3D Printed Portals for Arcadia Quest

When my friend mentioned he had a 3D while playing Arcadia Quest for the first time, I dipped into my bookmarks of thingiverse files that I'd saved for just such an occasion. I sent him a shortlist, and he decided these portals would be a good place to start.

This is my first experience at the crossroads of 3D printing and boardgame bling.

A week later, he handed my a bag of eight portals when I arrived to game night (Dune: Imperium, great game btw).

I went home and got started on them the next day.

Not pictured: The giants rafts I had to carefully pry off without snapping the portal rings.

Using needle nose pliers, I pulled off as much as I could grab from the bottom. But there were plenty of strings left and a few stubborn raft bits. I tested the raft scraps in a cup of mineral spirits to see if they would melt or soften so I could smooth some of the stratification, but it didn't seem to do much. 

Next, I blasted them with the heat gun on high, and that quickly took care of the strings, and almost went too far as the portal rings themselves became squishy and slightly warped while handling them!

Before Heat Gun

After Heat Gun

So I waited for them to cool off, then sand the remaining raft bits off the bottom by rubbing them over 80 grit sandpaper until smooth. A dip in the mineral spirits removed all the dust, because I still had it sitting there, but probably was unnecessary.

Then I did a test fit of the cardboard portals, and found some fit, but most were snug in places and not perfectly round. To help prevent the edges of the cardboard from getting chewed up, I used a Dremel to enlarge the openings.

Time to paint!

Sanding with 80 grit

Some fit, but most don't

After Dremeling

All painted up. I did a few with some color variation on the stones, but didn’t love it. The dark green tentacles were the first ones I painted, but it kind of looks like vines. After that, I started experimenting with blues and purples. They’re all unique colors, but I did my best to avoid a rainbow color scheme. 

My favorite has got to be the fluorescent green. First time trying that paint out and I can’t wait to find more reasons to use it!