Merry Brandybuck 3D Printing Figurine | Assembly

ABOUT THIS 3D FIGURINE

Meriadoc Brandybuck, known as Merry, is the character from the Middle-earth legendarium who participates in the Quest to destroy the One Ring, helps to defeat Witch-king of Angmar, and simply has fun together with his inseparable friend Pippin. We are delighted to welcome the cheerful and brave Master of Buckland to join our The Lord of the Rings selection! Being a true LotR fan, the author of the figurine kept his word and prepared a friendly hobbit for 3D printing to accompany Treebeard in its Last March of the Ents. Even more so! The 3D artist behind the Merry Brandybuck figurine reportedly spent circa 150 hours in order for the loyal hobbit to be featured in two scenarios at the least! Thus, the Meriadoc model for 3D printing can be displayed either standing still on a small decorative platform or sitting on top of Treebeard’s branches. The member of the Fellowship of the Ring is depicted with careful attention both to the peculiarities of hobbits’ appearance and their customary clothes. 3D printing Merry figurine is barefooted, his longish hairstyle is naturally curly and the look on his face is rather concerned. The latter is quite understandable - after all, Merry, his dear friend Pippin and the Shepherd of the Trees are on their way to fight the Orcs of Isengard! Just like most hobbits do, Meriadoc Brandybuck for 3D printing wears breeches, a waistcoat, a jacket, and a cloak with a large hood. The cloak is fastened with a brooch known as the Leave of Lorien which is the distinctive symbol worn by all members of the Fellowship of the Ring. The cheerful star of the LotR trilogy is a caring and resourceful hobbit who knows everything needed about the second breakfast! We can’t think of a more joyful addition to your J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired 3D printed collection!

ADAPTATION FOR 3D PRINTING

Merry Brandybuck figurine for 3D printing is a static assembly model and its moderation and adaptation for different types of 3D printers took Gambody team 46 hours in total. For those customers who have already purchased the Treebeard figurine or are planning to do so, every version of the Merry Brandybuck model comes in two variants to choose from - an independent static figurine (marked “Stand” in the “Source files” tab) and a sitting Merry variant to place the hobbit on top of Treebeard’s twig (marked “Sit” in the “Source files”). In order to facilitate the future assembly of the diorama, the body in all “Sit” versions of the Merry Brandybuck model is carved specifically to fit the texture of the Treebeard’s branches. The anatomy of the Merry Brandybuck model was thoroughly reviewed during the moderation process for the hobbit (before he drank the Ent-draught) to be depicted harmoniously in both intended variants of the pose. The model’s cutting was chosen by our team to minimize the amount of filament needed for generated support and the “body” parts were hollowed out for you to save resin in the figurine’s DLP/SLA + Eco versions. In order to conceal the places where the assembly parts of the model must be connected, the figurine was cut along the contour of Merry’s clothes seams and his cloak was “taken off”. All the assembly parts come in STL files in recommended positions that were worked out in order to ensure the smoothness of the details’ surfaces after printing and so that the 3D printing beginners won't face difficulties when placing the parts on a build plate. 

The figurine is saved in STL files, a format supported by most 3D printers. All STL files for 3D printing have been checked in Netfabb and no errors were shown.

The model's scale was calculated from the actual height of Merry Brandybuck which is 1060 mm. The 3D printing figurine's chosen scale is 1/8 for the FFF/FDM version and 1/16 for the DLP/SLA/SLS versions.

VERSIONS' SPECIFICATIONS

FFF/FDM 1.0 Stand version features:
- Contains 11 parts;
- A printed model is 139 mm tall, 68 mm wide, 64 mm deep;
- Comes with a stand to resemble the grounds of Fangorn Forest;
- All parts are divided in such a way that you will print them with the smallest number of support structures.

FFF/FDM 1.0 Sit version features:
- Contains 10 parts;
- A printed model is 109 mm tall, 75 mm wide, 56 mm deep;
- The version is designed to complete the diorama with Treebeard and Pippin Took to depict the Ent carrying the Hobbits (Treebeard and Pippin are sold separately);
- All parts are divided in such a way that you will print them with the smallest number of support structures.

DLP/SLA + Eco 1.0 Stand version features:
- Contains 7 parts;
- A printed model is 70 mm tall, 34 mm wide, 32 mm deep;
- Comes with a stand to resemble the grounds of Fangorn Forest;
- There is an alternative body part "2_hollow_body_SLA" that was hollowed out for you to save resin;  
- All parts are divided in such a way to fit the build plates and to ensure that support structures are generated where needed.

