1,000 Parts to 1/16 Scale: The Making of the Deep Vanguard Model
Following our work on the Endurance model last year, we returned to the Goodwood Festival of Speed’s Future Labs space with a brand-new engineering challenge: producing a massive 1/16th scale model of the incredible Deep Vanguard Subsea Habitat.
Bringing a cutting-edge underwater habitat out of the ocean depths and onto the display floor meant translating an incredibly complex, full-scale industrial structure into a precise, high-fidelity physical model. Here is a look behind the scenes at how we tackled the build.
Streamlining a Massive Industrial CAD Model
The digital asset we started with was built for real-world manufacturing, containing thousands of individual parts down to every single nut, bolt, and internal structural member. Printing a model at this scale requires completely different geometry than building the real thing. Our first major hurdle was an intensive digital cleanup—stripping out hidden elements, merging overlapping components, and preparing the files so they could actually be processed by our slicing software without compromising visual accuracy.
Welded Metal to PLA
The real Deep Vanguard relies on heavy welded metal fabrication for structural integrity. While welding works beautifully at full scale, those thin joints don’t naturally translate to 3D-printed PLA. We had to re-engineer dozens of structural connections, thickening key stress points and designing custom internal joints to ensure the model was robust enough to support its own weight and survive transport.
Scaling Up the Print Volume
This model is genuinely huge. With dimensions pushing nearly a meter in width and depth, the build demanded hundreds of hours of continuous print time. Managing the print queue was a logistical jigsaw puzzle; our machines ran non-stop for weeks, with some of the largest structural components taking over three days straight on a single printer.
Capturing Depth and Realism
To make a model feel truly “to scale,” it needs to look like a functioning machine rather than a solid plastic block. We paid specific attention to two key areas:
- The Exo-Skeleton: Replicating the protective frame wrapping around the central hull required incredibly clean prints with minimal layer lines, ensuring the geometric cage lined up perfectly during final assembly.
- Window Depth: To avoid a flat, toy-like appearance, we designed the habitable space’s windows using a layered technique. By combining different physical finishes with deep shadow fills behind the glass, we simulated the illusion of a vast, hollow interior space filled with equipment.
Perfecting the Details and Color Match
The visual identity of the Deep Vanguard relies heavily on its striking signature apple green color. We went through rigorous testing to find and calibrate the exact filament and paint finishes that accurately matched Deep’s branding. From there, it was a matter of post-processing and assembling the sea of tiny components—from the heavily bolted silver hatches to the micro-scale exterior detailing—to maintain a high level of density across the entire build.
The Final Push
As with any high-profile exhibition piece, time was our final adversary. Balancing CAD re-engineering, endless print cycles, meticulous sanding, painting, logo application, and final assembly left zero margin for error.
Credits
Seeing the completed Deep Vanguard model sitting in the Future Labs space made every late night worth it. A huge thank you to Charlie Brenninkmeijer (Instagram / Website) for beautifully capturing the model under the show lights.