3D printing needed

I have a model boat 57 inches long, files in STL. I need someone to print this.

are you hoping to have the boat printed in one piece, or are the STL files of a segmented model?

There are 3 files: The hull, rear superstructure and pilot house. The hull could be low resolution, rear superstructure and pilot house in higher resolution.

It sounds as though the 47 inches would be the length of the hull. That's going to require a rather large printer, unless you can accept segmenting and gluing of the printed parts. A fellow makerspace member printed a vessel that was about thirty inches long, split up into ten inch pieces. It's obvious where the joins are located but after sanding and painting, it's invisible (mostly). The segmenting aspect is relatively easy. There are a number of programs that can accomplish it. The makerspace boat builder wasn't comfortable with slicing up his boat model, so I chopped it into manageable sections and he printed, glued, sanded and painted the project.

Do you require special filament or are you happy with PLA? PLA won't take sitting in a hot car without deforming, but otherwise is an inexpensive option.

Model is 57 inches. Thought about PLA but need something more stable as this is an R/C model. FDM for the hull and SLA for the rest probably.

FDM is a method of 3D printing, as is SLA. One is filament deposition, the other stereolithography, sometimes called MSLA for masked stereolithography. FDM or FFF printing has a variety of materials that can be used. PLA, ABS, PETG, nylon, TPU and a few more exotic types. MSLA uses a liquid resin which is cured by UV (or rarely, daylight) light and has fewer choices. There are casting resins designed to be burned out in the process of creating jewelry and other cast items. There are some variations in the hardness (and brittleness) of these resins.

I'd expect that if you are building a fifty-seven inch long boat that you don't need the detail level that MSLA would provide, although you'd have the capability for scale rivet heads on the metal bulkheads. Depending on the model, you could save a good bit by having the hull and superstructure made from PLA or other FDM material and having panels done with MSLA resin for the detail, then glue the panels in place.

There's a lot of flexibility in 3D printing and design that should provide you with the model you desire.

I'll pop you a direct message with an email address. You can send the model and I can respond more intelligently and less broadly if you can share the parts. I'm not in this for an income, it's just one of my hobbies. I like to have practical objectives for my 3D printing projects.

Thanks for everyone's interest, I have found a printer!