March 16, 2026
Description
This is an easy print when you're doing it right. Please read the Print instructions and model preparations section before you start!
Hey you! Want to impress your 3D printing friends? Then you are in the right place. When I take a look at a 3D print, the first thing I do is look at its bottom to judge the first layer (I'm very judgy, 'cuz I'm the law!). But Chester doesn't have one. At least it's not visible. You want to know how that's possible? Then read on!
I believe you have just caused the need for a new badge! For "the most creative solution to print orientation"! – https://www.printables.com/@DARK
See the assembly here (It's a short so I can't embed it)
Be aware this is a delicate print. If you have bad bed adhesion you should get this under control before you try Chester. It's no shame to use 3DLAC. It was a game changer for me. This is an honest recommendation; I don't get paid for this advertisement.
Edit, 3. 3. 2026: The first makes just came in and it seems that the newer and faster machines have trouble getting the whole model printed due to the fast print speeds. Go slow! Mine took around 9 hours and I didn't have the kinds of trouble the faster prints have. One user used supports to stabilize the print, this seems to work. Take a look at the "Makes" section to see how other people dealt with the issues if you have some or write me a DM.
It features some steep overhangs. Make sure you consider this in your print settings and choice of material. I designed it using PLA for the prototypes. I don't know how it prints with other filaments.
The upper jaw might be difficult to pry loose. Use a screwdriver to widen the gaps before trying to loosen it. Be patient and try to wiggle it loose with as little force as possible. It's better to spend five minutes wiggling it than to ruin your print, as it's very frustrating to break your nine-hour print right after removing it from the bed.
I've included a test print file with only the head. Use it to practice prying the upper jaws loose and dial in your settings if necessary. It's much less frustrating ruining a 45-minute print than the full thing.
Afterwards, use the screwdriver to get the teeth loose; they should flap out easily. If you close the mouth, you can fold them inside again so it closes fully.
In my prints, the body's joints loosened quite easily. If you have issues with them, please contact me via DM and we'll try solving the problem.
I hope you enjoy printing and playing with this model as much as I did designing it. For all that could have gone wrong, I think it was a very straightforward solution. If you have any issues or feedback, please make sure to get in touch! I'm always eager to help! Happy printing!
It's not at a 1:100 scale like my usual models, as I wanted it to fit on a Prusa Mini, which has a maximum build volume of 18 cm. If you want to, scale it up to the maximum your printer can handle. Megalodons were huge! 1:100 would mean a height of 20 cm. Some sources even consider its size to have been up to 24 meters long (which accordingly would mean 24 cm).
I tried something new with the jaw joints: they have fixed positions at 45° angles. This works well with the upper jaw. The lower jaw tends not to snap into position as well, as it's very small, but it stays in position better, so I decided to leave it that way.
But now to the interesting part: How do we hide the base plate?
Orientation. It's printed like this ->
When I started working on a new FlexiDino, I usually spent the first few hours looking up pictures on the internet and assembling the ones I liked most. This includes some pictures of their skeletons, as they are the most accurate ones and leave a lot of room for interpretation for me to make it my own design. Since Megalodon was a shark, there are no bones to build on, as they don't have actual bones but cartilage, which decays.
Most pictures I found resembled great white sharks, and the first thing that came to my mind was: "How do I print the fins on the lower side?" I didn't want to make them flat, so I had to come up with a different solution. Then I noticed how sharks look when they open their jaws, and I thought this might be a solution.
To my surprise, it worked. There were so many things that could have gone wrong, so I'm very happy it took such a short time to get it finished. I only had to start anew three times, which is okay since the wrong ways I took were quite short this time. I used only curves for its body for the first time, and this was the main reason it took three attempts.
To achieve shark-like movement, I decided to try a different approach with the joints in its body this time. Usually when I design a new FlexiDino, I design each joint based on the space available around it. With Chester, I tried a different approach. I designed the upper half of a joint as a positive body, then added as many instances as I could fit in the body, mirrored the segments, positioned them accordingly, and cut them out of the body.
This saved me a lot of time and had the advantage that I could modify every joint by just iterating the first instance. It also led to 18 segments of the body, which is much more than any other FlexiDino I have designed yet.
I also had to come up with a solution to connect the joints to each other in the gaps, as this is the first time that the segments of a FlexiDino don't attach to the build plate.
I can't stress this enough, so I'm going to write it down here: FlexiDinos are in no way suitable for small children. Parts can break off and leave sharp edges, so make sure your children are old enough to know what they're doing before letting them play with FlexiDinos!
This text was typed by a real human (me). Parts of it were reviewed and improved with deepl.com and chatgpt.com. No AI was used in the creation of the model.
Edit, 16. 3. 2026: Rewrote and rearranged parts of the description.
License:
Standard Digital File License
AndreasJoskaSutanto
