‘Doctor Who’ Fan 3D Prints & Finishes Unbelievable Peter Capaldi Bust on Form 1+ 3D Printer

Cain’s final 3D printed and painted bust

Doctor Who is a British television series that originated back in the early 1960s. Running for 26 seasons, from 1963 to 1989, the show started up again in 2005 and has been running strong ever since. Celebrating its 50th anniversary last year, Doctor Who is heralded as the longest-running science-fiction television show of all time. The twelfth incarnation (depending how you count) of the Doctor is played by actor Peter Capaldi, who has played numerous other roles over the years in series such as The Thick of It. He also won an Academy Award in 1994 for Best Live Action Short Film for his movie, Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life.

There are plenty of fans of Capaldi, notably for his role as the Doctor in Doctor Who, but no fan has come up with quite as unique of a tribute for the show as that which James Cain created.

Editing in ZBrush

Using his design ability, along with Formlabs’ Form 1+ 3D printer, he created a metallic looking bust of Peter Capaldi, one which looks as though it would be something you would find in a museum.

“The project started as fan art to commemorate the end of the new Doctor Who series,” James Cain tells 3DPrint.com. “I’m a big fan of Peter Capaldi and he has a great face for sculpting! The sculpt itself was done completely in Zbrush and took about half a week to complete. Once complete, I shell and split the model into 3 parts (still in Zbrush). This is because I can get a bigger print, use less resin in places, cut the chances of print failure and have surfaces where I can put my supports which won’t be visible on the final assembled print.”

Cain, who has had his Form 1+ SLA-based 3D printer for a few months now, has been loving the technology behind it. While he tells us it took him a little getting used to at first, he has finally built up enough confidence to create unique pieces of art such as this incredible Doctor Who bust. He printed the bust using 0.1mm layers, which is the lowest resolution that the Form 1+ is capable of printing with.

“This reduces the chances of failure at this size,” Cain tells us. “The layers on the Form1+, even at this resolution are still superior and on large objects there will not be much difference between 0.05mm and 0.1mm.”

Each part took Cain between four and five hours to print. Once they were all printed, he removed the printed supports, sanded down any rough spots, and filled/repaired the print where needed.

3D printing the bust on a Form 1+ 3D printer

“This can take a while and requires a bit of patience,” Cain explained. “Otherwise you can ruin hours of printing — I know this from past experience! I then assemble the parts, prime them with black primer and then a coat of metallic polish.”

Prior to coating the print.

Cain uses a product called Rub ‘n Buff, which comes in 14 different wax-metallic finishes and can be purchased for as low as $5.49. He tells us that he is still refining his method of going from 3D design to end product. However, from the looks of things, it appears as though he already has.

Unfortunately for fans of Doctor Who, Cain has no plans on creating any more of these prints. “I have no plans to reproduce the print, I like that it’s a one off individual piece,” he tells us.

What do you think of this 3D printed bust of Peter Capaldi? Discuss in the 3D Printed Peter Capaldi forum thread on 3DPB.com.  Check out some more photos below.