Belugatastic

thingiverse

Belugatastic! Beluga Whale stands proudly on an ocean stand, topped with a fuzzy brimmed hat. Printed approximately 200mm (8 inches) tall. A heartwarming tale of perseverance and creative problem-solving: My friend's daughter needed a Beluga Whale about 8" long for her science project, but her mom's efforts to purchase one were unsuccessful. I decided to use my 3D printer to create the Beluga, but I couldn't find a suitable STL file anywhere. All paid options were over $200! Undeterred, I fired up Meshmixer and started working on the whale from scratch. However, my wife pointed out that Belugas actually resemble dolphins more than whales. Eureka! I had an epiphany. I grabbed a dolphin model (Dolphin for Tabletop Gaming by mz4250) and modified it to create a Beluga-like creature. I removed the dolphin's face and fins, added bulk, and adjusted its body and tail to make it printable without supports. Voilà! The result was a magnificent Beluga Whale. While printing, I realized that a Beluga needs an ocean to call home. That's when I discovered Ocean in a Box by Alexlarkin. I cut out a chunk of the ocean model, subtracted the Beluga from it, and voilà! Instant stand! The ocean was printed in Hatchbox Blue PLA, while the Beluga was printed in Hatchbox White PLA. As I added the eye with black paint marker, I realized that the Beluga needed a fashionable outfit – specifically, a top hat. However, how would a Beluga wear a top hat? I stretched and adjusted the design until it sat perfectly on the whale's head. I even added some modeling clay to give the hat weight and adhesion. The result was a stunning Beluga with a fuzzy brimmed top hat. In the ocean, waving hello to its friends – perhaps a narwhal or two. I printed all components in PLA, without supports for the Beluga, but with supports for the top hat. The resulting print had a beautiful shiney finish. Print settings: 200/60 .15mm layer, 60mm/s. I noticed that the Ocean in A Box model had too many faces; it could be optimized for faster printing, but I included it as is. Thanks to Freasy for pointing out the original base file's lack of optimization. For future prints, I've reduced the mesh and replaced the Beluga_base with a new version – now 20% of the original file size! If you enjoy this creation and want to buy me a cup of coffee, please use [Paypal me](https://www.paypal.me/bazzelworks). Cheers!