How to Make Detailed Scale Models Using a 3D Printer

Step 1: Start by Creating a Design

Designing is the next step after you decide what to build. Or, in my situation, I begin measuring the actual object so I can scale it down and reverse-engineer its shape. Although I’ve had to do it from just photos, I find it much easier to measure the object rather than design it from pictures alone.

When designing, remember that you don’t need to create or print your model all at once. Printing in one piece might seem quicker and simpler, but the prints typically come out less clear and sharp. I get excellent results when I align individual parts properly on the printer’s bed.

You’ll want to know a bit about your printer. For example, the X, Y, and Z axis resolutions (or the printer’s bed size if you’re working on bigger parts) will determine your design limits. Most printers use 0.4mm nozzles. I’ve heard of 0.15mm nozzles—they’re pricey and hard to find—but 0.2mm is the smallest I currently have. Many printers give a minimum Z axis resolution of 0.0437mm. Ideally, the Z axis should offer a finer resolution than X and Y, but that’s not always the case.

Take printing a pyramid, for example. A square becomes the initial layer. But a printer’s nozzle is round, so it can’t create a sharp corner. The nozzle’s radius defines the tightest curve you can make. Not even a corner. As the pyramid prints upward, each layer must be smaller but maintain shape. This creates a stepped look rather than smooth slopes. I get the best results by printing parts larger than needed and then filing or sanding to form clean, sharp edges.

What about a sphere? Printers don’t really print circles. They create polygons—multi-sided shapes—with no true corners. The Z-axis layering means vertical curves also become stair-stepped. Sandpaper becomes your best friend here. But honestly, you likely won’t notice the imperfections unless the model is over an inch in size. Plus, painting helps hide the roughness.

People also talk about using supports. You can’t print angles beyond 45–50 degrees without support (think of that pyramid flipped upside down). A sphere requires support for the bottom half. But support material never gives the clean, smooth finish a build plate does. I try to avoid support wherever I can. I’ve never used dissolvable filaments, which might offer a smoother surface. Maybe a Scale Model Maker in Malaysia has better insight into that! Do some testing of your own.

So how do I handle it without support? I split complex shapes like spheres into two hemispheres or flatten areas that don’t need curvature. Remember: what matters most is often how your Scale Model looks—not how perfectly accurate it is.

Sometimes you’ll face details too small to print. You either enlarge them or omit them. For example, my 1/64th scale grain cart uses fenders that look reasonably thin, but at full scale they’d be two inches thick!

Where am I going with this? That grain cart used 22 printed elements, plus two wires and seven nails. I printed each angled part flat to avoid supports and get clean surfaces. It also made adding movable parts, like rolling wheels and working pivots, much easier.