Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the recent blockbuster the Wolf of Wall Street, travels the world in his luxurious yacht, Nadine, gallivanting and carousing and, eventually sinking.
In order to prepare for shooting the yacht scenes and for the digital animation that would go with it, the film’s director, Martin Scorsese, requested an accurate, physical model.
To fulfill that time-sensitive task, the production company enlisted the Connecticut-based rapid prototyping firm InterPRO.
InterPRO was given a vast number of 3D animation models of the ship, with hundreds of thousands of 2D surfaces.
These incredibly detailed models were perfect for animation, but almost unusable for 3D printing.
But, refusing to be beaten, the firm, led by owner and founder, Kevin Dyer, set about making the files suitable for 3D printing, cutting away superfluous details and sealing the model for 3D printing purposes.
In order to meet the tight deadline, InterPRO went about saving print time by cutting the model into two pieces and printing them separately on two SLA-5000 industrial 3D printers from 3D Systems.
The two pieces were then fused together using the same UV curing, SLA process. Some minor sanding removed any support structures that the crew implemented.
Finally, after the application of primer and a light coat of paint, the model of Nadine was brought to the set of production, where Scorsese was able to adequately plan the makings of a great scene.
