Equipment and Supplies

Updated Jan 11th 2024

This is everything I rely on to make props! Just a list with notes, highly subjective, no affiliations.

Respirator

3M OV p95 cool flow half mask : respirators are essential, the “cool flow” design is a lot more comfortable for me personally.

Printing

Anycubic Photon M5s : phenomenal resin printer with lots of smart features like force sensors/auto level. I’ve had 0 failures which is insane. It uses a special FEP which is fragile and expensive but honestly 10/10

CR-10 Smart Pro : Its been a real solid machine. Not fast, reliable quality, good sized bed, interface is mid, idk if ABL actually works, sprite extruder is great has probably been phased out already.

Ender 3 S1 : I want to replace this with a Bambu but it’s going strong and has been extremely reliable. It’s running klipper off a rpi.

PolyMaker CosPLA : I find this filament prints very well and does not gum up while sanding, highly recommend.

Sirayatech Fast grey and Craft clear : both excellent resins

Wishlist: bambu X1and the Comgrow T500

Sanding

Proxxon angle polisher (corded) : This is by far my go to sander for nearly everything 3d printed and I would immediately buy another if anything happens to mine. I find it to be the most versatile and effective sander for mid sized complex prints. I use this at the lowest speed (just under 1k rpm) unless polishing and speed is very important with PLA.

Serious Grit 2” pads : mostly 150 - 400 grit these are more tear and wear resistant than the standard amazon variety packs they hold up when wet sanding. I still get the variety packs occasionally.

Ryobi Pblrt01 flex shaft rotary tool: I love mine but It was pricey, the important thing is that it does low speed high torque VERY WELL and is very stable and consistent with the foot pedal. I use this at low speeds with a 1/4” generic 120 - 220 grit drum for tight corners and rough layer lines. Never 80 grit and never the larger drums.

Ryobi 120 grit rotary cleaning and polishing disc: this is the white one with 3 stacked nylon bristle wheels. It is useful for paint removal and cleaning excess resin off delicate prints that have not been properly washed. I did not like the generic alternatives.

Milwaukee M12 detail sander : this is a great tool and the head can be adapted for 2” pads, it can also be modified to spin (this is a reversible mod)

Makita XOB01z : great for woodworking, good for large mostly flat surfaces but noisy and heavy. air-tool equivalents are much nicer to use (the blue harbor freight pads are A+++)

Wishlist: Foredom LX, Proxxon Pen sander, Dspiae Pen sander

Drill/Driver

Makita 18v LXT subcompact drill driver: The black small ones, these get a bad rep from construction guys but I love mine. Brushless and lightweight I’ve driven thousands of anchors, tap cons and a million wood screws with mine. I’ve taken these literally to both ends of the planet. I’ve had mine for about 6 years. If you’re buying an everyday drill make sure the chuck can go 1/2” wide. If you design your round or cylindrical parts (gun barrels / sword handles) to fit a 1/2” pipe you can chuck them up like a lathe and effortlessly sand them.

Fillers for failures, imperfections and damage

Bondo Spot Putty : only for small imperfections. price and availability are excellent, I tried mixing with acetone and I do not recommend that

3m Acryl Putty Green: superior to the normal glazing putty but harder to find

UV resin : for medium imperfections especially on resin prints ( cure thin layers at a time)

Aves Apoxie Sculpt for large damage or reconstruction I really like the way this stuff handles but adhesion can be sub-par depending on the damage

I avoid using wood fillers (generally weaker and I don’t like the consistency) and bondo (too tough, cures too fast and smells too much) There are some more specialized 2 part polyester fillers that are good but its just a pain to mix

Filler primer for whole surface and layer lines

I like the Iron Armor sandable filler primer from HF, Duplicolor is also nice, Rustoleum is fine. Stick with one but don’t use both at once (different solvents, may crack)

If you don’t like spray paint or don’t have a place to spray, you can brush on automotive filler primer. This is significantly better than spot putty mixed with acetone. Still incredibly smelly and bad for you. Do not use these products inside!

Wishlist: getting setup to spray stuff like g2 feather fill and other 2 part paints.

