Sonic - Classic

Sonic, the title character of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise, created by Naoto Ohshima and Yuji Naka.

Sonic is a blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds and curl into a ball to attack enemies. He races through levels, collecting power-up rings and avoiding obstacles, as he seeks to defeat the mad scientist Doctor Eggman.

No supports are required. Two pieces contains built-in supports/braces. Optional parts without the built-in supports/braces are also supplied if you want to use your slicer supports (see notes below). If you have the proper filament colors, no painting is needed.

The assembled model is 155mm tall.

Note:
As I research characters that I model, I learn quite a bit of interesting background on the characters. I found a video of how Sonic was created and how he evolved over the years extremely interesting. The video can be found at the beginning of the following article:

http://www.insider.com/every-version-sonic-the-hedgehog-1991-today-evolution-2020-2

Enjoy!

...........................................................................................................

Special shoutout to maker Benoît Lussier for providing QA printing and quality feedback.

...........................................................................................................

Print Instructions:
Supports: No
Resolution: .2mm (see below for printing tips suggested optional exceptions)
Infill: 10%

Notes:**

Refer to the notes below for a few helpful printing and assembly instructions.

...........................................................................................................

Building the model

Colors

Black: (Paramount3D PLA - Black)
eye_black_right
eye_black_left
nose
..

Skin: (Paramount3D PLA - Universal Beige)
arm_right
arm_left
mouth
belly
ear_left
ear_right
..

Yellow: (Paramount3D PLA - Simpson Yellow)
buckle_right
buckle_left
..

Gold: (DevilDesigns Silk - Gold)
ring
..

Blue: (Parmount3d PLA - Cadet Blue)
body
head
head_without_supports (optional piece)
leg_right
leg_left
..

Red: (3DFuel PLA - Iron Red)
shoe_left_front
shoe_left_back
shoe_right_front
shoe_right_back
..

White: (Overture PLA - White)
eye_white_dots (contains two identical pieces)
eye_whites
shoe_strap_right
shoe_strap_left
shoe_top_right
shoe_top_left
hand_right
hand_right_without_supports (optional piece)
hand_left
..

Matte Black: (Paramount3d PLA - Matte Black)
shadow_base (optional base for extra stability)
..

Any color: (hidden piece):
pin_belly
..

...........................................................................................................

Printing and assembly tips

Printing tips
1 - No supports are required. Two pieces contains built-in supports/braces, head and hand_right. Optional parts without the built-in supports/braces are also supplied if you want to use your slicer supports. The built-in supports/braces are designed for a .4mm nozzle and for the size that the model is presented. Use your discretion for which parts to use if you resize the model significantly.

2 - There are some pieces that may need brims or rafts, use your discretion. When setting up my prints I prefer to be conservative to ensure the least chance of a print failure, especially since the base of many parts are hidden when inserted into another part.

*I used brims on:

• nose
• eye_white_dots
• arm_right
• arm_left
• leg_right
• leg_left
• hand_left
• hand_right

3 - The eye_white_dots parts are very small. I left them on the brim and inserted them with the brim attached, I then removed the brim. This is the only part where the bed side is on the outside.

4 - I had no problem printing and assembling the legs but Benoit found that for the right leg, 10% filling was not enough and his leg was very brittle. He felt that 50% infill would be better.

5 - Some parts print better with a lower layer height. I used variable layer height on the belly (so the top layers are thinner) and and on the ring (to help print the bottom part of the curves better).

6 - The model stands on it's own but an optional base, that is included, may be prefered for extra stability.

7 - When removing parts from the printer bed, it's a VERY good idea to place left/right parts into separate containers to help with the assembly process. Sometimes the difference between the left and right parts is very small but it is still worth keeping track of them and assembling them in their proper place.

..
Assembly tips:

1 - Take your time gluing the model together and enjoy the process. Give some thought into which parts to glue together as groups and then gluing the groups together. Let the glue for each group set completely before combining groups.

2 - I used 3D Gloop and E6000 to put this model together. I am not affiliated with 3D Gloop but have experimented with different glues for my models and have found that this glue is a great option for my models. Each type of glue has different pros/cons and I found that 3D Gloop was far easier to use than superglue (for me). The E6000 sticky glue that I also use allows more time to position parts and is still the best for smaller parts. 3D Gloop covers the middle ground for me and really works wonders. It leaves enough time to set, so parts can be positioned correctly and it dries fast enough to hold awkward parts without the need for taping. I used the PLA version that comes in a tube. For both glues using a smaller amount is usually better than more glue.

3 - Due to the goal of creating parts that print easily, some of the connections are not as 'sturdy' as I would have liked. However, taking care when gluing and having the patience to let things dry properly works fine.

4 - Gluing in the legs to the body without the shoes is much easier than gluing in the legs to the shoes first and then inserting the whole section to the body.

5 - For the installation of the buckle on the right shoe, this needs to be done before the shoe is fixed to the right leg. If you wait to the end, the left shoe is in your way to install the buckle on the right shoe.

6 - In order to get proper positioning of the right arm so that the ring touches the base correctly, follow these steps. The right hand should be installed first to the extremity of the right arm. After glue curing, the ring should be fixed and glued inside the right hand. After a dry fit check position of the arm inside the body, the right arm assembly can then be glued to the body.

7 - Refer to the assembly diagrams in the pictures section as well as the uploaded pictures for putting the model together. The model is meant to be glued.

Do not hesitate to ask questions, feedback is essential to making better models.