When Special Effects Studios use 3D Printing

Produced for Nicholas Cooper at Victory Hill, by Legacy Effects, using BuildParts’ 3D Printing Services.

November 14, 2016

Legacy Effects (a Special Effects studio in Southern California), has been embracing 3D printing for nearly a decade. The methods in which they incorporate these models into their practical effects, props, jigs, fixtures and camera equipment is legendary.

Legacy Effects has worked on such films as; Pacific Rim, Robocop, Terminator, Iron Man 1-2-3, as well as the Avengers. They have become well respected for their 3D Printed, functional and wearable body suits. Legacy’s attention to detail and finishing department is one of the best on the planet, enabling them to take a raw 3D Printed model and create a level of realism that exceeds CGI.

Although Legacy Effects has a full 3D printing lab with nearly ten machines, they find themselves on occasion, in need of large high detailed SLA models and masters. Just like in the Engineering world, lead-times are critical and quality is paramount.

This 8′ tall, Chitauri Warrior from the Avengers, was produced for Nicholas Cooper at Victory Hill, by Legacy Effects and is an excellent example of a static model used for lighting, promotion and display.

Printed at BuildParts in under 2 weeks, every part was manufactured, using many of our SLA iPro 8000’s with a 0.004″ layer slice. This ensured that every detail and texture was captured. Built in approximately 20 individual pieces, the parts were shipped to Legacy Effects, where it was assembled and finished with a remarkable level of detail.

SLA Models are excellent for creating large detailed display and marketing models. They build quickly and are the easiest models to finish (due to their high resolution slice and material properties).

For more information about using the BuildParts team for show and display models like this one, reach out today at: +1-847-639-1000.