Totally get why it’s infuriating but it does look pretty cool. Especially when it’s so subtle you don’t notice it easily without a closeup.
Can you hear that, costume designers? This is the sound of my 3D printer! It says „I‘ll have these deltas printed in no time.“
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/scalemail-armor-flexible-scales-connected
I feel like this is similar enough it could be tweaked.
God I wish… There are a couple things I’ve wanted to make with a 3D printer. MY NEED IS MIGHTY.
Find one used and be willing to tear it down and put it back together. Print extra parts once you have the process down. Prusa has kits if you’re willing to pay for a premium. Both assembled and built it all from parts.
Good 3d printers will have good instructions for repairs. Putting it together from parts is what you should really consider doing. Because 3d printers have a lot of movement and that needs to be corrected at times. If you spend the initial time to assemble it, breaking it down to fix something isn’t something to stress about.
Either way it’s a rollercoaster of an experience. Once you feel like you’re comfortable doing the first prints, you will look deeper into the abyss…
Most people don’t understand how basic 3D printers are. They’d be way better if it wasn’t for all the 70s patents holding them back for decades.
I’ve actually been working on a similar thing for the SNW uniforms by printing direct to fabric. First tried TPU, but it’s hard to get a consistent pattern of some of the fine details. Some of them come out better than others. Then tried a transparent PLA–the emblems are small enough that the flexibleness of TPU shouldn’t be necessary–but it didn’t stick very well.
So they’re either using a very carefully calibrated 3d printer (and this is the first time I’ve worked with TPU), or it’s a different technique entirely, like a mask.
Full details of SNW uniforms for cosplay, for those who are interested: https://www.makingitsew.com/starfleet-duty-uniform-skant-variants/
This was a feature of the Kelvin uniforms in the first two movies. Including the undershirts.
I actually forgot about that somehow. I guess just because I saw Discovery far more.
They want cosplayers to advance the state of the art by finding a cheaper way to do shit like this.
3D print a roller with the pattern and then roll it over very thin eva foam. EZ.
The new uniforms have something like that too:
Command
Science
Coms/Engineering
That looks like machine embroidery with metallic threads to me. Can already imagine how you would program the machine.
No, it’s not threads. Here’s a closer picture: https://www.makingitsew.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/illustrator_command_ops_pattern-1.jpg
They might use some kind of mask to spray something on. I tried to replicate it by printing TPU to fabric, but TPU can be hard to work with for such fine details and consistency.
This wouldn’t be super difficult with a vinyl cutter. The placement would be the most challenging part which just takes some practice and patience.
