Polish company made an antique 3D printed rifle replica that looks and feels almost like the original from the 16th century.
Take a close look at the picture below and try to decide which of these two rifles is the original and which one was 3D printed using ZMorph 2.0 SX multitool 3D printer.
It’s not so easy, right? The bottom rifle is a replica made by the talented people from Get Models Now 3D printing and post-production studio. Soon their work will be on display at the National Museum in Poznan, Poland, right next to the original piece.
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The making of 3D printed rifle
The most valuable museum exhibits are usually the most fragile ones too. They can be easily damaged so the curators need to enclose them behind glass. The visitors can’t touch them or feel how heavy a 16th-century rifle was. This is why the National Museum in Poznan, Poland, asked people from Get Models Now to build a 3D printed replica that could become an interactive part of their display.
The goal was to replicate an original 16th-century rifle in full scale. A thorough 3D scan was the first step to getting an accurate 3D model, which was later cut into smaller parts and printed with PLA and WoodFill filaments using ZMorph 2.0 SX multitool 3D printer.
The parts were joined together around a lead rod that made the entire construction heavy enough to simulate the original weight of 5.2 kg. The entire 3D printed rifle is one and a half meters long and it took long hours to post-produce even the smallest details of it. Take a look at the carving around the barrel, the dragon-shaped flintlock, and meticulously engraved trigger — they’re just fantastic!
Artists from Get Models Now not only painted the WoodFill parts to make them look like natural wood but also added hand-painted ornaments. This attention to detail makes it very hard to distinguish the 3D printed rifle replica from the original.
Innovative application of 3D printing
Get Models Now already proved their talent with an amazing gun replica but their latest 3D printed rifle takes it to the next level. Using a desktop 3D printer, antique restoration specialists can reconstruct almost every museum exhibit, no matter what size it is, while saving a lot of money in comparison to printing them with industrial machines.
With the right amount of post-production, these 3D printed replicas can be used as movie props, teaching aids or become part of interactive exhibitions to give people a unique opportunity to literally get in touch with history.
