Spectacular WoW Deathwing 3D Print: Tips on Making Destroyer Figure by Jipé 3D

His name is whispered with fear. His destructive power and will to serve the Old Gods bring terror to all residents of Azeroth. He is known as the Destroyer, and he can be turned into spectacular WoW Deathwing 3D print by you.

Hobbyist Jipé 3D did a stunning job on bringing the mighty dragon to life on his several 3D printers. You can learn his tips and tricks on making this figurine from Jipé’s interview to Gambody readers. 

WoW Deathwing 3D Print

Imagine that you have a camera with you while you are transforming into a World of Warcraft character. And you can capture the moment when the ferocious dragon is shadowing over the fragments of the Stormwind City castle in Azeroth. But setting fantasies aside, you can indeed immortalize this scene with the help of your 3D printer.

You can download STL files for printing WoW Deathwing figure on Gambody – Premium 3D printing marketplace. This spectacular model’s designer is Docik. He spent over 280 hours to recreate the magnificent dragon from the World of Warcraft universe as a 3D printing figurine.

The Destroyer figure boasts beautiful, mighty wings, numerous horns, dangerous jaw and claws. Its pose depicts the dragon’s power to destroy every enemy who dares to be in his way. The WoW Deathwing figure for 3D printing comes with the collapsing towers that used to be the Stormwind castle. And this remarkable scene can decorate your shelf!

Tips on Printing WoW Deathwing Figure

While the dragon in the World of Warcraft game leaves mere ashes of anyone who comes too close, Deathwing will not harm you in the form of a 3D print.

Get into details how hobbyist Jipé 3D printed and painted his impressive WoW Deathwing figure. Be inspired by his tips and tricks to add this fantastic scene to your Azeroth collection.

1. Jipé 3D, it is a real pleasure to follow your tweets and 3D printing model updates on Twitter. Can you please tell Gambody community more about yourself? When did you discover 3D printing and why did you start to 3D print yourself?

I am 38 years old, and I live in the southwest of France. I have a tutoring company, and I am passionate about new technologies.

I discovered 3D printing about ten years ago. But the price of the machines was still a deterrent back then, and I wasn’t sure if it would be really useful to have a 3D printer at home. I took the plunge in February 2016 with a Prusa i3 Hephestos from BQ when the prices got a little more affordable, and it was love at first sight.

2. How much is 3D printing popular in Ger, Midi-Pyrénées, southwestern France?

I live in the countryside surrounded by farms, cows and vineyards. Here we are more oriented towards manual work than towards new technologies.

When I started 3D printing, it was a curiosity for a lot of people. Very quickly, I was asked if I could remake broken plastic parts. Recently, I made more than 2000 face shield visors to fight against COVID-19.

3. Which fictional universes do you like the most? Is it World of Warcraft (WoW)? Why?

I really like anything heroic/medieval fantasy (in a very broad sense) with preferences for World of Warcraft, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings.

And yes, Warcraft is one of my favourite universes. This universe is quite unlimited and very complete thanks to the video games and books which are derived from it.

4. Do you play the popular WoW video game? Or do you mostly collect 3D printed heroes of Azeroth and decorate your shelf?

I have been playing World of Warcraft since the very beginning of the license. Before that, I had played Warcraft, Warcraft 2, and Warcraft 3.

5. You mentioned that you spent approximately 180 hours on 3D printing the WoW Deathwing figure and 60 hours on its post-processing, 240 hours in total. Which 3D printer did you use? Did it run non-stop for a couple of days?

I printed it all in two weeks, but not on one machine. After purchasing my first printer, I bought a MicroDelta Rework (Emotiontech), a U20 (Alfawise), a Mars (Elegoo) and an X5SA Pro (Tronxy). For post-processing, I have a Wash & Cure (Anycubic).

The Deathwing figure was printed with these four printers, each with strengths depending on the parts to be printed.

6. Did you experience any challenges while preparing the WoW Deathwing 3D figure for printing in Simplify3D software? How did every Deathwing part 3D print?

Even though Simplify3D is getting old, it is very powerful and remains my favourite software for preparing my parts.

I take a lot of time to prepare my parts for 3D printing. I always put my supports in manual mode, which can be time-consuming depending on the parts’ shape. 

On this Deathwing 3D print, I didn’t have too many printing problems (apart from poor preparations on Simplify3D). However, I printed castle_3 and castle_4 STL files upside down to get a cleaner result.

