Maker in the Spotlight: Justin Daniel 3D Prints 1/16 Scale GB Conqueror Tank

Justin Daniel is a stay at home dad to his little girl. He has many interests such as astrophotography at night and 3D printing during the day as well as being a 13 year + auto mechanic. He likes to fix and make things bigger and better than they were before. He joined the 3D printing trend 2 months ago and considers himself a typical 3D printer hobbyist who enjoys every bit of it.

Justin is an example for those who argue that for good 3D printing results one must have an expensive 3D model. He proved this theory wrong and we’re glad to have the opportunity to feature progress and with Gambody’s GB 1/16 scale British Conqueror Tank in our category dedicated to makers.

We asked Justin to join us for a chat and he happily agreed to talk to us.

*All pictures featured in this article are taken by Justin himself.

What brought you into 3D printing?

I have always been a do-it-yourself type of guy and with the affordability of 3D printers is why I started 3D printing.

Have you printed anything this complex before?

The 1/16 scale British Conqueror Tank has been the most detailed and complex print I have ever done.

How did you find out about Gambody?

I heard the name Gambody mentioned several times on the 3D printing Facebook page and I decided to see what they had available on their website.

Why is it that you chose to print the GB Conqueror tank?

The first and main reason was the size of this model. It is just massive and quite heavy which quite an attention-getter. I have always been a fan of War Thunder on PS4 and they have the Conqueror Tank in the game. I know this model was made after World of Tanks but they are very detailed and similar in both games just as the 3D model offered by Gambody.

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D Printed

1/16 Scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D printed

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D printed

Tell us about your experience of 3D printing the parts for the GB 12 Conqueror tank.

My overall experience printing this model was fun and each part was definitely well designed as far as details and the scale of the model. I love how it has over 70
Parts and can be assembled as a kit. I prefer models that have many parts which make them more challenging.

What 3D printer and what printing material did you use for the model?

The entire model was printed on a Sintron I3 (Prusa clone) using Inland 1.75 white/black PLA filament.

Tell us more about your 3D printer, as our audience is really interested in low-budget printers like yours.

My printer was a total of $240 USD delivered to my door. I did put in $60 of optional upgrades such as replacing the 5mm thread rods with 8mm screw rods, replaced the acrylic heat bed support with an all-aluminum one, heat bed MosFET.

Sintron Prusa i3 Printer

What, according to your own experience, has been the most difficult part to print and why?

The main turret. Using the recommended print settings it was over 96 hours to print. I tried it and it failed 59 hours so I reprinted it at a lower quality resolution to speed up the time lost.

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D print

How much material went into building the tank?

The total printing time was about 275 hours for all the parts and 2,400 feet of printing material. All printed in white/black PLA.

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D print

How long did it take to finish the project?

About 1 month from start to finish from printing all the parts to final paint.

What priming and painting techniques have you applied to finish the model?

Since it is a tank I didn’t do much to the final printed parts since I thought any “imperfections “would make it look more realistic like any used tank would. I did use spray paint and it was filler primer on all the parts, then a camo khaki spray paint over every part except the tracks. I printed them in black and left them alone as is.

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D print

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D print

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D print

Is there anything you would do differently to the model?

Everything turned out better than I thought it would have overall. The only thing I would change is the quality of the turret of the GB Conqueror Tank 3D model. It’s the only part that is low quality and has too many flat sides instead of the actual round size.

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D print

1/16 scale GB Conqueror Tank 3D print

Conclusion

You see, you can 3D print great things and get accurate results on a budget 3D printer, as long as you invest your energy and desire to prove that to others. Justin had the guts to 3D print a complex 3D model on a $240 3D printer. What is your excuse?

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