DLP/SLA + Eco 1.0 Sit version features:
- Contains 6 parts;
- A printed model is 55 mm tall, 38 mm wide, 28 mm deep;
- There is an alternative body part "2_hollow_body_SLA" that was hollowed out for you to save resin;  
- The version is designed to complete the diorama with Treebeard and Pippin Took to depict the Ent carrying the Hobbits (Treebeard and Pippin are sold separately);
- Contains some hollowed out parts to save resin.

SLS 1.0 Stand version features:
- Made as a solid one-piece figurine;
- A printed model is 70 mm tall, 34 mm wide, 32 mm deep;
- Comes with a stand to resemble the grounds of Fangorn Forest;
- Contains 3 parts - a one-piece model and the figurine with the platform separated.

SLS 1.0 Sit version features:
- Contains 1 part - made as a solid one-piece figurine;
- A printed model is 55 mm tall, 38 mm wide, 28 mm deep;
- The version is designed to complete the diorama with Treebeard and Pippin Took to depict the Ent carrying the Hobbits (Treebeard and Pippin are sold separately).

WHAT WILL YOU GET AFTER PURCHASE?

- STL files of Merry Brandybuck 3D Figurine for 3D printing which consist of 38 parts;
- 6 versions of files for this model for FFF/FDM, DLP/SLA + Eco, and SLS;
- High-poly detailed figurine of Merry Brandybuck;​
- Detailed settings that we provide as a recommendation for Cura , Simplify3D and Slic3r for the best print;
- Full technical support from the Gambody Support Team.

You can get the figurine of Merry Brandybuck for 3D Printing immediately after the purchase! Just click the green Buy button in the top-right corner of the model’s page. You can pay with PayPal or your credit card.

Watch the tutorial on how to assemble Merry Brandybuck 3D Printing Figurine at Gambody YouTube channel.

Also, you may like Treebeard and Pippin Took 3D Printing Models to complete the diorama, as well as other LOTR 3D Printing Figurines.

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FAQ: 
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Below you can find printing recommendations for Cura, Simplify3D and Slic3r software.

Cura printing recommendations:

These are basic settings that were tested in Cura 4.8.0 slicer. 

The test models were printed on Ultimaker 2, Creality Ender 3, Creality CR-10S Pro V2, Anycubic I3 Mega, Anycubic I3 MegaS 3D printers with PLA and PETG filaments.

Disclaimer: The following printing settings are a recommendation, not an obligation. The parameters can vary depending on the peculiarities of your 3D printer, the material you use and especially the particular assembly part at hand. Each part that any model comprises often needs preliminary review and you are free to tweak the settings the way you find suitable.

Note:
- You can scale up the model (downscaling is not recommended!);
- All connectors should be printed at 100% Infill;
- For all parts of locks (“ge_lock” in “Source files”) you need to change "Brim" type to "Skirt" in Build Plate Adhesion section.

Quality
Layer Height: 0.12 mm (you can also set Layer Height at 0.16 or 0.2mm for 0.4mm nozzles)
Initial Layer Height: 0.2 mm (carefully level the print bed and keep your Initial Layer Height the same as the main Layer Height)

Line Width: 0.4 mm
Wall Line Width: 0.4 mm
Outer Wall Line Width: 0.4 mm
Inner Wall(s) Line Width: 0.4 mm
Top/Bottom Line Width: 0.4 mm
Infill Line Width: 0.4 mm
Skirt/Brim Line Width: 0.4 mm
Support Line Width: 0.4 mm

Initial Layer Line Width: 100%

Shell 
Wall Thickness: 0.8 mm
Wall Line Count: 2

Outer Wall Wipe Distance: 0.3 mm
Top Surface Skin Layers: 0

Top/Bottom Thickness: 0.6 mm
Top Thickness: 0.6 mm
Top Layers: 5
Bottom Thickness: 0.6 mm
Bottom Layers: 5
Initial Bottom Layers: 5

Top/Bottom Pattern: Lines
Bottom Pattern Initial Layer: Lines
Top/Bottom Line Directions: [ ]
Outer Wall Inset: 0 mm
Optimize Wall Printing Order: Check

