Over the last week or so, I printed one of the coolest things I’ve ever printed – Superman from the Justice League Animated Series! This model was created and shared by chiz_m over at makerworld.com, BambuLab’s print-file sharing platform. One of the coolest features of MakerWorld is the fact that designers can include the full BambuStudio file, which gives you a template of sorts for settings, including color painting, support placement, and of course print settings.
Chiz_m, in addition to creating these awesome models and sharing them with the community, also provided the BambuStudio .3mf file. For Superman, all the hair, the eyebrows and eyes, and all the different colors of his suit were already color-painted. The support structures were minimally placed, but set to Tree Supports so it didn’t mess up the print. Each piece is also separated and oriented already to make it really easy to just hit print.
You can find this model and others on chiz_m’s profile on MakerWorld.
After sending the jobs to my two BambuLab A1 printers with AMS Lite(s) attached, I did run into some issues - mainly with layer shifts on the A1. This is probably the biggest issue I’ve had with these printers so far. However, after modifying a setting on the Printer Settings to do the Z-hop with a Spiral instead of just a straight lift, it seems to have resolved the issue.
I was able to print the largest piece, which is the Legs on the “S” symbol stand without issue. I also printed the chest piece, the arms, and the cape. The last print was the head, which I took chiz_m’s advice on and printed four of at once. Then I was able to choose the best-looking one. I did have an issue with a line of over-extrusion across his face on all four of them, but figured it’s minimal enough and I didn’t really want to print it again.
I then moved to assembling all the pieces. I use CA glue (affiliate link)- I know a lot of 3D-printers use 3D Gloop, but I find that CA glue is super strong, sticks incredibly fast, and also chemically bonds to the plastic. So if you want to break a glued part apart, you’re going to have to break the part to do it. The glue isn’t going to break. I do keep my glue and activator in separate jars that I can just brush on to whatever part I’m trying to join together.
I was able to assemble the different pieces fairly easily, and voila! We have an amazing Superman figure to display!
One thing to note is that chiz_m has not allowed for the sale of either the digital or 3D-printed version of this model - so don’t ask me to sell it and don’t sell it yourself. But that doesn’t mean you can’t print it for yourself and enjoy it! I know I will.
Did I mention that I scaled up the model to 310%? Well, I did! I’m super happy to have a big Superman that looks great! Since chiz_m also made The Flash and Batman, I’ll be printing them too. I hope chiz_m decides to do the other 3 Justice Leaguers from the show – Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl to complete the series. They’re amazing models and amazing prints – so chiz_m, thank you so much for making and sharing them.
In the future, I think I’m going to spend more time printing more and more things that are just fun to make. I’ve spent most of my printing time over the last few years on the business side, while not taking much time for myself to really enjoy the hobby. So, look forward to more enjoyment and cool prints!