Printers

[Mike 1017]

I see that printer costs are coming down. My question is: How can I find out what kind and size I would need to print 1:24th and 1:25th model cars?

Thanks

Mike

[Fat Brian]

My advice is to buy the biggest one you can. I bought a Sonic Mini S and its too small to print bodies, I wish I had spent the extra to get a bigger machine. I tried to be cautious and not spend a bunch not knowing if I could even do it but I've found printing pretty easy but now I'm limited by a small machine.

[Leo64]

A lot will depend on what you are wanting to print.  If you are just going to do parts like engines, wheels, tires, drive train and other small parts, you can find some of the smaller printers at a pretty good price.  If you are wanting to print bigger stuff like bodies, interior tubs, race car chassis and such, then you'll want a bigger print area.  And if you think you might want to print larger scales later on, then like someone mentioned, get the largest one you can afford to.

I currently have an Anycubic Photon Mono X-6ks resin printer, and have been able to print most 1/25-1/24th scale bodies on it.  I've had a few requests to print 1/16th & 1/12th scale stuff, and depending on the parts can get them to print okay, but bodies will take a long time if they will only fit at a steep angle. The print area on it is 7.7"(195.84mm) wide x 4.8"(122.4mm) deep x 7.8"(299mm) high, so it should give you a comparison to other brands like Elegoo.  I recently decided to upgrade to an Anycubic Mono M7 Max that will handle most 1/16th scale bodies without any problems.

I don't know about some of the other brands, but Anycubic has an eBay Store account, and they will occasionally have factory refurbished printers that come with 2 year warranties at a pretty good discount price.  So far I've had good luck with the Anycubic brand, and buy their resin from Amazon at a good price too.

You might want to check into a Wash & Cure machine also, though you can get away with washing the parts by hand and curing them out in the sunlight till you get one.  Also be aware that you are going to need to spend some money on stuff like resin, Isopropyl alcohol to clean(unless you use the water wash resin), latex gloves, cheap brushes, paper towels, containers to clean parts in, and on the printer you will need to change the FEP film on the resin vat every so often.

Good luck and if you have any questions just ask.

Steve A.

[Leo64]

I also just thought of something. You might see some older machines on like eBay and FB Marketplace at a cheap price, and they will be perfectly good usable printers, they will usually be older technology that require more work to tune them in to use.  Most of the new machines out now have things such as auto-leveling, that will make setup and use more user friendly.

Steve A.

[Quick GMC]

I'm a little less than a year in. I went with the Saturn 4 Ultra due to the auto levelling and it has been really great. There is a learning curve with dialing it in, but it wasn't bad. I almost got the Mars, but I am glad I went with the bigger one. A detailed engine kit can take up most of the build plate. A prostreet rear section with wheels and tires and suspension will fill the build plate, so definitely go with the bigger one. 

[peteski]

The size of the build plate and depth is important but so is the printer's resolution. The finer it is, the less of sanding/filling you will have to do. Some more current printers print items almost as smooth as injection molded plastic.  What good is a printer which can print large items but they look like they are made of Legos? Yes I'm exaggerating slightly, but I'm making a point.

[stitchdup]

if you want to print bodies you need a plate at minimum 2/3rds the length of the body and i would suggest an inch wider on each side than the body so it can be printed at an angle. Do you want to print full kits in one shot or are you happy to print them over a few days? The best time to buy is january, just when the new printers are released. The previous version usually get big reductions to make space for the new ones. also, before even getting a printer make sure your computer has enough processor to run the slicer, i didn't and after buying my first printer i then had to wait 2 weeks to buy a better laptop. 8 gig is the minimum that will run it but more is better, especially if you are designing your own parts. a swear jar is a great way to save up for more resin too, because the printer will make you swear at times but it is worth having if you buy a lot of aftermarket stuff. I've probably saved over £1500 on shipping since i got my printers 

[Mike 1017]

14 hours ago, Leo64 said:

A lot will depend on what you are wanting to print.  If you are just going to do parts like engines, wheels, tires, drive train and other small parts, you can find some of the smaller printers at a pretty good price.  If you are wanting to print bigger stuff like bodies, interior tubs, race car chassis and such, then you'll want a bigger print area.  And if you think you might want to print larger scales later on, then like someone mentioned, get the largest one you can afford to.