Compensate Wall Overlaps: Check
Compensate Inner Wall Overlaps: Check

Minimum Wall Flow: 0%
Fill Gaps Between Walls: Everywhere
Filter Out Tiny Gaps: Check
Horizontal Expansion: 0 mm
Initial Layer Horizontal Expansion: 0 mm
Hole horizontal expansion: 0

Z Seam Alignment: User Specified
Z Seam Position: Back
Z Seam X: Average length of your printer’s plate (e.g.”150” if your plate is 300mm on the X-axis)
Z Seam Y: A value higher than the length of your plate on the Y-axis (e.g. 700)

Seam Corner Preference: Hide Seam
Extra Skin Wall Count: 1
Skin Overlap Percentage: 10%
Skin Overlap 0.04 mm

Infill 
Infill Density: 20% (for all smaller parts and for all parts of connectors use 100% Infill)
Infill Pattern: Triangles
Connect Infill Lines: Check
Infill Line Directions: [ ]
Infill X Offset: 0 mm
Infill Y Offset: 0 mm
Infill Line Multiplier: 1
Extra Infill Wall Count: 0

Infill Overlap Percentage: 10-20%
Infill Overlap: 0.04 mm

Skin Overlap Percentage: 5%
Skin Overlap: 0.02 mm

Infill Wipe Distance: 0 mm
Infill Layer Thickness: 0.24 mm
Gradual Infill Steps: 0
Infill Before Walls: Check
Minimum Infill Area: 0 mm2

Skin Removal Width: 0.8 mm
Top Skin Removal Width: 0.8 mm
Bottom Skin Removal Width: 0.8 mm

Skin Expand Distance: 0.8
Top Skin Expand Distance: 0.8
Bottom Skin Expand Distance: 0.8

Maximum Skin Angle for Expansion: 90˚
Minimum Skin Width for Expansion: 0.0
Skin Edge Support Thickness: 0
Skin Edge Support Layers: 0

Material 
Initial Layer Flow: 100%
Printing Temperature: See your filament settings
Initial Printing Temperature: Your filament settings
Final Printing Temperature: Your filament settings
Build Plate Temperature: Your filament settings
Build Plate Temperature Initial Layer: Your filament settings + 5°
Flow: 100% (Important! If you face difficulty printing the model, you may need to adjust the Flow parameter. You may research the topic using the Internet or seek assistance at our Customer Support Team at support@gambody.com)

Speed 

You can increase the printing Speed by 20% when you print simple objects. For small/thin parts you need to decrease the Speed by 25% - 50%.

Print Speed: 50 mm/s
    Infill Speed: 50 mm/s
    Wall Speed: 25 mm/s
          Outer Wall Speed:25 mm/s
          Inner Wall Speed: 50 mm/s

Top/Bottom Speed: 25mm/s
Support Speed: 25 mm/s 
          Support Infill Speed: 45 mm/s
          Support Interface Speed: 25 mm/s
                Support Roof Speed: 25 mm/s
                Support Floor Speed: 25 mm/s

Travel Speed: 80 mm/s
Initial Layer Speed: 80 mm/s
Initial Layer Print Speed: 20 mm/s
Initial Layer Travel Speed: 80 mm/s

Skirt/Brim Speed: 20 mm/s
Z  Hop Speed: 5 mm/s
Number of Slower Layers: 2
Enable Acceleration Control: Check

When printing simple objects, you need to set all Acceleration parameters at 500 mm/s. For small/thin parts you need to decrease the Acceleration by 50% - 70%.

Travel 
Enable Retraction: Check
Retraction Distance: 4-8 mm, 1-3 mm for Direct Extruder (This is the most important retraction parameter. You can find your optimal value of Retraction Distance by printing any test object, e.g. bridges, towers etc.)

