Hi guys,

new to the forum

little bit of about me (skip ahead if you don't give a rats patootie):
been playing around and following 3d printing technology for a couple of years now.
At my last job there was an eden printer, my first experience with 3dprinting. Loved the results, hated the maintenance. All printing was done inside a supportive gel (which smelled like cherries...was really hard to not think about eating it...) which meant a really nice finish over the entire printed part.
Last year i purchased a rep2 to play with. It seemed like the best choice, and was available at a local microsoft store. I was really happy with it, it was very easy to learn and although i went through a learning process and plenty of failed prints, i eventually figured out the appropriate parameters to my needs and got plenty of satisfactory print jobs done.
I returned the Rep2 after 2 weeks. Nothing was wrong with it, but i needed the money, and I had planned to return it from the very beginning, since it was just a trial. Besides, I was kind of set on the 2X for the dual extrusion and ABS filmanent.

So, why am i here?
Sometime in the near future i'm going to purchase a 3dprinter (for keepsies, not returnsies). I really liked my experience with the Replicator 2, so i'd like to stick with this brand. I have read plenty on the 5th generation to know that i shouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole. So the question is: Replicator 2 or 2x? I have read up on both and i'm leaning towards the 2x but i'm still not sure what best suits my needs, so i need a more experienced user to push me in the right direction.

My 3d printer need priorities, in descending order of importance:

1) resolution detail - more...MORE...MORE!!!!
2) ease of cleanup/support removal - would like to make molds and cast some of my prints.
3) mechanical properties - strength/durability - i'd like to make things that move, have gears, or levers.
4) ease of finishing: machining, sanding, painting

What makes me think the Replicator 2 is the right choice (and please correct me if i've mistaken on any of these points):

DETAIL
From what i've read, PLA can achieve sharper edges, and the Replicator 2 has a tendency to sag less on bridged components due to its fans. I know you can upgrade the 2x with fans to allow it to use PLA, but i wouldn't trust myself to do that while the machine is still new.

LESS PARTS = LESS MAINTENANCE
2 extruders means twice the chance that something can go wrong. In the 2 weeks with my Replicator 2 (printing about 8-12 hours per day), i can't recall any significant issue, but of course there's been down time here and there relating to the extruder. A 2X would mean double trouble.

DO I REALLY NEED DUAL EXTRUSION?
The biggest thing that attracted me the 2X is the fact that you can load the second extruder with a dissolvable filament. I know that most of my prints will be toy car bodies and chassis that would then be molded and casted, so it's important to have a clean underside to my prints. Making the supports in this material would really ease the cleaning process...or would it? I didn't find as much information on the web as i'd like regarding this filament, and i'm not sure how well it would suit my purpose. I really don't care about mixing filaments of different colors, except maybe for some glow in the dark parts.

What makes me think the Replicator 2X is the right choice:

DISSOLVABLE SUPPORTS
As mentioned above, this would be a real plus to my plans if it works as i imagine it to work.

ABS
Not so much a necessity, actually: I'm satisfied with my PLA prints but, on a more mechanical aspect, ABS seems more fun. Also, the whole acetone vapor thing looks really intriguing.

UPGRADEABILITY?
This one i'm not too sure about, but it seems to me that it would be easier to upgrade the 2X with fans to support PLA, than to upgrade a REP2 to support other materials.

What exactly do i plan to print??

this

(pardon size of pictures...i actually thought i reduced them more before upload)
the orange parts were made on a Replicator 2, the little white car on a friends ultimaker.

car bodies

On the left in white you see plastic injected car bodies, on the right 3d printed ones. Wall thickness is about 1.5mm to 2mm.
These toy cars are the scale i'll be mostly working with (about 100mm long), and i'd like to come as close as possible to match the plastic injected car's detail size/resolution.

Support removal

quite a pain to remove on the inside of the body, honestly. Alternatively i could split the body in a few parts, reduce the supports this way, and glue it together for molding, but i still would prefer to print the part in full, since it would be stronger this way and usable on my little race cars (which can run up to 40mph).

sanding

comparison of an unsanded and sanded body shells. I really didn't have that much trouble sanding pla, but from what i've read, ABS would be easier to sand/machine.

wing

Would be nice if the makerbot application would at least let you modify the shape and amount of supports in an area...

more details!!!

i'm aiming for a little bit more detail than this. I'm actually surprised that the ol' ultimaker picked up those grooves, but i would definitely like them to be sharper.

more than meets the eye

yup, he's a transformer...
Again, the ultimaker surprised me with its accuracy. Very little fidgeting and X-acto-knifing to get these parts to fit. Missing some details in the robot face and fist, which i'm hoping a properly tuned replicator 2 or 2X could do.
The orange parts were made a year ago, this little white guy (that's not racist!) was made this Christmas, when i forced my friend to bring his ultimaker over.

IN SUMMARY:
Should i get a Rep2 or 2X???

Thank you for your help, and sorry for the long post.

Merry belated Christmas and happy new year.