Articulated Kohaku River Spirit Dragon Toy v2

Fully Expandable, Customisable, and Detailed.

Make Kohaku as short or long as you want, as large or small as your printer can handle, by adding or removing neck, body, and tail segments.
Choose from two styles of head, hands, and feet. Each is easily interchangeable thanks to the use of ball-and-socket joints.
Details that show up even on 0.20mm layer height!

DIY or use the preset Bambu Studio files.

Raw STL files have been provided for you to use in your slicing software of choice, all scaled appropriately for you to import and print in flat colours.
A 3MF made for use in Creality Print is also provided with support data painted onto it, but no colour data is available in this file.
A Bambu Studio 3MF has also been provided with the model fully painted and Gcode adjusted for full-colour printing optimization on the BambuLab X1C.

Important Information

If you are using the raw STL files: additional steps are required before printing can start. Please read the instructions carefully and make relevant adjustments for your printer. The Bambu Studio and Creality Print files have been made with all supports/settings pre-assigned, so all you have to do is prepare your printer and AMS, and print.

All socket joints MUST be printed facing sideways or no more than at a 45-degree angle, otherwise they will break when you insert the ball into them. Please see the below picture for the ideal placement.

IMAGE HERE

Supports are REQUIRED. All parts can safely use auto-generated supports other than the head and body, which need manual painting of supports. It is recommended that “only touching build plate” is turned ON and that you use “normal” style supports, and not “tree”.

Also note:

1. The mouth insert requires glue to stay in place, and is optional, as the top of the mouth isn't that visible.
2. If extending/shortening the model, ensure none of the moved segments are too close together, otherwise they will fuse during printing.
3. Brims are not required on the model unless a Textured PEI plate is used.
4. The neck mane is optional and is there to hide the ball and socket joint connecting the head to the body. This part greatly reduces the range of motion the head has.

Q&A

Please see the questions below before asking any in the comments; your answer may be here already.

Why is this a new model and not replacing the old Kohaku?

The Kohaku v2 model is a complete rework of the v1, with every component built from scratch to improve on significant flaws of the original, whilst also introducing new features. There is absolutely none of the v1 model in this.

I have the old Kohaku, can I upgrade to this one for free?

No.

I want to sell prints of this model. Is this allowed?

Not without paying for the right to do so. The fee on this model is for private printing use. If you wish to sell prints of this model, you must subscribe to the “Commercial License" tier of my Patreon and can only sell prints for the period you subscribe for. The other tiers do not cover commercial use: https://www.patreon.com/thomastedwards/membership

I want to remix this model. Is this allowed?

You can only remix this model for private use. You cannot upload your remix or any model you have made that uses any of this model's parts.

How long does it take to print this model?

This depends on 4 things; your printer's speed, the model's size, if it uses multiple colours, and if you're printing everything on one plate or as loose parts.
My examples were printed on a BambuLab X1C and A1. The models were printed as loose parts and assembled afterwards. The flat colour took approximately 11 hours.
The full colour was in the region of 21 hours.

Printing the model as loose parts and assembling it is highly recommended for the full-colour version, as it drastically reduces the number of colour changes and any resulting waste. It also means you don't have to leave your machine running for over 24 hours to make one of these models.

How long is this model?

The initial length of the model depends on whether you upscale or shrink the provided model components, or which size you choose from the files. If you print them as provided, it is approximately 77cm long.

What materials/colours are used in your examples?

I used filament from BambuLab, Elegoo, and eSun for these examples.

Flat Colours: Yellow eSun
Full Colours: BambuLab Matte Grey, White, Lilac, Sakura Pink. The nose, mouth, and ears use eSun Matte pink. The horns use eSun Matte khaki/beige. The mane is Elegoo Matte Teal/Cyan. 

Will it fit on my printer?

This depends on 2 things; how large your printer is, and if you are printing everything on one plate or as loose parts.
Most printers have a print space of 250x250mm and can print this model with slight adjustments to the part sizes (be sure to scale everything at the same time to ensure all parts fit when assembled).
Tiny printers such as the A1 Mini have a printing space of 180x180mm which requires the model parts to be shrunk down considerably, increasing the likelihood that links will fuse and socket joints will become fragile. For this reason, printing is NOT recommended for the whole model on the A1 Mini.

I'm having issues with adhesion. What would you suggest?

A majority of adhesion issues are user-end problems and are not associated with the model itself. There are numerous things you can do to troubleshoot your adhesion issues.

• First, establish if your printing plate is clean; gently clean it with dish soap and warm water, and dry it with a clean cloth. Try not to touch the surface of the plate, as the natural oils in our skin will contaminate the surface, making it dirty again; hold the plate in the corners or in areas you won't be printing on.
• If the plate is clean, and you still have adhesion problems, and you are using a smooth plate, you could try applying glue to it. However, only use glue recommended by your plate's manufacturer. 
• If the plate surface is damaged in any way, you should consider replacing it; the surface should be free of scratches or deep marks.
• Try printing with a brim or levelling your hotbed.
• Try a different style of plate; if you used a textured PEI, why not have a go on a smooth plate?
• The material you are using might be too wet; dry out your filament before printing with it again, or try another type of material.
• If your nozzle is over-extruding, it can “pull” the model from the plate during printing, making it seem like an adhesion issue when in reality, it's an extrusion issue. Ensure your nozzle isn't over-extruding filament. 
• You may want to investigate if your machine's firmware needs updating, or if there is a known fault with your machine/plate type.

Once all user-end problems have been ruled out as the issue for adhesion, THEN you can ask me to help.

The model messed up. Can you help?

I need to know HOW it has “messed up”, and WHERE in the model it has “messed up”, before troubleshooting anything. If you provide no details to me, I can't help you.

The model broke when I touched it. What happened?

Anything could have happened, it depends on numerous user-end factors.

• Don't “rip” your models from the plate when they are done, even if you saw some YouTuber do it; this guarantees you'll eventually break a model, often a result of putting unnecessary strain on joints/links as you rip the model off the plate. Study proper model removal procedures, such as “flexing” your plate at all four corners to help lift the model from its surface, and gently use a scraper to get under any stubborn parts.
• Don't print the model too small; chain links and the socket joints become more delicate the smaller they become.
• Don't print using a brittle filament. Whilst I print all my items in PLA and PLA+, and the parts hold up fine, if you want something guaranteed to be stronger I recommend giving ABS a try.
• Double-check your printer's layer settings, and ensure the nozzle is clean; it may have skipped a layer, or the nozzle may have had a clog and failed to extrude part of a layer. Bad layer adhesion can cause weak joints/links on all models.
• If a socket joint broke when inserting a ball joint, double-check you orientated the socket joints as shown in the pictures. If orientated correctly, and all support material is removed from the ball and socket, the joints shouldn't break. 
• If you add additional walls to the model it makes the model thicker, resulting in parts fusing or the balls will no longer fit in the sockets. Do not add additional walls.
• The infill density must not be set too low, as it will weaken the model. I print mine at no less than 10%.

Something else went wrong/I have a question that wasn't answered here.

Read the instructions first if you haven't already, then please provide your issue in the comments. If you require my help, please be clear and precise about what went wrong.
If you have another question, please leave it in the comments and I will do my best to answer it.