X-21 "Devastator" Wargaming Tank

This is my first attempt at designing a 3D printed wargamer tank. I think it turned out pretty well. It certainly has a striking silhouette.

While I don't think it will be a problem, I haven't tested this on a bed-slinger style printer. The hull is printed upright and may be a tip risk. I've done my best to ensure the center of gravity is near the center of the object, and the hull is printed with a large brim (the brim is required even for Core-XY printers). I am confident that it should print well, but I don't have any way of testing that.

If you have a bed-slinger, please let me know if the hull printed successfully, so that I can update this section.

How to Print

The preferred print profile for this tank is 0.08mm layer height on a 0.4mm nozzle. You can increase the layer height if you need to, but you will obviously lose some detail. You can also use a 0.2mm nozzle if you want, but I found very few visible differences between the 0.4mm nozzle and 0.2mm nozzle. I'm not sure it's really worth the significant increase in print time. The guns on the Wheel Guard came out a little bit clearer on the 0.2mm nozzle, so it might be worth printing these parts with a 0.2mm, but it's certainly not necessary. The print from a 0.4mm nozzle looks great, is more accessible, and takes significantly less time to print. So that's what I recommend.

I have only tested this with PLA. I recommend just using your most reliable PLA. It should be able to print in other materials, but I haven't test it.

I recommend using the print profiles if at all possible, to avoid having to setup the print profile and paint supports manually.

Note that the speed settings are extremely important to allow for adequate cooling and prevent pillowing. Please don't try to rush it.

If you can't use the print profiles, here are the settings you should use:

Global Settings

Hull

Turret

Wheel Guard

All Other

All other parts can be printed with just the global settings.

Clean-Up

Use care when removing supports from the treads and from the antenna on the turret.

For the treads, gently break them free with needle-nose pliers. You may then need to use a hobby knife to separate them fully, then carefully remove them the rest of the way with pliers. There will likely still be some small remnants between the tread and the fender. You should be able to remove those with a hobby knife.

I made the antenna larger to help prevent it from breaking off, but some care is still required when removing the supports.

There are some areas which aren't fully supported – mostly on the back of the tank – that might leave an imperfect surface. You should be able to sand or file this down. I found it preferrable to leave these unsupported, as the support interface left an even worse surface.

Assembly

Glue is required for assembly (CA Glue or similar). Hopefully the assembly is pretty straightforward.

Glue the axle pegs to the hull first, as the hull has deeper cutouts that will better align the pins.

Glue the wheel guards to the treads. They only fit in one orientation, just make sure you are gluing the right side. Then glue the treads to the axles, which should already be glued to the hull. Try not to use too much glue, as you'll want to sit the treads flat on a surface while drying to ensure that they dry straight.

Glue to the turret support into the cutout in the bottom of the turret.

You can use 10mm x 3mm magnets to attach the turret to the hull. There are holes provided. Just make sure to align the magnets polarity correctly. Using magnets will allow the turret to swivel. Alternatively, you can glue the turret to the hull for a more permanent fixture.