep deciding on a paint choice ALONE lol) These costumes take time and I know I get frustrated when I see people put stuff together quickly and I'm over here struggling to put paint or bondo down on my prints. I'm glad I can help in some way and good luck on your build!!

[@Wollnox]

thanks for sharing your experiance, it realy helps me that I am not alone with my fails

[@vaultfox]

Of course! Doesn’t matter how many failures I get, they always suck. Feels like wasted time that I can’t get back

[@BoomsterJoe]

Awesome video! I can relate. I just decided to dive straight into 3D printing in June. It's October and after so much trial & error, a month break, and about 4 PLA rolls later, I am printing at the quality of the highest that I've ever printed before. My first attempt at the Mando Helmet, it was too large for my head. I looked like a bobblehead lol. Now I think it might be perfect. I'll know Friday. I'm at 50% print progress.

[@vaultfox]

Oh man this reminds me of the first months of printing ahaha, it's all so exciting and you just want to MAKE THINGS but that learning curve!! Good luck on your print succeeding!

[@sirjamsession8179]

I appreciate you sharing! I have cosplay I'm slowly working on and sharing the details on spray cans vs. airbrush is something I was trying to figure out as well.

[@vaultfox]

Thank you! I would def be interested in videos like that ... dealing with chrome paints has just been an absolute headache lol

[@TheBrodalorian]

LOL! True story - my printer is 27 hours into my 3rd attempt at a Boba helmet. I have a big head so I printing the file (from galactic armory) at 105% - which turned out comically huge! It looked like a helmet for a wookie to wear. So I printed it again at 95% - can't get it over my cheeks AGH! Silly me, now printing at 100% scale. Hopefully after 12-13 days of printing now I will finally have a helmet that works. Here's hoping :)

[@vaultfox]

UGH I AM SO GLAD TO NOT BE THE ONLY ONE LOL Sometimes you can print out test prints til the cows come home and STILL not get it right. The 105% helmet is a bit larger than I personally would have liked but my husband wants to wear glasses underneath and not have a smashed nose so I complied :D Sending you good vibes that the 100% helmet works out for you!

[@somethingtocosplayassometh21]

I have a lot of failures on my 3D prints as well one of my Mandalorian buckets print it out good. but then I was letting it dry out in the sun. this was back in January and it still warped. SoI'm just going to run with it and print out a new bucket. Then about three months ago I was trying to print out a Batman cowl helmet and the top part didn't stick right and I wasted a lot of filament. But I'm not going to let that get me down period on the bright note I did finish printing out most of my Mandalorian armor which I'm about to paint period and it's going to be a Revan inspired Mandalorian

[@vaultfox]

ooooooo a Revan-inspired Mando sounds awesome! sorry to hear about all of those failures, especially the warp ... that sucks! but you're in good company because if anyone with a 3D printer says they've never had a fail I would seeeeeriously doubt anything that comes out of their mouth

[@tonydaughtry9194]

Love the videos. I swapped to using UV Resin for smoothing my prints based off your videos. Keep up the good work. Also please make a video about your experience using an airbrush. I bought one and ended up returning it because I thought the learning curve was too high. Hope you have more luck!

[@vaultfox]

Thank you!! I'm glad the UV resin has been working, it has saved me SO much time. and I can totally talk about my experience! I just used it the other day for some Bo Katan pieces so I can sneak a few words in on it. I've had some struggles (and completely BUSTED an airbrush too) but I've found that when I'm diligent with breaking my airbush down and cleaning it afterwards, I do fairly well. Remembering to do that every time? well I'm still working on that lol

[@tonydaughtry9194]

@@vaultfox the airbrush I used was $60 for the brush and compressor off Amazon so I think part of my issue was it wasn't the greatest quality. Plus I was using water to dull down acrylics and the water here in PA is pretty hard. I should have used reducer or just gone for airbrush paints. I'm definitely going to get a higher quality airbrush down the line and try again. I ended up using the money from when I returned the airbursh and got some model paints and those are worlds better than standard hobby shop acrylics. Not great for big prints but excellent for small stuff.