Airbrushing

GSI Creos PS-290 : this is my go to airbrush for everything. Double action trigger style, sub $100 and includes a fan cap, .5mm. This is very popular with Gunpla modelers and gives a nice wide spread for even coats. 10/10

Mr. Linear Compressor L7 : This is the compressor for people who require extremely low noise, tankless, no maintenance but does get warm. I use mine with double moisture traps and quick connects. Please note it’s expensive and just powerful enough. That being said I absolutely love mine and might get the L10 later this year.

Other good options include the SprayGunner CoolTooty. If you have the space buy the California Air Tools 4710SQ (bigger tank turns on less) or 2010A (slightly quieter and smaller aluminum tank) both must be drained but latter won’t rust. I have the 4710SQ in a small cabinet with active ventilation but it is noisy for an apartment especially purging to drain.

I recently switched from Mr.Color to Createx Wicked due to strength, documentation and availability. Its a great system but this requires a whole other post…

Find a way to buy nitrile gloves at Costco they are superior and cheaper. Do not buy the light blue harbor freight gloves.

1/8” and 1/4” Painters tape, I buy the blue and green ones from McMaster. This is the standard masking tape and I prefer it over the vinyl model ones from Tamiya.

Wishlist Mr. Linear Compressor L10 and I want to try some of the mini cordless compressors

Light strips

I personally prefer Ws2812b strips which can be purchased as thin as 3mm. These are very hard to solder. the 5mm ones are easier to work with. They are individually addressable and also directional. Typically they are 5v and can be run off 3x AA batteries or USB power. This style of controller is about as small as it gets and requires no coding https://a.co/d/dXchip9 All you need to do is scroll through the pre installed animations. Comes with a small remote.

Switches

https://a.co/d/hdQvJv0 : mounts perfectly in a 5/16 hole, compact and easy to hide

Adhesives

Gorilla construction adhesive clear : I have this in a standard caulk gun, it’s got a good consistency, great strength, flexible and does not melt paint. It also seals up around the tip and I can just break off the dried bit and keep going. Fairly long cure times.

Generic superglue gel : they’re really all the same I occasionally prefer brush bottles for really small stuff

Ryobi P307 : hot glue gun: it runs little too hot and will ooze everywhere. It’s cordless which is nice even if battery life is pretty bad. I mostly use this for fixing wires, reinforcing soldering, mold making and packaging. It takes the big sticks but I kinda want the smaller docking one.

Epoxies : they’re kinda all the same, I like jb weld and gorilla but am using construction urethane adhesives more and more

Casting ( I don’t do this very often )

Moldstar 16 Fast : great for small stuff 6min pot/30min cure

SmoothCast: 325 : great for small stuff

FGCI Super Clear Liquid Glass 2.0 : good for deep pours and bubble free casting without pressure pots. Optical clarity is excellent, must seal painted parts first…

Eye Candy Pigments: these are legit, Jacquard pearl-ex pigment powder is also nice

Clamps

Quick-grip trigger clamps in all sizes, buy harbor freight or in packages, individually is priced ridiculous

Soldering/Electronics

UY Chan TS 100 : 10/10 I love this thing. Got one for soldering and one for welding PLA

Miniware MDP-XP psu : Probably unnecessary but can be useful for experimenting with light output and motor speeds

Camera

Fuji Xt-3 w/ Fuji 16mm f1.4 : e t e r n a and the lens is just perfect. most of my tiktoks are shot on my phone.

PC

Ryzen 7900x, Asus ROG Strix x570-I, TT Tower 100, Bitspower custom soft tube loop, Evga 850 SuperNova, Asus Strix 3080, G.Skill Trident Z … none of this matters the Asus Zephyrus G14 with the 4060 is a monster on the go. Currently writing this on MacBook M2 pro which is also pretty solid for blender now.

Software

BLENDER! its free, download through Steam for auto-update

Lychee slicer gang, I also like Prusa slicer for my Creality machines.

Premiere pro

I occasionally use Sketchup for stuff like brackets, 2d layouts and material estimates

Misc

Misc m3 stainless hardware packs

K&S scrap bags

Dowel pins in all different sizes buy acetal or steel not wood!

USG Hangerwire 12ga 6’ straight bundle not the roll! : this is incredibly useful for painting, it’s slightly under 1/8” and can be used as a pin. easy to cut and bend

I’ll try to keep updating this list if anything major changes in my workflow!