I currently have an Anycubic Photon Mono X-6ks resin printer, and have been able to print most 1/25-1/24th scale bodies on it.  I've had a few requests to print 1/16th & 1/12th scale stuff, and depending on the parts can get them to print okay, but bodies will take a long time if they will only fit at a steep angle. The print area on it is 7.7"(195.84mm) wide x 4.8"(122.4mm) deep x 7.8"(299mm) high, so it should give you a comparison to other brands like Elegoo.  I recently decided to upgrade to an Anycubic Mono M7 Max that will handle most 1/16th scale bodies without any problems.

I don't know about some of the other brands, but Anycubic has an eBay Store account, and they will occasionally have factory refurbished printers that come with 2 year warranties at a pretty good discount price.  So far I've had good luck with the Anycubic brand, and buy their resin from Amazon at a good price too.

You might want to check into a Wash & Cure machine also, though you can get away with washing the parts by hand and curing them out in the sunlight till you get one.  Also be aware that you are going to need to spend some money on stuff like resin, Isopropyl alcohol to clean(unless you use the water wash resin), latex gloves, cheap brushes, paper towels, containers to clean parts in, and on the printer you will need to change the FEP film on the resin vat every so often.

Good luck and if you have any questions just ask.

Steve A.

Thanks Steve A. It gives me a lot to think about

Mike

[Mike 1017]

On 8/20/2025 at 7:07 PM, Leo64 said:

A lot will depend on what you are wanting to print.  If you are just going to do parts like engines, wheels, tires, drive train and other small parts, you can find some of the smaller printers at a pretty good price.  If you are wanting to print bigger stuff like bodies, interior tubs, race car chassis and such, then you'll want a bigger print area.  And if you think you might want to print larger scales later on, then like someone mentioned, get the largest one you can afford to.

I currently have an Anycubic Photon Mono X-6ks resin printer, and have been able to print most 1/25-1/24th scale bodies on it.  I've had a few requests to print 1/16th & 1/12th scale stuff, and depending on the parts can get them to print okay, but bodies will take a long time if they will only fit at a steep angle. The print area on it is 7.7"(195.84mm) wide x 4.8"(122.4mm) deep x 7.8"(299mm) high, so it should give you a comparison to other brands like Elegoo.  I recently decided to upgrade to an Anycubic Mono M7 Max that will handle most 1/16th scale bodies without any problems.

I don't know about some of the other brands, but Anycubic has an eBay Store account, and they will occasionally have factory refurbished printers that come with 2 year warranties at a pretty good discount price.  So far I've had good luck with the Anycubic brand, and buy their resin from Amazon at a good price too.

You might want to check into a Wash & Cure machine also, though you can get away with washing the parts by hand and curing them out in the sunlight till you get one.  Also be aware that you are going to need to spend some money on stuff like resin, Isopropyl alcohol to clean(unless you use the water wash resin), latex gloves, cheap brushes, paper towels, containers to clean parts in, and on the printer you will need to change the FEP film on the resin vat every so often.

Good luck and if you have any questions just ask.

Steve A.

Steve,

How many rolls of Filament would I need to purchase to build a 1:24th or 1:25th Complete Model Car, engine, Interior, wheels and every other part? Just a curbside?

Thanks

Mike

[Mark C.]

One thing that I’ve been wondering about are the fumes created by the resin or other print materials.  I’m wondering if any experienced print folks can give us an idea of what it’s like for air quality having a resin printer running for 24 hours straight.  Should a person consider something like a fume hood vented to the outside, or is it not so bad?

