Teaser...

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I hope so.

Tests so far indicate that the scale textures print quite well and print lines are not visible to the naked eye from the distance you'd be standing away from the t-rex.

I'm still working on tweaking/resculpting the virtual scales for ideal printing, but the attached pic shows an original cast jaw painted gray, a print test with painted texture, and a first draft proof-of-concept print.

I think it's going to be a viable option, and should allow me to scale up production and even offer them unpainted for those interested.
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Here's a painted test print with some more defined scales. Note that when you look a high res close-up photo, you can see print lines, but those aren't noticeable at arm's length.

I had originally dismissed 3D printing, but I think it's going to be my way forward.

It's cool being able to make quick tweaks, send to the printer and get results while I get back to my real job.

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I actually may not want it smoothed out for the t-rex. The cast parts based on my sculpture already aren't all that smooth and I think the rougher look lends itself well to the look of scales. It adds additional texture. I may do some experimentation, but I'm pretty impressed with the results so far.

My laptop that I've been using is woefully insufficient for the task of 3D modeling. I'm trying to migrate to one of my older gaming PCs in hopes that it will do better.

At any rate, I've got all the major parts in 3D now and I'm tweaking details. I never thought I would have said this, but virtual sculpting is basically easier than in real life... You don't have to worry about screwing up one spot while holding it and working on another. Plus there's the added bonus of symmetry so you only really have to do half the work on details. Another benefit is the ability to scale and skew models for the perfect fit on the t-rex frame. For example, if I wanted the head at a slightly different angle, I can easily do it on the 3D model, but it would have been a great deal of work to do on the physical sculpture. If I wanted the head slightly smaller or larger? It's a snap in 3D modeling, but forget about it in real life!

Note that I started with 3D scans of the a cast t-rex, but they are mainly serving to capture the overall shape that I can then smooth out and re-do details more suited to 3D printing. The resulting 3D printed versions will look very similar to the cast ones, but they will actually be different due to me manually making adjustments and re-sculpting the details and scales.

What's really cool is that I can start with a physical sculpture, like a mockup of a mod in the correct dimensions, scan it, refine it, print it, test it and tweak it until it's right. This will be a major help in future projects.

It's been a really fun process and I'm looking forward to the end results on the 3D printed t-rex. I'm also looking forward to coming up with other mods eventually.

A Canon DSLR and photogrammetry software called 3DF Zephyr Free. It has a bit of a learning curve for how to take photos that will work, and on my laptop it takes forever to process, but it's very powerful and exceeds my expectations for free software.

Still working on the details in 3D.

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I'm not committing to that yet, but I hope so.

I'm not sure when I'll be ready to make any of these 3D printed versions available. There's still a lot of work to do. I'm making sure I get dimensions, fitment and printing methods down before I commit to more details.

One of my issues has been that I'm creating models that are way too complex with regards to number of polygons, and that's bogging everything down when I try to make adjustments and do fancy boolean operations, such as a cutout of the shape of the frame/coil and screw holes. The intricate details will be possible, but I need to get precise shapes together and then add more detail onto those.

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I actually may have reduced the count down more than it was. On a more current file with all the pieces, I get a count of 802,400 triangles. I believe I was up in the multi-millions, but it will increase once I work in more of the detail.

I've not had any issues in the slicer yet, but we'll see. It was more of a slowdown/crashing issue with boolean operations in Meshmixer, but I've figured out how to get it to work better for me. I don't think I'll have issues getting the fine detail printed. I've done some jaw and test head prints that are modeled at full detail, and the prints pick up a good deal of detail. At the very least, I'd like my 3D model to be very detailed even if my current printer doesn't show everything. That way the model is future proof and future printers will handle it better. That's all providing the slicer doesn't choke.

It's mind-boggling what you can do with free software these days. I'm in my 30s and this stuff wasn't available, nor as intuitive, when I was in school over 10 years ago. That said, each program comes with its own learning curve. I'm currently switching back and forth between 3 modeling programs because each is better suited to something I can't do as easily in the other. Add on to that a couple of photogrammetry programs I was using, and the slicer, and I'm at 6 progams trying to get to where I've got a 3D printed t-rex!

Here's my relatively accurate virtual approximation of the t-rex frame and jaw frame, to ensure that parts fit before committing to hours long test prints.
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By the way, I think it's entirely feasible to print out a frame for mounting parts and displaying on a desk for those who want to display one, but don't have the game.

Here's a successful test print to see if I could create a void so that eyes can be installed from inside. This would have been prohibitively complicated to do on the cast t-rexes.

Again I want to point out that closeup photos amplify the print lines. They aren't visible at arm's length and definitely not at the distance you'd be standing from it in the game.

This particular test piece is about 27x18mm, so the photo is rather closeup.

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It's a CR-10s. When I was researching late last year it bubbled to the top for build volume, quality, and affordability. I have no direct experience with any other printers, so not sure how anything else compares.

There's at least one printer out there, DaVinci Color, that can print in color, and would be affordable if I could produce salable colored t-rexes on it, but I think you're locked into their proprietary filament and inks, so not sure if I'll end up pursuing it.

Some adjustments needed here and there, but mostly a good fit.

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I'm currently printing some pieces with revisions, but I'm feeling pretty good about all tests so far. I do actually need to install it in my game to test that it works and make adjustments as needed for successful pickup.

Next I need to figure out if there's a feasible 3D printed alternative to the silicone teeth. I should be able to stick with silicone teeth if needed, but I would rather not if I can come up with a different solution.

My early attempts at printing with flexible filament didn't go so well. It wasn't going to work for the teeth, at least the way I was hoping. There may still be a way to use it.

Another option would be to incorporate teeth into the top and bottom jaws, though I think I want to try to have the teeth as a separate piece so they can be replaced if needed.

It recommends not doing retraction, and islands don't work out well. If printing teeth standing up, they end up being a bunch of islands. My tests were stringy messes.

Hard to tell the difference...

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