Rocinante Tachi The Expanse 3D print model

Introducing the Rocinante / Tachi from the TV show “The Expanse”.

This model is the culmination of over a hundred hours of design work using reference images directly from the TV show and adapting digital artwork from the amazing Anton Perfilev. I have endeavored to keep the model as faithful as possible to the TV show ship but I have had to make some subtle design changes to allow easier 3d printing.

The Design. My goal in this project, where to make this model easy to print and assemble with very little support cleanup. I modeled everything from scratch in CAD, so the tolerances are very tight and there are symmetrical reference marks to allow drilling and pinning for components. The 3 major hull sections are connected via hexagonal studs which are very strong and keyed in such a way as to ensure proper positioning. Every part is broken down into printer-sized components with easy print orientations.

3D Print. I printed this model at 150% scale on an Ender 3 V2 (.4 nozzle and Polymaker Filament) and an Elegoo Saturn 2 8k resin printer. This is an advanced and challenging print so make sure your printer is very well set up and optimized. I have included more complete assemblies intended for smaller prints or printers with large build volumes, but I have not tested these yet. I have also included a 3d printable stand to display the model horizontally but It will display quite comfortably, vertically on its thruster bell housing. If you need a specific configuration of part assembly to print, please let me know and I’ll see if I can make it work.

Tips. The turret open and turret closed parts can be magnetized to allow quick changeouts. The antenna assembly is better printed vertically in one complete unit. If I had a larger format printer I would print the entire reactor housing and thruster assembly in one print. The thruster bell housing struts can be quite fiddly to print and align. The PDC’s are quite small and detailed I printed them at .025 layer height with 8k Resin and tried to keep the supports to a minimum. Printing any smaller than 100%-150% and I’d recommend omitting the PDC’s and using the closed configuration for the turret ports.

Have fun Beltalowda!

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Can be printed on SLA or FDA Printers - I would recommend using an SLA for the finer detail parts.