Day 1 – File Prep & Print Planning
Kicked things off by getting all of my .stl files prepped in Bambu Studio for printing on my Bambu Labs A1. I'm using a mix of assets for this build — the main armor and rugpack were purchased from The Brink Studios on Etsy. The files are clean, well-supported, and required minimal tweaking for me. Huge props to them for saving me a ton of setup time!!
To add some personal flair and extra detail, I also picked up a few accessories from Galactic Armory. If you’re looking to layer some custom elements into your kit, they’ve got a solid selection to pick from. Other miscellaneous files I got from Thingiverse, and I'll be sure to update you all with individual links as I use them.
Once everything was sliced and ready, I threw together a quick table to track estimated print times, filament usage, and cost per part — because let’s face it, this hobby isn’t cheap, and I like knowing what my wallet’s getting into!
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All parts are being printed at a 0.16mm layer height and an 8-15% infil (using Bambulabs basic PLA), striking that balance between print quality and time. I’m aiming to keep post-processing as painless as possible — less time sanding, more time assembling and painting. Once prints are done, the plan is to hit them with a few coats of filler primer, sand down the layer lines, follow up with Bondo where needed for the trouble spots, and then add a final coat of primer. It’s my first rodeo with smoothing 3D prints, but I’m definitely hoping this workflow keeps the grunt work to a minimum while still getting that clean, game-accurate finish.
I’m sticking to a three-phase workflow for this build: print everything, sand everything, then paint everything. I’ve found that batching the work like this helps me stay consistent and prevents me from getting scattered. That way, I’m not bouncing between detailed work and dirty work — I can focus all my energy on one type of task at a time and give each phase the attention it deserves. Plus, it’ll help keep my painting quality consistent across the whole set, instead of rushing to finish individual pieces out of order.
I'll update you guys once i start printing this week! The printer should be here tomorrow, so i'll have something printing by EOD!
