White Buffalo Calf with Mother Statue, Sacred Symbol of Native Culture

To the Tribal Nations of North America, there is nothing more sacred than the white buffalo calf. It is a creature of legend, but not myth. Its appearance symbolizes the manifestation of great abundance. The Lakota (Sioux) Tribe, originating in the Black Hills of South Dakota, tell the Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman, who taught the tribe that man need not struggle to survive; that good things come to those of good heart and steadfast faith.

If you would like to learn more about the legend, might I suggest this video, in which the story is told by Lakota Chief Avrol Looking Horse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHqVdZmpRgI

This statue of a mother and baby buffalo is particularly important to me. It is modeled after a similar statue that has stood on my home's fireplace mantle for many years. I hope that those of you who connect with the Spirit of tribal culture will admire it as much as I have.

PRINTING & PAINTING THE BUFFALO
It is going to require a paint job, but it's not a difficult one. I have only minor painting skills - a hobby much more than a talent. All I used was a sponge brush for most of it.

I printed the buffalo in brown to give it a good starting undercoat. Then I painted the fur white, and once dry, gave it a second coat in cream color. I used a light-rust (mixed orange and tan) on the rock formations in the back, again just tapping with a sponge brush. Last, I went over the horns, eyes and nose with dark brown, using a very small brush.

That's all it took, and the 3D printed white buffalo looks near enough to the original statue for my satisfaction. (See the pictures for comparison.) I can just imagine what people with genuine painting skills can do! With that in mind, please please share your makes, as I would absolutely love to see them!

DIMENSIONS
At 100% scale, the Buffalo Sculpture measures:

9.48 x 10.92 x 14.54cm
3.73 x 4.3 x 5.7in

If you were to scale him up 165%, it would be almost as large as the original figure from which it was modeled. Of course, you'll be awaiting somewhere around 3 days for that print to finish. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to. I'll let you know how that goes and add pictures when the time comes.

Enjoy!

If you like the Buffalo Mother & Calf Sculpture, please check out our ever-growing portfolio of STL models.

• https://www.cults3d.com/en/users/GetPrinted3D/creations

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UPDATE: You might NOT need supports for this after all! I printed another buffalo at 125% and forgot to add supports. It came out perfect - didn't even have sagging issues. I was so shocked, I took a photo of it and uploaded it as proof (see images above).

If you try this and your printer isn't able to handle it without supports, then I recommend the original settings posted below.

ORIGINAL RECOMMENDED SETTINGS:
You will need supports for this model. I personally recommend Cura's Tree Supports for this job. Just make sure they're tuned well for easy removal. I was left with no scars outside of a small area at the tip of the nose, which came right off with clippers and disappeared under the paint job.

At these settings, the print took about 12 hours and came out very clean.

Layer Quality: 0.16
Infill: 15%
Walls: 2
Speed: 80mm/s
Supports: Yes (or not, see UPDATE above)
Plate Adhesion: None