Tintin Moon Rocket - Moon version

I continue my streak of classic comic inspired 3D statues / dioramas / sculptures (more are in the works, be sure to follow if you want to be notified). This time around I decided to create my personal interpretation of the classic red moon rocket from Tintin Destination Moon. A famous story that captured my imagination as a kid.

This model is a multi color model but does not require the MMU add-on. All pieces are color separated, then printed and glued together.

As always, if you end up printing this model please post a make! You'll make my day and put a smile on my face for sure. :)

Printing instructions and notes:

• Print in PLA.
• I recommend either printing the gcode files directly, or loading and slicing the provided 3mf files with the included supports. They are hand-tailored to get optimal results.
• Larger parts are 0.2 mm layer height.
• Smaller detailing parts are 0.10 mm layer height.
• Remember to wear eye-protection when removing the supports! This is of course a tip for all 3D printing, not just this model.
• When printing the white fuselage parts, DO NOT MIX THEM TOGETHER WHEN REMOVING THEM FROM THE BUILT PLATE! Be sure to collect them in 3's as they are laid out. This way it is much easier to figure out what vertical red indentation each piece fits into. If you do accidentally mix them together, don't fret! Each piece only fits perfectly at one level. Just make sure the “flat” part is facing downwards.

About this model

The idea to create this model actually came from a colleague of mine. I had completely forgotten about this comic and I immediately realized it would be the perfect model for some color separated printing. I am becoming quite a fan of this technique, as my Garfield model is a great example of. And the red fuselage with the white squares seem like a perfect fit.

At first I just wanted to create the rocket itself. But I quickly realized that I had to go beyond that. So I created a small moon surface for the rocket to “land on”. And naturally I then also had to add the ladder and a tiny Tintin and Haddock in front of the rocket. Although you can't really see who is who, it is them, I promise.

I considered adding Snowy as well, but due to his size I decided to pretend he is off to the side sniffing for a suitable moon rock instead. It was a bit of a stretch for my printer to even print these tiny astronauts. :)

My main gripe with this model is the lack of color diversity. The problem with moon surface and rocks is that they don't exactly radiate with complimentary color balanced beauty. You can consider printing the rock in a dark green instead of brown like I did. That might somewhat alleviate this “problem”. Or perhaps place it on a green table - that would also work well I think.

A version of this model taking off from Earth is available here. The rocket is interchangeable between the two (although the loading bay door is closed in the Earth version), so you don't have to print two rockets if you want to switch back and forth between the Earth and Moon versions.