Slipgate device from Quake

3dprinting painting videogames 3dmodelling

The original Quake is one of my all time favorite games. Here's a highly detailed recreation of the teleportation slipgates from the game. This was my first big printing project on my new 3D printer and was a practice of brush painting miniatures. It stands at about 6cm tall.

ThumbnailThe 3d model was designed from scratch using various screenshots of the slipgates and a little bit of improvisation, while staying very true to the original.

Unfortunately this product taught me that resin-printed plastics can warp if they're too thin. You can only just see in the pictures, but the sides have warped a little (I tried to bend them back which resulted in the panel snapping). Here are some pictures of it printed, but unpainted:

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 I was also originally planning on this having internal LEDs that lit up and made noises, using an Arduino, but I sort of gave up on that idea once I realised the electronics were going to be small and fiddly.

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Overall, really happy with the level of detail this printer can do when you consider that this model is 6cm tall.

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If you want to try downloading and printing this for yourself, you can find it over on my MyMiniFactory page.

Updates to this entry

May '23

An STL of the Slipgate has been added to my MyMiniFactory page. You can grab the STL from here.

Recommended articles

Here's a few articles I recommend if you're looking for things similar to this one.

Icarus from Quake 2
Technician from Quake 2
Quake 2 Light Guard
The Edge from Quake 2

Who I am

I'm Blake and I like to tinker with things and make stuff. When I'm not programming or developing random systems, I'm playing with electronics, doodling bits of art, 3D modelling or sculpting and painting things or nerding out watching sci-fi or horror TV.

From 2001 I worked in the games industry, eventually specialising in tools to aid in the development of video games and their engines. In 2011 I left the industry and teamed up with a few other talented composers to utilise my knowledge to help build the company 'Spitfire Audio'.

I also periodically compose soundtracks for video-games and have worked on titles such as The Stanley Parable and Portal Knights. You've probably also heard my music in random TV commercials at some point.

What I'm using to create

I use various bits and bobs to craft my shiz.

  • Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra, Mars 3 Pro & Saturn 2 8k
  • Phrozen Sonic Mighty 4k & Mini 4k
  • Anycubic Photon LCD resin printer,
  • Phrozen Aqua Resin Grey 4k
  • Elegoo Resin Space Grey 8k
  • Phrozen Luna curing station
  • Vallejo Model Color, Game Air, various sets,
  • Iwata Eclipse HP-CS & Studio Smart Jet Pro Compressor,
  • Random cheapo airbrushes for base coats,
  • 3D Studio Max, ZBrush and Chitubox Pro.