{"id":777,"date":"2016-03-22T08:56:57","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T08:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gambody.com\/blog\/?p=777"},"modified":"2021-02-17T17:04:28","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T15:04:28","slug":"interview-3d-designers-who-created-40inch-millenium-falcon-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gambody.com\/blog\/interview-3d-designers-who-created-40inch-millenium-falcon-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Know the 3D Designers who Created the Astonishingly 380-Piece Milennium Falcon Model for 3D Print"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the most recent installment of the famous franchise wrapping up in theaters worldwide, and the hype that the film has been received by Star Wars fans across the Globe, we at Gambody thought to surprise them and released an amazing 1m+ scale Millennium Falcon 3D model. The model is unique, showing upgraded versions of various exterior elements, according to the 3D designers\u2019 own views and approaches.<\/p>\n

We sat for a chat with Sergiu Malic<\/a> and Alex Vorojbit<\/a>, Gambody\u2019s 3D designers, and asked them about their experience of designing game related models, in general, and modeling the famous Millennium Falcon 3D model<\/a>,<\/strong> in particular. Read the interview below.<\/p>\n

\"3D<\/a>

Gambody’s 3D designers shared their experience of designing Millennium Falcon 3D printable model.<\/p><\/div>\n

Q.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 What got you into 3D design and when did you first hear about the possibilities of 3D printing?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> I got my interest in 3D design<\/strong> from video games and cartoons in 3D. The three-dimensional world is an environment where one can express its ideas and thoughts, creating extraordinary things, from common objects that we use in our everyday life (furniture, household items, architecture models, car parts and etc.), to more unusual items (space ships, advanced robotics, fairy-tale, video\/computer games, movie characters, monsters and etc.).<\/p>\n

A.V.<\/strong>My first encounter with 3D printing technology was back in 2010. At that time, this technology was little known and almost unavailable for consumers. Nowadays, however, we witness a huge increase in number of home 3D printers and interest in modeling and printing 3D models by enthusiasts. The technology offers limitless possibilities. You can have a unique model with just a little imagination, desire, and a 3D printer, of course.<\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are your sources of inspiration?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> I get my inspiration from everything that surrounds me: a toy that a child plays with, a car that drives on the street, drawings in a comic book, movies, and action video games to name just a few. Also, the Internet is an endless source of inspiration and the place where you can meet people that enjoy the same hobby and share and exchange ideas with them.<\/p>\n

Connecting with and hanging out within 3D design online community is an activity that allows me to explore my peers\u2019 views and reshape mine, where necessary.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk more about that red car that is driving now on the street. It is a nice car, but in my head this car becomes spectacular. I imagine getting rid of that boring boot and mounting a jet engine in its place. I see it having wheels that transform into rocket turbines. I replace the front lamps with lasers and the rear lamps with propellers. In just several minutes I have altered the car to the extent that it can be considered a supercar.<\/p>\n

A.V.<\/strong> This is a reality we all are waiting to see. But until then, 3D technology offers us the privilege to modify and create exclusive things.<\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0 Why did you choose to design the epic Star Wars Millennium Falcon?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> I am a Star Wars fan myself.<\/p>\n

A.V.<\/strong> We both are!<\/p>\n

S.M.<\/strong> True, we both are. We\u2019ve seen all the movies and played the video games a billion times. Millennium Falcon spaceship<\/strong> is probably the holy grail of every 3D designer. It was a challenging project we accepted with the open heart and anticipation because of the model\u2019s complexity. It is an epic spaceship, with fascinating exterior and interior design. We\u2019ve made personal changes to the model and ensured that the STL files are easily converted for 3D printing.<\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What kind of research process did you follow to design the model?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Desiging<\/a>

3D modellers work on capturing Millennium Falcon spaceship from all angles.<\/p><\/div>\n

S.M.<\/strong> The research was based mostly on playing the video game and taking screenshots of the ship from different angles. We used the same approach for the interior of the ship, but this time, we relied on the film. Once we had a large collection of Millennium Falcon images<\/em>, both of its exterior and interior, we looked for engineering projects of the spaceship on the Internet, Wikipedia<\/a> mostly. Having all this precious information, we drew the spaceship\u2019s sketch on paper. While sketching it, we understood that this 3D model would have to be a large scale one.<\/p>\n

That was when we decided to incorporate interior (secret compartments, cockpit access tube and cockpit itself, lounge seat and etc.) and exterior (guns, landing gear, functional boarding ramp) elements, as the project\u2019s size allowed us to design even the tiniest of details.<\/p>\n

\"Millennum<\/a>

Alex analyzing engineering projects of Millennium Falcon, especially Wikipedia.<\/p><\/div>\n