7. Which 3D printing material did you use?

For the FDM part, I use eMotion Tech PLA filament. For the resin part, I print with standard Elegoo (without hollowing out my parts).

8. Are Deathwing’s wings made from the same material as its body and the fragment of the Stormwind castle?

Every Deathwing’s part is made in PLA except the head, tail and all the little horns.

9. How did you manage to keep track of every 3D printed part? Did numbering each part help you?

When I launch into such a print (as I did with Gul’dan 3D printing figurine), I work by zone. When making WoW Deathwing 3D print, I started with the base of the castle which I printed and mounted as I went along (without numbering the plan of the castle is quite simple).

For the Deathwing figure, I first printed the body and tail. Then comes the most complicated: the wings, the legs and the head.

Here is an example for the head, when I prepare my bed for SLA printing, I take a capture of my bed, and I number my parts.

The goal is to keep the pieces as arranged on the board during post-processing to know which piece corresponds to what. Once I am done treating the smaller parts with UV, I manually glue them to the main part.

10. Where did you store the 3D printed parts of WoW Deathwing figure before assembling the model?

I store everything in my office. I have a large desk that I use just for 3D printing, post-processing and painting parts.

11. What did you do for post-processing the stunning Destroyer figurine?

When it comes to SLA, Wash & Cure does most of the work.

It only remains to pass the parts in hot water after passing through alcohol to unhook the supports before the passage to UV, and the part is almost ready.

All you have to do is file a fear to fit it perfectly in the part made in PLA.

For the FDM part, the most complicated is the placement of the supports. Even if they come off well, you must always touch up the parts in contact with the supports.

To make my life easier and make sure I don’t miss the areas that need to be touched up, I do a quick spray painting of the print and then clean my part with damp sandpaper.

12. What material helped you to fill up the gaps in the 3D print?

I was actually wondering what to do, so I asked my cosplayer friend (@HartiganCosplay), who also happens to be a sculpture teacher, for advice.

He recommended the Apoxie Sculpt. It’s a very easy-to-use, two-component modelling clay that dries in 3-4 hours and smoothens very well with alcohol.

13. Did you airbrush or hand-painted the World of Warcraft Deathwing figure?

I have an airbrush, but I’m learning to use it, so I hand-painted it.

14. Can you recollect how you chose the colours for painting the dragon and ruined Stormwind City castle? What influenced your choice?

For the choice of colours, I tried to take as much inspiration as possible from the colours it has in World of Warcraft.

For example, for the Stormwind castle, I went in-game to look at the colours of the walls and roofs of Stormwind.

15. What paint brands do you use in your work?

I use two brands of paints: Vallejo and Army Painter.

For primer and varnish, I use a first price spray primer and Gesso Pébéo.

16. What is the size of your finished 3D printed WoW Deathwing figure? What is its weight?

I printed the FDM model without enlarging or reducing it. Its size is 71.2 cm x 30 cm x 36.2 cm (28,03” x 11,81” x 14,25”).

Its weight is 1,950 kg (4.30 lbs).

17. Where do you display this fantastic beast?

For the moment it sits on the casing of my Elegoo Mars in my office while waiting to find its place elsewhere (it is a little bulky anyway).

18. In your Twitter account, we noticed different characters from the World of Warcraft universe, including the demon hunter Illidan Stormrage, Varian Wrynn, lady Sylvanas Windrunner and Gul’dan. How many 3D printed WoW models did you make?

Printed and painted, I have three models: Gul’dan, G’huun and Deathwing. Sylvanas (who is not my best friend in the WoW game but is a fascinating character) is printed and not assembled in a box.

Otherwise, I am currently working on two projects at the same time: Illidan (whose model has been updated) and a Varian diorama in front of Deathwing’s skull.

19. What project are you 3D printing now? Is it also from the World of Warcraft?

The current projects in print are therefore Illidan and Varian, but also a project for a new 3D printer less conventional than what we know. But that for the moment I do not say more.

Jipé’s WoW Deathwing 3D print can inspire your new creations. Build your Azeroth world, add new fantastic World of Warcraft figurines and models to your collection, and share photos with others. You can join Gambody 3D Printing Community on Facebook to find new friends, like-minded persons and soul mates who are in love with 3D printing as much as you are.