Retraction Speed: 25mm/s
Retraction Retract Speed: 25 mm/s
Retraction Prime Speed: 25 mm/s

Retraction Extra Prime Amount: 0 mm3 
Retraction Minimum Travel: 1.5 mm
Maximum Retraction Count: 100
Minimum Extrusion Distance Window: 6,5 - 10 mm
Limit Support Retractions: Check
Combing Mode: All
Max Comb Distance With No Retract: 30 mm
Retract Before Outer Wall: Check
Avoid Printed Parts When Travelling: Check
Avoid Supports When Travelling: Check
Travel Avoid Distance: 1 mm
Layer Start X: 0.0 mm
Layer Start Y: 0.0 mm
Z Hop When Retracted: Check
Z Hop Height: 0,3 mm

Cooling 
Enable Print Cooling: Check
Fan Speed: 100%
Regular Fan Speed: 100%
Maximum Fan Speed: 100% 

Regular/Maximum Fan Speed Threshold: 10 s
Initial Fan Speed: 0%
Regular Fan Speed at Height: 0.36 mm
Regular Fan Speed at Layer: 3 

Minimum Layer Time: 10 s
Minimum Speed: 10 mm/s

Support 
Generate Support: Check
Support Structure: Normal (you can try using Tree Support Structure if you have difficulty printing any particular assembly part)
Support Placement: Everywhere 
Support Overhang Angle: 60° (this parameter can range from 30° to 70° depending on the part at hand)
Support Pattern: Zig Zag
Support Wall Line Count: 1 (stronger support that might be more difficult to remove) 0 (less strong support but is easier to remove)

Support Density: 15%
Support Line Distance: 2.6667 mm
Initial layer support line distance: 2.667 mm

Support Z Distance: 0.12 mm
Support Top Distance: 0.12 mm
Support Bottom Distance: 0.12 mm

Support X/Y Distance: 0.8-1 mm
Support Distance Priority: Z overrides X/Y
Support Stair Step Height: 0.3 mm
Support Stair Step Maximum Width: 5.0 mm
Support Stair Step Minimum Slope Angle: 10°
Support Join Distance: 2.0 mm
Support Horizontal Expansion: 0.2 mm
Support Infill Layer Thickness: 0.2 mm
Gradual Support Infill Steps: 0
Minimum Support Area: 2 mm

Enable Support Interface: Check (generates additional “pillow” on the support structure that leads to a more even surface, but can be difficult to remove in hard-to-reach areas)
Enable Support Roof: Check
Enable Support Floor: Check

Support Interface Thickness: 0.8 mm
Support Roof Thickness: 0.8 mm
Support Floor Thickness: 0.8 mm

Support Interface Resolution 0.2 mm
Support Interface Density: 50-100%
        Support Roof Density: 50-100%
Support Roof Line Distance: 0.8 mm
        Support Floor Density: 50-100%
Support Floor line Distance:  0.4mm

Support Interface Pattern: Grid 
Support Roof Pattern: Grid (this parameter should differ from Bottom Pattern Initial Layer in “Shell” section)
Support Floor Pattern: Grid

Minimum Support Interface Area: 10mm
Minimum Support Roof Area: 10 mm
Minimum Support Floor Area: 10 mm

Support Interface Horizontal Expansion: 0.0 mm
Support Roof Horizontal Expansion: 0.0 mm
Support Floor Horizontal Expansion: 0.0 mm

Fan Speed Override: Check
Supported Skin Fan Speed: 100%
Use Towers: Check
Tower Diameter: 4 mm
Minimum Diameter: 3.0 mm
Tower Roof Angle: 65° 

Build Plate Adhesion 
Build Plate Adhesion Type: Skirt/Brim (For unsteady parts, and those parts that may come unstuck use “Brim”. For bigger assembly parts that have large adhesion area and for all parts of locks and claws that you want to come out clean use "Skirt")
Skirt/Brim Minimum Length: 250 mm
Brim Width: 8.0 mm
       Brim Line Count: 10
Brim Only on Outside: Check

Mesh Fixes 
Union Overlapping Volumes: Check
Merged Meshes Overlap: 0.15 mm

Special Modes
Print Sequence: All at Once
Surface Mode: Normal

Experimental
Slicing Tolerance: Middle
Maximum Resolution: 0.01 mm
Flow rate compensation max extrusion offset: 0 mm
Flow rate compensation factor: 100%

Simplify3D printing recommendations:

This model was tested with PLA material.

