3D Printing Doll Things

I was debating what I wanted to post next on, now that I'm back to everyday blogging, when Mr. BTEG presented me with a couple of doll items that he made for me with his 3D printer. That made me happy, and my choice of post easy. But I'm going to start at the beginning of my experience with 3D printing for dolls, for those of you who haven't been reading me for years, or don't recall previous posts.

In January of 2016, I tagged along with Mr. BTEG at a technical conference he was attending. The conference happened to conveniently be held at a large indoor waterpark, which especially in a NE Ohio winter, is very appealing. Mr. BTEG had already started exploring his interest in 3D printing, and he pointed me to a website called Thingiverse, where I discovered that the late lamented Makies Lab had put up several free downloads for prints, including a tea set. The conference offered free 3D prints, so Mr. BTEG had them make the tea set for me. As you'll see, the set is very primitive compared to some of the other things that I'm going to show you, but just being able to have something printed for your doll like that *snaps* was still very exciting. Here's Meg, my only Makie, holding the tea pot from that set.

Then Mr. BTEG invested in a lower-end 3D printer of his own in January 2018! I had no idea how hard it was to set up a 3D printer to make a suitable print. It can take hours to make sure the printer lays down filament correctly, so that the filament doesn't get shifted, and throw the whole print out of whack. Here's a couple of examples of common prints made to test your 3D printer.

The above are blocks printed out to test the X, Y and Z axis of a print. The background is one of my Barbie diorama walls, so you can see that the blocks are fairly small. I hope you can also see the "shadow" of the Y on the middle block, which meant the Y axis needed some work on that particular print.

The piece above is called a "benchy," and is also apparently known as "The jolly 3D printing torture-test." Obviously, you don't print this out until you're a bit more confident in how your printer is configured. You can visit 3DBenchy.com to check out all the creative things people do with benchy prints. It's also the source for my quote above.

Come see what else he made below the fold!

Chapter Seven: Tea and Talk

Chenonceaux was not a very large village. For Marchen, the important feature of the area was the Chateau Chenonceau, where Cinderella had gone to her ball. Although Addi grumbled about feeling like a tourist, Sig insisted that they see the chateau before arriving for their meeting with Philippe-Emmanuel at the cafe.

"We should see such an important site in Marchen lore," Sig argued. "Humor me."

Addi knew that, underneath her protests, Sig understood that she really did want to see the castle as they passed near. She'd sometimes been embarrassed about her keen interest in the greater Marchen world. Most of her clan never worried much about fairy stories outside of keeping their own internal secrets safe, though children of her people were told of the fairy stores that had happened in their own deep woods. Strictly speaking, Addi didn't know if any member of her home village had actively been involved in of the recorded stories. Humans who had the ability, or misfortune, to become wolves, generally did not talk about what they did when in lupine form. Addi was never entirely sure if she was relieved or disappointed that only males of her kind could take on wolf shape.

Sig and Addi had no problem finding their meeting destination. Philippe-Emmanuel was seated at a table in the quietest corner of the cafe patio, with a slender girl.

"She looks so much like you," Sig murmured as they approached.

"Our clans are all pretty intermingled," said Addi. She smiled a toothy smile at Sig. "And we all have some lupine features."

Philippe-Emmanuel rose with his usual courtesy as they approached. "May I present Mademoiselle Mathilde Louv? Monsieur and Mademoiselle Sigismund and Adolfina Jaeger." He glanced down at Mathilde, then added, "I need to speak to the owner of the cafe, if you will excuse me."

Sig was glad that he understood the Ulfer language that the two girls proceeded to use. He wasn't going to miss a word of this conversation. He squeezed Addi's hand under the table to remind her to stay composed.

"Philippe-Emmanuel told us that you have been working in with a group called the League of the Fey," Addi said slowly to Mathilde.

"I have, unofficially," Mathilde replied defensively. She glanced toward the cafe door before turning back and continuing, her voice lowered. "You have to understand, the fairy who lives in this village is probably the most powerful fairy in Gaul. She is the head of this group of fairies, creatures with innate powers, and the League as a whole answers to no one in greater Marchen society."

"And is this powerful League antagonistic toward Marchenkind?" asked Sig.

Mathilde shrugged. "As far as I can sense, no. Obviously, I wouldn't be told directly if they had ill intentions towards the greater Marchen world. Even so, the fairy who makes her home here, Isabelle Follet, seems to me only to be interested in maintaining order and accountability among the fairy folk. She's the descendant, of course, of one of the most famous fairies in Marchen lore, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother." She glanced toward the cafe again before continuing, "She, Isabelle, does things that I think are unethical... but I won't discuss any of that out in the open."