[@pokebattler47]

Are you going to start with resin on that helmet and then use the Bondo over that? I share the same frustrations as you did and put my Mando project on hold for a few months also then we decided to go to Comic-Con in New York City and then it was a rush most of my armor I didn't even send it I just painted it and didn't get my chest piece done but still got a lot of photo ops and I was happy. But I'm just going to probably do another set of armor eventually

[@vaultfox]

Yep! I'll be doing the resin method on this helmet so it'll hopefully go a little quicker this go around. Doesn't mean I wouldn't prefer it just be done already. And awwww, at least you still wore it to a con! The way I see it, costumes are rarely ever 100% done (I'm constantly upgrading mine)

[@tjdoescosplay]

I just got my 3D peacemaker helmet ordered last week Sadly I won’t Be able to work on it until December which is when I’m off for winter break of college I got order my prop gun so there gonna be a lot of sanding hopefully if it turns out good I can celebrate with food I just need to get my supplies sanding paper dust mask and chrome paint and also blue spray paint for my white cargo pants My first cosplay prop ever who knows next dragon con I may just go back as winter solider

[@vaultfox]

Planning out a reward for finishing projects is SUCH a good motivator, I'm the same way

[@stinkyham9050]

I had something similar happen to me over the summer so I feel your pain. I messed up a Boba Fett helmet I was working on. Long story short, it was my fault, 100% totally and completely my stupid ass fault, I will finish it later. Failure sucks but it allowed me to work on another project that turned out great, a Jason Voorhees mask that looks all beat up. Turn lemons into lemonade.

[@vaultfox]

Ughhhhhh I feel your paint 100%, it's so much worse when you KNOW what you did wrong and you end up spiraling and beating yourself up. Like you said though, you'll get back to it and fix it and look back and think like ... how did I ever mess this up in the first place.

[@scottnorin]

In the process of printing my daughter's (very first) Bo-Katan Helmut on my Ender 5 Plus. Our goal is to get into the 501st Bounty Hunter's Guild. It's my first print ever on the Creality 3d printer! Typically use Lulzbot, but it twas too small. So far going well after the first day with the print. Only TWO more days to go!!! What type of airbrush kit did you buy/have???? Initially I was thinking spray can, but thought airbrush then saw your video.

[@vaultfox]

That's awesome!!! Hope the print finished up well :) I originally gave spray paint a go with the chrome but it just didn't work out how I liked (used Montana Gold Silverchrome, it was fine but you can't really seal it) and I use an Iwata Revolution (amzn.to/32JUWKl) with an amazon compressor kit (amzn.to/3187RoU)

[@scottnorin]

@@vaultfox Just completed a better than three-day 3D print of my daughter's Bo-Katan helmet using the Ender 5 plus! Three failed prints to today, but WOW we've got a helmet! The top of the helmet appears to be delaminating on the exterior of the top dome. I used a single block to prevent supports being printed from the built plate to the top of the dome. Wondering if we should pull out a PLA 3D pen to fill in the gaps? Spray on some Flex-Seal? Or use some Loctite / Crazy Glue to fill in/seal the voids. Very excited. Now many steps to do ahead planned in the armory! Thanks for the tip about an Iwata Revolution. Will look it up!

[@QTheMost]

Everytime i see your consistent videos im like fukkkk i need to get on my build

[@vaultfox]

awwww, hey no pressure!

[@kevinbell1138]

Hey makers need to know others go thru the same and similar challenges. And they can get really expensive, there is a threshold where it is wiser to accept an imperfection "The SHOW must go on.."! Than to surrender your dream because of a blob or drip. (Something if it really annoys you, perhaps sand smooth and cover with a decal-or creatively turn it into "battle damage" :)?

[@vaultfox]

Right right .... that first helmet failure was expensive in the ways of my time, which looking back on it now it wasn't wasted since I know how to approach it the second time around but mannnnn at the time I was so frustrated and beating myself up internally for being so careless with the paint. I've actually been considering sanding that original helmet a bit and using it for a custom mando in the future. It'll def still be around!

[@igorcampao]

Yeeees I just bought an ender 3 and just can't level the fcngggggk bed, one month and just printed a single piece, that's really frustrating and sad, but let's go...

