Feb 21, 2018 | By Tess

Marvel’s Black Panther is absolutely killing it. Not only did the movie rake in $241.96 million in North America on its opening weekend (even beating out Star Wars: The Last Jedi), it is also the highest grossing February film release ever. Maybe even more impressive: my friend who staunchly refuses to see any superhero films anymore (why? don’t ask) shelled out his $12 to see Black Panther on the big screen.

(Image: Make:)

If you’re one of the millions of Black Panther fans and you fancy yourself a warrior of Wakanda, 3D printing can help you bring a piece of the film’s magic home. In a recent video for Make:, maker Darrel Maloney (aka Youtube’s Broken Nerd) goes through the process of designing and 3D printing a replica of T’Challa’s powerful spear.

Even though the 3D printed spear won’t have any of that sweet vibranium, it’s still an awesome project that makers can try out for themselves at home.

​(Image: Make:)

Maloney, known for his superhero-inspired makes, designed T’Challa’s spear using Cinema 4D and says he started with a few basic shapes to get the spear’s base and tip designs just right.

He elaborates: “The tip was made by utilizing a cube and the subdivision tool, and the bottom handle was made with a cylinder shape and the subdivision tool. The mid-handle was made by using a high-polygon cylinder object with multiple extrudes on the surface and smoothed out with the subdivision tool.”

​(Image: Make:)

Satisfied with the 3D model, Maloney set about 3D printing the spear’s separate parts using 0.2 mm layer height and 80% infill for the tip and base and 10% for the cylindrical handle. Once the printing was complete, the parts were sanded down and coated with a primer filler for a smooth finish.

To capture the visual effect of vibranium, the 3D printed Black Panther spear tip and base were coated with a chrome metallic spray paint and the mid handle was painted black with antique gold designs. For the final assembly, the spear parts were connected using a wooden dowel (fit inside the hollow mid section) and epoxy.

And while we can’t recommend challenging someone with the 3D printed T’Challa spear, the make would look mighty fine set up on a wall or mantle. (We wouldn’t blame you if you tried out some of Chadwick Boseman’s moves in your living room, though.)

(Image: Marvel)

Excitingly, this isn’t the only 3D printing news related to Marvel’s latest hit. If you haven’t already heard, 3D printing was used in the movie to create a number of costume props. The iconic crown worn by Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) as well as her stunning shoulder piece were constructed using 3D printing, while director Ryan Coogler recently suggested that Nakia’s (Lupita Nyong’o) dress in the casino scene was also made with the help of 3D printing.

Mbadika teaches kids how to design and 3D print props inspired by Black Panther

Non-profit organization Mbadika, founded by Netia McCray, is also finding an innovative and educational way to combine Black Panther (and its high tech culture) with 3D printing. In a series of Youtube tutorials, the Mbadika team are showing kids how they can recreate props and elements from Black Panther with 3D modeling software and 3D printing.

 

 

Posted in Fun with 3D Printing

 

 

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Samuel wrote at 9/23/2018 3:05:45 AM:

Where can I get the file so I can print my own? please email me at mr.electrical26@yahoo.com



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