"What about Philippe-Emmanuel, then? How does he fit into all this?" asked Addi.

"I'm not entirely sure," said Mathilde, frowning. "He says he's a Marchen, has Marchen knowledge, and is very good friends with Isabelle. I'm not quite sure what story he fits into, if he fits into any story. Of course, people like us," gesturing to Addi, "and hunters like you, Sig, belong in the Marchen world because our ancestors belonged in the Marchen world. It's all in the family, so to speak. Philippe-Emmanuel? His parents are dead, but he was brought up well, and has a small estate to manage. He doesn't seem to have any fairy in his ancestry, but somehow got to know Isabelle, and helps her with Fey business."

"Who is the guardian of Cinderella's story?" Addi asked.

"She's a direct descendant of Cinderella. Her father is the King of Orleans, this region. The chateau here is a summer home."

Addi saw Philippe-Emmanuel returning to their table before she could ask any more questions. She turned to him instead. "What is our next step? We would like to meet Isabelle, of course."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. Isabelle has confided in me her own suspicions about the strange circumstances recently, and since the two of you are in deep enough from your own explorations, it would be beneficial to all of us to compare notes about what you know."

Sig asked ingenuously, "And are you the keeper of the story of Cinderella?"

Philippe-Emmanuel started slightly. "What? Oh, no. I believe my family is like all of yours, steeped in Marchen traditions. There were farmers in the stories, as well as hunters and..." he paused and cleared his throat. "Isabelle told me she would like to meet tomorrow morning, when you feel refreshed. So perhaps we should discuss where you two should stay tonight."

"Of course Addi and Sig must stay with my people tonight," Mathilde said firmly. "Ulfer law demands that we must always offer hospitality to other Ulfer, and to their friends and companions."

Addi thought that Philippe-Emmanuel did not look happy about the other three being able to have their own conversation for the entire evening, but people who knew Ulfer knew better than to argue about their ways. And Mathilde's dictate was actually completely true. Perhaps, thought Addi, she was making too much of his possible concern. She herself didn't trust Philippe-Emmanuel yet, nor did she trust Mathilde completely. Ulfer were generally fiercely loyal to their own above all, but Addi was not naive enough to think that any one of her kind was completely beyond treachery or deceit. She knew Sig was smart enough to be aware of that too.

"Thank you for a lovely tea, Monsieur," Addi smiled. "When and where do we meet tomorrow?"

Philippe-Emmanuel hesitated. "We wanted more privacy, so we could talk openly... but Isabelle was not sure you would feel safe meeting at her home. She thought perhaps a hike and a picnic lunch. At the top of that hill." He pointed at the hill rising just beyond the town.

Addi and Sig glanced at each other. It was basic fairy lore that fairies generally favored gathering at the top of hills, and sometimes even made fortresses for themselves there. On the other hand, fairies also had power near rivers, and this town sat neatly beside one. She and Sig would object to meeting at her home, and at least on the hilltop, they would be able to observe if anyone was nearby to overhear. Addi closed and opened her eyelids, letting Sig know she accepted this plan, and Sig announced their agreement to the other two.

"Until tomorrow, then," said Mathilde briskly, rising from the table. "I've arranged for one of my uncles to give us a ride to our little settlement. It's not very far away from the town, here."

Sig and Addi gathered their belongings, as Philippe-Emmanuel wished them a pleasant evening. Addi was already looking forward to what she wanted to learn from Mathilde.

Chapter Six: Meeting with a Stranger

"So what do we do now?" Sig asked Addi. They were eating their supper in a quiet corner of the dining room in a small inn in Normandie. They had already booked rooms for the night.

That afternoon, they had met with the current steward of the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast. It had been pleasant, if not particularly fruitful. Mademoiselle de Marche was a daughter of the Duke of Normandie, and was a descendant of Beauty and the Beast. Mademoiselle was about Addi and Sig's age, and was presently residing with her family at her father's country chateau.

Addi waited until the barmaid had set down their plates and walked away before replying to Sig's question. "Well, you've figured out what my own deductions are in regards to these apparent invasions into the realm of fairy tales, into our world."

Sig slowly nodded his head. He hadn't been able to completely hide his startled movement of revelation, after a comment the Mademoiselle de Marche made that afternoon. The young noblewoman seemed very intelligent, and also both forthright, and extremely proud of her family and all of its history, including the more hidden side.

"I did hear about a possible break-in at Roseraie," she'd said in a matter-of-fact manner. "But it's nonsense to think of anything at Roseraie that would be worth stealing, from a magical sense. My great-great-grandfather was under a curse cast by a witch with a knowledge of spellwork. Any witch could get hold of such a spell today if she found the right books, I imagine. But that has nothing to with anything at Roseraie. My poor double-great grandfather was only sent there so his curse would not embarrass the royal family."

