The Sector Mechanicus kits that Games Workshop has produced are amazing. Other than the expense of them, the other downside was that Games Workshop never gave you enough of the pieces to build large platforms.
You either had to make do with short walkways, as any longer ones had to utilise “turn pieces” , or you had to make structures with gaps in them, such as this Example. The only way to get the pieces to fill in these was to buy a specific kit that only contained two of the half octagon pieces and a massive furnace. While a cool addition to the Sector Mechanicus terrain, it would make a project with larger walkways very expensive.
Now that the Sector Mechanicus kits are no longer available, alternatives needed to be found.
Enter 3D printing.
Always keen to justify my purchase, I found some Sector Mechanicus Walkways on thingyverse and began printing.
The 3D prints certainly fit the bill but the proof is once they are painted.
The above two pieces were printed without any ironing on the top layer. While they look fine, the layer lines are visible on the top level flat surfaces.
This next piece was printed using ironing and for the most part it looks good. There are a few spots where the shapes are almost lost due to how the top layer has melted, but from a distance shouldn’t be too noticeable.
Putting all three pieces together, you can see that the none ironed parts are crisper.
The real test is how they look against the Sector Mechanicus terrain that I’ve already completed.
I think from the pictures below, the ironed piece fits in much better. That could be due to painting though, as the top layer lines on the half octagon piece pick up the ushabti bone highlight a bit more making it lighter looking.
Overall I think going down the 3D printed route was a success. The printer has now churned out a larger 122mm x 122mm platform.
Next I’ll need to take a look at what legs are available, or make use of the massive amount of promethium pipes that I’ve so far not made use of…
Table Standard 