[Leo64]

2 hours ago, Mike 1017 said:

Steve,

How many rolls of Filament would I need to purchase to build a 1:24th or 1:25th Complete Model Car, engine, Interior, wheels and every other part? Just a curbside?

Thanks

Mike

I've never tried printing a body and engine and all the other stuff using a filament printer.  I don't think you will get the fine detail you need on the smaller parts like the engine pieces.  I prefer using a resin printer, even for like the body because of the fine detail you can get from it.  I use the Anycubic ABS Like Resin Pro V2 resin for printing everything, and it sands really good and can be drilled and pinned if needed, and I've not had any issues painting anything as long as it is clean and cured properly.   I know they make an ABS filament, but you need a more controlled setup to use it.  I've read that it is best to use an enclosed printer to control the temperature and humidity, because it is more difficult to print if it isn't controlled.  I also don't know how well it sands and reacts to glues and paints.

If you were to use a filament printer to do say the body and interior, from my experience you should probably be able to get somewhere between 6-8 bodies (depending on the size of the body from a roll.  For example, if you were printing say a bunch of Mini Coopers you will get more prints than if you were printing a bunch of say 60s Cadillacs.  You might be able to print engine parts like the block, heads and maybe the transmission, but stuff like carbs, alternators, water pumps and such I don't think will show the really fine details.  I also once tried using a flexible black filament to try printing out some tires, and they did not look good at all and didn't show the tread detail at all.

In my opinion, you will prefer the results you can get from a resin printer for model parts and bodies over a filament style printer.

Steve A. 

[Leo64]

1 hour ago, Mark C. said:

One thing that I’ve been wondering about are the fumes created by the resin or other print materials.  I’m wondering if any experienced print folks can give us an idea of what it’s like for air quality having a resin printer running for 24 hours straight.  Should a person consider something like a fume hood vented to the outside, or is it not so bad?

Where I live, I bought a 8'x12' shed and have it setup as my hobby room.  I have the resin printer setup in it, and when I walk in, I don't smell anything strong from the resin.  When I clean the parts with Isopropyl alcohol, there is a smell from that, but I usually have the door open and a fan blowing when I'm in there.  If you were to setup the printer in a room in your house, I would recommend having something like an exhaust fan pulling the air out of the room.  If it was in like a garage, again I would setup a fan at the least.  I have seen some resins that say they are "Low Odor", but I've never tried them, so can't say how strong they may be.  If you want to try and minimize the smell, I recommend checking into the water washable resins.  That way you are cleaning the parts with soapy water instead of isopropyl alcohol.  I have also seen some of the printer manufacturers have a filtering system that you can buy for some of the printers.  I've never looked into them, or heard of anyone using them, so can't say how well they work.  You can probably find some reviews about them on Youtube though. 

A lot will depend on how sensitive you, or someone else in the house, is to odors and smells.  Plus, I've heard of some being allergic to some of the chemicals in the resins or becoming allergic after a while from it. If you are sensitive to the smells, then there are respirators out there that might help, plus chemical resistant gloves also.  I've been using resin printers for around 7 years now and not had any major issues so far.  I was also diagnosed last year with something they called restrictive airway disease, probably caused when I got Covid back in 2021, and so far I don't have any problems working with the resin I use. 

Steve A.

[rattle can man]

My local library uses plant- based materials to avoid the fumes and toxicity, but it means prints aren't as detailed (so they tell me)

[Fat Brian]

3 hours ago, Mark C. said:

One thing that I’ve been wondering about are the fumes created by the resin or other print materials.  I’m wondering if any experienced print folks can give us an idea of what it’s like for air quality having a resin printer running for 24 hours straight.  Should a person consider something like a fume hood vented to the outside, or is it not so bad?

My printer is my house and I can't use it because it gives everyone in the house a headache due to the smell. I'm going to have to put an extraction fan in my model room to use. I also have bought some water soluble resin that is supposed to have less fumes but I haven't tried it yet.