I started to look into 3D printing of model boats, parts and accessories about 2-3 years ago, watching many YouTube videos and tutorials, reading articles etc. I became increasingly amazed at the range of model boat-related things that could be printed and got seriously interested when my good lady wanted to know what I wanted for Xmas (actually, as a New Year child, it was to be a Xmas/Birthday combo present).

So then my research turned to 3D printers. As with so many things, there were lots of different printers and at prices ranging from about £100 to over £1000. The Ender range from Creality seemed quite popular and had good reviews so I settled on their Mk 3 model which I’ve been very happy with. In fact a used one came up on eBay so I snapped it up so I can now do long print runs with several short ones in between.

The only consumable needed is the plastic filament. These come in different lengths wound onto spools and in many colours and materials. Having tried various materials I’ve settled on PLA plus and PLA silk in whatever colour is available or cheapest. You need to keep in mind 3D printed things are permeable so most things that I make need sealing and painting so the PLA colour isn’t normally important.

The only other component you need to get started is a .stl file (this is a file type created for 3D models) of the 3D object you want to print. These files can be downloaded free from www.https://www.thingiverse.com/ which has over 1000 objects if you search on “model boat”. These files will generally be good enough but, if you want higher quality or something that’s not on thingiverse a Google for “stl files for model boat” will bring up pages of files which are either free or, generally, just a few £.

Having downloaded your .stl file you’ll need to “slice” it. A number of slicer programs are available, several being free. Creality Slicer was developed for the Ender 3D printers so I use that. You just upload your file wait a few minutes and then save the sliced file to a memory card that you fit into the slot on the 3D printer.

Load on your spool, feed it into the print head and you’re good to go. Well, not quite yet. The 3D printer gives you a few options, the most important one being to set the scale of what you want printed. You can calculate this or, for simple pieces, I just print them out and then adjust the scale if necessary.

Before you press start it’s critical that the print head is set to the correct height across the entire print bed. This is easily done by putting a piece of paper on the print bed and raising or lowering the print head at all 4 corners and the centre by pressing the appropriate buttons.

Now you are ready to go. Press start, let the print head heat up and away she blows. A smallish piece like the tiny power drill in the photo can be printed in minutes while a large object, maybe a part of a multipart hull for a large boat, can take 1 or 2 days to print.

I now print a whole range of parts and accessories for my own use and I make them available to members.

I’ve also started printing a whole RC model boat in sections. So far I’ve printed the 3 hull sections (one took 37hours to print!), deck, “wings”, motor base, servo mount, instrument panel, steering wheel and winged skull (yes, of course the eyes will light up!). I’ll tell you more about that as I go.

So, for me, 3D printing has been a Godsend. Most of the bits I need can be printed in minutes for just pennies and can be scaled as I want. The only thing I struggle with sometimes is model figures. Most stl files are for large figures and scaling them down a lot can lead to poor results. Other than that - simples!

Ed. Thanks Brian for taking the mysteries out of 3D printing, well for me at least. If any of our members want to add their experiences, advice or whatever on 3D printing, please email your copy and any accompanying photos to me at