28/12/2025
As we roll toward the end of the year, I wanted to take a moment to share one of the biggest projects I’ve taken on — and reflect on what went into it.
This all started when I found a free Charizard model on Thingiverse (I’ll link the original file here out of respect for the creator). I’d printed a few multicolour versions on my ANYCUBIC Kobra 3 V2 setup and people absolutely loved them. One of those people happened to be my old manager from the Jaycar Electronics Adelaide CBD store, who’s a massive Charizard fan. He asked the big question:
“Could we do a large one for the store?”
Originally, the dream was life-size — roughly five feet tall with a four-metre wingspan. Reality quickly stepped in. There simply wasn’t room in the store, or for customers, if we went that big. After measuring unused space on the pelmet above the shelves, we landed on the largest practical size: around 70cm tall, with a ~1.5m wingspan. Still massive. Still impressive. Game on.
To make this possible on standard printers, I scaled the model and ran it through LuBan, which allows large models to be split for smaller build plates. I based everything around the smallest printer we had access to (Neptune 4), resulting in 56 individual pieces, each roughly 22 × 22 × 25cm max. Luban also let me add locating pins and automatically label each piece with X/Y/Z references — a lifesaver during assembly.
From there, everything went into OrcaSlicer, and I prepared files for every printer we had access to:
Elegoo Neptune 4, Centauri Carbon, Anycubic Kobra 3, Kobra S1, and a Creality K1-C.
That meant 56 pieces × 5 printer profiles, so we could print anything on anything, anytime. A lot of prep — but it paid off.
All pieces were printed with ~25% lightning infill to keep material use down while maintaining strength. The printers ran non-stop for about two weeks, including overnight prints with the store powered on to avoid failed jobs. Some parts were quick; others ran 18+ hours. It was full production mode.
Once printing was finished, everything went into boxes (plural — one box was not enough), into the car, and home to the shed for assembly. At the time I was working 38 hours a week, with a 1-hour drive each way, so progress happened mostly on weekends and the occasional quiet hour after work.
Assembly involved dry-fitting, sanding every mating face, sanding all locating pins, then supergluing and reinforcing joints with plastic weld staples. Those staples were later trimmed flush and ground down with a Dremel so nothing protruded.
From there came a lot of sanding. Orbital sanding from roughly 80–400 grit (in hindsight, I’d start at 120 next time), hand-sanding tight areas, then filling seams using a powdered interior wall filler mixed into a workable paste. This became a long loop of fill → sand → fill → sand until everything was uniform.
I used a black guide coat to reveal low spots, followed by filler primer (more than one can), sanding between coats until the surface was right.
Painting came next:
- Belly: heirloom white
- Wing interiors: blue-teal
- Body: orange (two full cans)
Each colour was masked and sprayed in proper coats, with careful curing time between stages. To avoid lifting paint, I de-tacked masking tape by sticking it to my shirt before applying it — old trick, still works.
All details — eyes, mouth, claws, and the tail flame — were hand painted. The flame was built up with a red base and dry-brushed yellow highlights. No clear coat was used; since it’s indoors, out of sunlight, and on display only, it wasn’t necessary and I preferred the finish without it.
From start to finish, this ran mid-August to December 23rd — just in time for Christmas.
During this period, I was also dealing with health issues and eventually stepped back to casual work, which gave me more time to push through the final stages. Probably should’ve rested more — but I’m not great at sitting still. Creating beats doing nothing.
Transport day was… tense. The wingspan barely fit into my fiancée’s SUV. My Mazda had no chance. But it made it — and Charizard is now on display at Jaycar Adelaide CBD. If you’re nearby, go have a look.
This project took a serious amount of time, effort, problem-solving, and learning. There are things I’d do differently next time — and plenty I’ll carry forward. But seeing people’s reactions, and knowing it sparks a bit of childhood nostalgia, makes every late night worth it.
As the year wraps up, I’m genuinely grateful — for the opportunity, the support, and the chance to build things that make people smile. Next year, I’m planning more original models, potentially life-size starter Pokémon, and continuing work on a life-size Halo Flood Pod Infector form that’s already underway.
If there’s something you’d love to see built — Pokémon, Halo, or otherwise — let me know. I do this because I love it.
Here’s to wrapping up the year doing what I enjoy, and building even bigger things next year.
Charizard File: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4750833