[@vaultfox]

you'll get there! to be honest it's been 3 years with mine and I still have issues leveling mine (creality printers tend to have warped beds making that an even more fun hurdle to overcome)

[@imnotthatguypal]

Hey vault, I heard Dupli-Color 1K clear coat won't take a lot of the shine away, that's at least what I have seen from it and I'm gonna be using it on my Iron Man Suit

[@vaultfox]

thanks for the recommendation! I've already decided to use my airbrush for the paint and sealer, but I might give that sealer a go on some Bo pieces. Chrome is pretty finicky with sealers and my brain will just not make it through finishing/smoothing another helmet only to mess it up at the paint stage again

[@imnotthatguypal]

@@vaultfox sounds good. Just know in advance Dupli-Color is kinda mind breaking to paint with. You have to do small strokes and like 8-10 inches away

[@imnotthatguypal]

@@vaultfox it comes out real thick

[@ronm6585]

Thank you. 👍🏻

[@vaultfox]

You're welcome :D

[@PrayerIsMyHabit]

when you use bondo, do you use it on sanding scratches? and what do you mean by pin holes?

[@vaultfox]

I don't usually use it on sanding scratches unless they're deeper, to get rid of sanding scratches I usually wet sand with a higher grit (220 or higher). Pin holes are just small divots or dents that happen occasionally

[@PrayerIsMyHabit]

is there any reason you use resin instead of bondo now? sorry if this is the wrong place to ask :)

[@vaultfox]

fine place to ask! I use UV resin now because it's just honestly easier for me and less messy. Applying it is the "worst" thing about it, but I have a pretty good routine now so it's not as bad. Sanding the resin is also way less messy than bondo and I'm not finding pink dust all over my garage anymore. I do still use bondo for small pinholes and scratches but not for overall coverage. TBH it still does the job I just got tired of doing multiple layers of bondo and being constantly covered in pink dust

[@pokebattler47]

Since I have a small frame I decided to print a shoulder armor piece for Mando at 80% big mistake it was too small then I printed it at 100%. It seemed a little big but I ended up leaving it figured I have more room to move around. T he point in the helmet for the bo katan helmet broke off during print also the support fell off the bed but I sliced another piece and have to plastic welded it on.

[@drpeppero3]

Would slowing down my print speed and lowering my fan speed help stop wall separation?

[@vaultfox]

slowing the print speed down is usually my go-to for most issues (most notably when I have layer shift). but like a lot of stuff 3d printing, it could be a myriad of things causing the issue.

[@PestVic]

2k in a can works amazing!

[@vaultfox]

good to know!

[@3d_alliance]

I hate failures I ordered a custom mandolrian helmet. From off line and it keeps failing. And they're telling me it takes 6 days to print. Only two days left on this try. Luckily their local so as soon as its done I can go get it

[@vaultfox]

Here’s hoping it pulls through for you! I know when I took commissions I always hated having to relay to people that a print failed, especially if it was for seemingly no reason at all.

[@3d_alliance]

@@vaultfox thanks. I got them they turned out great. Now for the process of cleaning them up and painting them.

[@abhinavradjendran884]

Cr 10 v2 /v3 or artillery sidewinder x1/x2

[@vaultfox]

I've only ever used a Creality CR10 and CR10s. I DID order a Sidewinder a while back but returned it because at the time I didn't want to learn a whole new machine and it's quirks.

[@starmeyproductions]

hiii

[@vaultfox]

hello!

[@faintandfuzzies]

Hi Robyn... You commented about the issues you were having on getting a good chrome look using rattle cans. Have you seen the video from Adam Savage ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3bEl2aqaLCIr8k )? He used a rattle can and it looks really amazing.

[@vaultfox]

I did watch that! wish I'd had it a few months ago lol

[@shaywarren]

Y2K rattle can clear

[@vaultfox]

You’re the second to recommend this! Think I’m just gonna go with the sealer I picked out already (since that cost is already sunk) but I’m interested to try this stuff

[@aladdincatubig5846]

Got 3 fail mando helmet back to back f$&@k😡😡😡