"Of course you understand, however, that having just looked into a suspicious occurrence in the Bois de Bruyere, we felt it was too much of a coincidence not to investigate here," Addi replied smoothly.

"It's certainly odd timing, but then there's nothing of value at the ruins of Sleeping Beauty's castle either, is there? Even back then, the Marchen knew the danger of leaving famous magical artifacts around, even if the magic was spent. Nobody believes in magic any more, but evil magic workers still exist. It's our knowledge of that evil that matters now, people who hold the keys, not things."

Sig heard those words again in his mind, looking at Addi across the supper table. He spoke slowly, concentrating on finding the right words to express his as yet vague deductions.

"We Marchen keep our existence and knowledge within a very small community. Anyone who wanted to use magic for evil would benefit from discovering those who have held on to the old stories."

"Exactly. Any plans made by an evil fairy or witch would be hampered by the few groups who still know about fairies, witches and magic." Addi shivered. "I think someone is trying to flush out Marchen to eliminate them."

"So what do we do now," Sig said again. "Lie low here and wait for another suspicious incident? Explore Roseraie? Try to get back home?"

Addi subtly nudged Sig with her knee. "There's a young man in the doorway over there who seems to be looking for someone," she said, her face showing no expression. "I think he might... yes, he's headed towards us."

Addi's hand reached for the small dagger hidden beneath her tunic. Sig shifted ever so slightly so that he could access the long knife in his boot.

The young man was dressed plainly, but carried himself regally, and spoke with careful politeness. Surprisingly, he addressed them in the high dialect of their own region. "Might I have the privilege of joining you?"

Sig nodded curt approval, but still kept his hand under the table on his knife.

His voice low, the stranger said, "My name is Phillippe-Emmanuel Oiseau. I know who you are, because I am one of your number as well. However, I also occasionally work with a smaller group called the League of the Fey. The purpose of the League is support, and acquisition of knowledge. However, they also keep an eye on everyone of their own kind, even those like your new friend of a few days back, who have chosen not to use their gifts. This led them to learn of your investigations here in Gaul, and it was decided that it would be best to take you into their confidence, especially as the leaders of the League here are sure there will be more strange movements in the future."

"And how can we trust you?" asked Addi, giving every indication that she did not. "We have been directed to our new friends, as you put it, through some of my own kin. You, on the other hand, have appeared out of nowhere."

The stranger shrugged. "Very true. However, if you would care to undertake another short journey, I could arrange a small meeting not only with myself but someone you might be able to trust, a member of your own clan."

"And is this member of my clan involved with this other League?" Addi asked angrily. Ulfer were not supposed to be formally allied with anyone, even Marchen, outside of their own clans.

"The young lady has helped the League from time to time, but her relationship with them is very informal."

"And when and where would this meeting take place, if we decide to take you up on your offer?" Sig was very quiet and stiff.

"There is a popular open-air eatery called the Cafe de Chaussure Argente in the village of Chenonceaux, where I reside. My friend and I will be taking tea there tomorrow afternoon, and we would be delighted to have you join us. It should be an easy journey by carriage, and there is a lovely inn nearby if you cared to spend the evening." Phillippe-Emmanuel rose from his seat and bowed. "Au revoir."

Sig tried to speak casually, to hide the upset of this sudden meeting from a dining room of strangers. "I suppose my question has been answered, Sister of Mine. That is, if you agree we should take the trip."

"I at least want to know who this betrayer of my kin is," Addi snapped.

Sig sighed deeply. "I knew you'd see it like that. Addi, dear, listen to me," he added as Addi started to speak. "Don't let pride and anger cloud your judgement. We'll need our wits about us tomorrow. I know, I know," he added quietly, interrupting her again. "Your clan is everything to you, keeping your own secrets safe is your highest loyalty. I admire that, I really do, and I realize how important it is. Perhaps this member of your kin is helping to keep her small clan safe in her own way. There might be someone out there right now after all of us. Remember that."

Addi looked down at the table and toyed glumly with her spoon. She wanted to keep her own kin at home safe, and heading straight back there tomorrow might jeopardize that; she'd realized that already. She knew Sig was right; they'd have to be at their most alert and clear-minded, ready to find out new information or face possible danger.

Sig covered her hand with his. "Let's finish our supper and get some sleep. My bed looked really comfortable, and we could both use a good night's rest. Try not to snore so loudly tonight," he finished with a wink.

Addi smacked his arm, but smiled.