A.V.<\/strong> The option of designing a tiny spaceship was out of the question once we had collected the pictures and had the sketch of the hulls. It was supposed to be a huge project and we dived into the challenge and designed one of the most epic Millennium Falcon 3D printable model. I mean, 1m+ scale Millennium Falcon, available for 3D printing, with a high detailed interior layout and upgraded version of the exterior hulls \u2013 what more could a true Star Wars<\/strong> fan want?<\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0 What was the most difficult part to design? Why?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> I can\u2019t say that there was only one particular part that was difficult to design. The entire 3D model was hard to create, especially because we were dealing with the one and only Star Wars Millennium Falcon, a hugely popular and admired spaceship with a large fan base around the world. And we didn\u2019t want to disappoint.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the most challenging task was to design the smallest parts of the model. We had to consider the way they would act when being 3D printed. This pushed us to make changes to the original so that the final result met not only ours but the fans\u2019 expectations as well.<\/p>\n

\"3D<\/a>

3D printed Millennium Falcon hull part.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"3D<\/a>

Millennium Falcon lounge seat part 3d printed. The largest parts are made to fit 19*19 printer bed.<\/p><\/div>\n

A.V.<\/strong> I must say that the hardest job was to design the top and bottom hulls of the model. We needed to take all printing factors into account, to make the model filament-friendly, as we say it in the office, which means that we made changes that would enable users to save filament when 3D printing the model. Another difficulty we faced was to make the ship\u2019s hulls resistant, to hold the weight of all interior and exterior elements to be assembled.<\/p>\n

\"Designing<\/a>

Alex designing the interior of Falcon.<\/p><\/div>\n

S.M.<\/strong> In the end, we managed to design not only a high detailed 3D model but also a durable one.<\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What pushed you to design a large scale 3D model?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> First and foremost, I think is that such an impressive spaceship deserves to be replicated in large scale. Plus, we saw that there were no other big 3D printable models<\/a> <\/strong>of Millennium Falcon available, which meant that we would be the first to deliver such an opportunity to all those who admire the engineering and technical construction of the ship.<\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How much time did it take to model this impressive ship?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> It is a project worth more than 800 hours of intense work. Although tiresome, I am thrilled that I contributed to its creation, investing a lot of time and effort to see it the way it is today.<\/p>\n

A.V.<\/strong> 2.5 months of coming to work and going home with one thought in my head \u2013 designing a model that will exceed all expectations. We hope our work will be appreciated. In fact, we have already received a bunch of messages and positive feedback from 3D printing enthusiasts and Star Wars fans, which proves that our efforts are valued.<\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What problems did you face while designing the 3D model?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> As I already said, probably the biggest problem we faced was to construct the ship\u2019s hulls in such a way as to hold the weight of the interior and exterior elements. We couldn\u2019t afford to disappoint the Star Wars fans, so we spent a lot of time modeling and remodeling until everything fitted perfectly.<\/p>\n

\"Millennium<\/a>

Sergiu working on designing Millennium Falcon exterior parts.<\/p><\/div>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did you use any special techniques to make the work on Millennium Falcon 3D model easier?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> I always start working on a model from scratch. Millennium Falcon 3D model was no exception from this rule. Having several years of experience in 3D modeling, I have already formed a sort of working process that helps me go through the project in an organized way. I always deal with big issues first, as they take more time and effort.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say that for this 3D model I invented a new technique to ease my work. I followed the same steps as I follow for any other 3D model I design. However, I made use of various 3D design software, like Autodesk MAYA, 3DS Max, ZBrush, CINEMA 4D, Keyshot.<\/p>\n

\"Design<\/a>

Designing Millennium Falcon 3D printable antenna<\/p><\/div>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about 3D print testing of the model. Is there anything in particular the users need to know about the printing technique of this model?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> We\u2019ve designed the model as we would have done it for ourselves. Now, all the user has to do is to send the STL files to print<\/em>. We\u2019ve considered every detail: from plastic saving to final result of a printed part. Even CURA 3D printing software\u2019s settings recommendations are taken from multiple printing tests carried out by us on our in-house 3D printer.<\/p>\n

A.V.<\/strong> The files can be sent to print in the exact position they are zipped. If the user wants, he can rotate the part when sending it to print. However, it is highly recommended to not change the scale of the parts. Every part that our 3D model consists of has been separately designed to match one another. If you change the scale of one single part, the entire construction will be ruined.<\/p>\n

S.M.<\/strong> We\u2019ve tested everything many times and took all possible error factors into account. That\u2019s why just follow printing recommendations and details provided on Millennium Falcon 3D model page on Gambody<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Millenium<\/a><\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How many parts does the model consist of?<\/strong>
\nS.M.<\/strong> The model consists of 380 parts: 279 parts for the exterior and 101 parts for the interior. Each part has been designed to be printed on an 18x19cm heated bed.<\/p>\n

\"Bottom<\/a>

Numbering the bottom body Falcon parts makes the assembly process very easy.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Number<\/a>

The largest pieces are designed to fit 3D printer bed of 19*19 size.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Millennium<\/a>

Interior Falcon design is divided into 5 kits user can buy to complement Falcon hull.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Millenium<\/a>

Millennium Falcon exterior kits include engine details and parts as cockpit, boarding ramp, guns, antenna and other.<\/p><\/div>\n

It will take approximately one month to assemble the entire construction. That\u2019s one hell of a puzzle. Although, we made sure that the assembly procedure was effortless, easy and fun for the user. We\u2019ve created a step-by-step video of the assembly, and numbered each part to avoid any confusion.<\/p>\n