To avoid printing problems, we recommend the following settings:

Extruder
Nozzle Diameter: 0.4 mm
Extrusion Multiplier: 0.97
Extrusion Width: Auto

Retraction Distance: 5.00 mm
Extra Restart Distance: 0.00 mm
Retraction Vertical Lift: 0.08 mm
Retraction Speed: 5400.0 mm/min

Wipe Distance: 5.00 mm

Layer
Primary Layer Height: 0.2 mm
Top Solid Layers: 8
Bottom Solid Layers: 5
Outline/Perimeter Shells: 2
Outline Direction: Inside-Out

First Layer Height: 90%
First Layer Width: 100%
First Layer Speed: 20%

Additions
Use Skirt/Brim: Check
Skirt Layers: 1
Skirt Offset from Part: 6.00 mm
Skirt Outlines: 5

Infill
Internal Fill Pattern: Fast Honeycomb
External Fill Patern: Rectilinear
Interior Fill Percentage: 10%
Outline Overlap: 22%
Infill Extrusion Width: 100%
Minimum Infill Length: 5.00 mm
Combine Infill Every: 1 layers

External Infill Angle Offsets: 45/-45 deg

Support
Generate Support Material: Check
Support Infill Percentage: 15%
Extra Inflation Distance: 1.00 mm
Support Base Layers: 0
Combine Support Every: 1 layers

Dense Support Layers: 0
Dense Infill Percentage: 70%

Support Type: Normal
Support Pillar Resolution: 5.00 mm
Max Overhang Angle: 60 deg

Horizontal Offset From Part: 0.50 mm
Upper Vertical Separation Layers: 1
Lower Vertical Separation Layers: 1

Support Infill Angles: 45 deg

Temperature
Extruder 1 Temperature: 210
Heated Bed: 60

Cooling
Increase fan speed for layers below: 45.0 sec
  Maximum Cooling fan speed: 50%
Bridging fan speed override: 100%

Speeds
Default Printing Speed: 4800.0 mm/min
Outline Underspeed: 50%
Solid Infill Underspeed: 80%
Support Structure Underspeed: 80%
X/Y Axis Movement Speed: 10800.0 mm/min
Z Axis Movemen Speed: 1002.0 mm/min

Adjust printing speed for layers below: 15.0 sec 
  Allow speed reduction down to: 20%

Other
Unsupported area threshold: 20.0 sq m

Slic3r printing recommendations:

Layer height
  Layer height: 0.1 mm
  First layer height: 90%
Vertical shells
  Perimeters: 2
Horizontal shells
  Soid layers: 
              Top: 8
              Bottom: 5
Quality
  Detect thin walls: Check
  Detect bridging perimeters: Check
Advanced
  Seam position: Random
Infill
  Fill desity: 20%
  Fill pattern: Honeycomb
  Top/bottom fill pattern: Rectilinear
Reducing printing time
  Combine infill every: 1 layers
Advanced
  Solid infill every: 0 layers
  Fill angle: 25 deg
  Solid infill threshold area: 0mm
Skirt
  Loops: 2
  Distance from object: 6 mm
  Skirt height: 1 layers
  Minimum extrusion length: 4 mm
Brim 
  Brim width: 10 mm
Support material
  Generate support material: Check
  Overhang threshold: 45 deg
  Enforce support for the first: 3 layers
Raft
  Raft layers: 0 layers
Options for support material and raft
  Contact Z distance: 0.1 mm
  Pattern: Rectilinear
  Patter spacing: 2 mm
  Pattern angle: 0 deg
  Interface layers: 2 layers
  Interface pattern spacing: 0.2 mm
Speed for print moves
  Perimeters: 60 mm/s
  Small perimeters: 20 mm/s
  External perimeters: 20 mm/s
  Infill: 60 mm/s
  Solid infill: 60 mm/s
  Top solid infill: 30 mm/s
  Support material: 50 mm/s
  Support material interface: 100%
  Bridges: 30 mm/s
  Gap fill: 50 mm/s
Speed for non-print moves
  Travel: 60 mm/s
Modifiers
  First layer speed: 30 mm/s
Acceleration control
  Perimeters: 800 mm/s
  Infill: 1500 mm/s
  Bridge: 1000 mm/s
  First layer: 1000 mm/s
  Default: 1000 mm/s
Autospeed
  Max print speed: 100 mm/s
  Max volumetrix speed: 0 mm/s
Extrusion width
  Default extrusion width: 0.42 mm
  First layer: 0.42 mm
  Perimeters: 0.42 mm
  External perimeters: 0.42 mm
  Infill: 0.42 mm
  Solid infill: 0.42 mm
  Top solid infill: 0.42 mm
  Support material: 0.42 mm
Overlap
  Infill/Perimeters overlap: 20%
Flow
  Bridge flow ratio: 0.95
Other
  XY Size Compensation: 0 mm
  Threds: 8
  Resolution: 0 mm