ERMAGERD! It’s a Centurion update! 
Well following some recent 3D discussion over on WargamerAU (and subsequent goading by AwesomeShotDude), I decided that I would kick this project back into gear by 3D printing the parts which have been putting off re-making: the shoulder cylinders. Here’s the existing parts on the torso:
I was unhappy with the size of the existing cylinders that I had created and decided they needed to be about 25% larger diameter. While they’re not especially hard to make by hand, it takes a lot of time screwing around with the CNC router, lathe and then gluing on all of the individual little detail bits. In contrast it took all of about 15 minutes to draw up in 3D CAD!
This was my first time trying Frosted Ultra Detail (called FUD for short, which I always mentally read as F!@#&d Up Detail) from Shapeways and if I’m honest I was pretty dubious as to what the surface finish was going to be like. I got two of the part printed, which cost US$25.00 each. Including shipping I paid US$70.00 all up. Not cheap, but definitely cheaper than spending 3 or 4 hours making them by hand.
Well the parts arrived yesterday and I immediately unboxed them to see what they were like. I have to say, I was impressed. While there is still noticeable striation surface texture, it’s only very shallow. Last night I tried sanding it and can report that even without a coat of primer it actually sands very nicely with 400 grit paper. Remember though that I deliberately kept the detail on this part to a minimum in anticipation for the sanding and cleanup, which makes it easier.
Pics (the unsanded part – click for high res):
So would I use Shapeways again? For printing basic parts of a master model, almost certainly. Figures or highly detailed parts I personally don’t think I’d be happy with, but I’m sure it would do for others who are less anal about it than I.
With the new parts in hand I did some laying out of the Centurion torso last night (between the painfully boring job of painting the brass banding on the armour plates of my Warhound). I’ve got some ideas and will begin doing some proper design tonight. Hopefully I’ll have an update later in the week 