So as I mentioned a while back, the 3D printed control vanes that Shapeways did came out really nice, but wind up costing about $84 to print for one model. I was trying to find a cheeper way to have them printed. The vertical vanes could be built up out of styrene sheet, as was done on the original, but unless you've got a couple of Sealab kits lying around for the crane parts, the horizontal vanes could be a bit of a problem.
RPF member Gus76 was kind enough to try printing the parts on his Form2 3D printer to see if that would be a viable way of producing the parts at a lower price point than Shapeways. Gus has a wealth of knowledge in this area and anyone that's seen his Falcon vents or X-Wing cockpit (wow!) know how good his Form 2 prints are. He printed the vanes both as three separate parts and as one single assembly. As nice as the surface quality is with the Form2, it just doesn't look like a viable way to go. The parts are way too fragile to ship safely and prone to warping if left on a hot doorstep in the heat. For now, going with donor parts (or castings) and/or Shapeways looks like the best way t o go.
Here's a shot of the version Gus printed as three separate parts, then primed and glued together. Again the surface quality is great but it's fragile. The scalloped leading edge on the vertical vane and t he little nubbins on the ring are artifacts of the printing supports and could be easily removed with a few swiped of a jewelers file.
And here's the all-in-one vane assembly as it comes out of the printer with the supports still in place, and with the supports trimmed away. As with the first one, there would still be a bit of clean on the support nubbins, but again, super fragile. Just not practical.
So once I've triple checked the fit of the 3D modeled parts against the cast tail shrouds I'll be posting STL files for people that want to have them printed at Shapeways (or want to try printing themselves) and 2D patterns for people that want to cut out styrene versions.