EDUstick® Creators Club
Mosaic-shell turtle
Flat 9 × 7 cm turtle with four large shell panels, a head, and four legs. Two colors of one PLA, one color change. After cooling, check that it can be moved as one piece with no loose panels.
Your outcome: Join the outline to the colored panels and keep the piece integral.
Illustration of the finished construction. Full-size (1:1) templates are supplied on a separate sheet.
Session 1 • stage 1/5
Build the frames for the four panels
Choose two PLA colors: A and B. On shared W01, the letters—not the gray lines—determine the color. Begin with A on W01, checked at 100% scale. Work flat on the mat throughout. Lay three adjacent strands along the upper half of the oval, bonding their sides. Continue around the lower half to close the outline.
Make the horizontal and vertical dividers from three strands as well. Bond every end to the frame. At the crossing, join to the side of the existing junction; do not run a strand over it. The result is one layer, about 1.2 mm thick, with frames about 3 mm wide.
Check: The oval is closed. The four large panels share continuous, gap-free frames.
If it does not work: Fill gaps with fresh PLA against the strand sides, always on the mat.
Parts and methods for this stage
1 × Turtle · shared A/B template · PLA
• template W01
Shared W01 shows the whole turtle. Use color A for the outline, dividers, head, legs, and A sections; fill the B sections only after the single color change. Bond each new strand side-to-side with the previous one in a single layer.
Frame and two dividers
Turtle · shared A/B template
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 2/5
Add the head and four legs
From the right side of the shell, draw the head outline as shown in W01. Fill it with short strands side by side and fuse the whole base to the side of the frame. Make the first upper-left leg the same way: outline from frame to frame, fill it, and fuse the base across a wide area. Repeat for the other three legs.
Keep everything on the mat in the same layer. At the frame, run fresh PLA up to its side; do not cover the finished edge from above.
Check: Both dividers from stage 1 remain inside the shell. One head and four legs connect to the shell through wide, solid bases. No mat is visible through the bases.
If it does not work: Fill the gap at the supported base. Do not replace it with a connection at the tip of a single strand.
Repeat for the other three legs
Turtle · shared A/B template
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 3/5
Fill two sections with color A
In the upper-right section, start at the center divider. Lay short strands from one frame to the other and fuse both ends to their sides. Lay each next strand right beside the previous one; fuse them along their full shared length. After the three strands shown, repeat until you reach the curve.
Fill the entire lower-left section the same way. Close the last short strands at the outline. Leave the other two sections empty.
Check: In the two opposite sections, no mat is visible between the strands. The fill is attached to the frames along the whole edge.
If it does not work: Close any gaps and strand ends with color A before changing color.
Repeat across the entire upper-right and lower-left sections
Turtle · shared A/B template
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 4/5
Change color and start section B
Keep the turtle flat on the mat. Following the pen instructions, change from A to B of the same PLA. Extrude the transition strand onto a clear area of the mat, away from the turtle. Once color B flows evenly, make the first three strands in the top-left section next to the divider.
Bond their sides to the A frames and to each other, without adding a second layer.
Check: All three B strands are bonded at both ends to the A frame and side-to-side to each other.
If it does not work: Fill any gaps at the joins with B. Remove the transition strand outside the model only after it has cooled.
Parts and methods for this stage
1 × Upper-left B panel · PLA
• template follow the written method
After the single color change, fill the section with bonded strands against the frames, in the same plane. Each strand is about 1.2 mm wide and 1.2 mm thick. Finished cross-section [mm]: 1.2 × 1.2. Support: The entire panel on the flat mat, inside the existing frames. Strand direction: From the cross-divider toward the panel edge, lay short adjacent segments between the frame and divider. Cooling: Keep the entire turtle on the mat until cool; do not lift the fresh panel. Tip access: Access from above, with the tip over the mat beside the existing PLA.
Stage outcome
Upper-left B panel
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.
Session 1 • stage 5/5
Finish the B mosaic
Continue the bonded strands to the edge of the top-left section. Fill the entire bottom-right section the same way. Close each final strand against the frame curve. Do not switch back to A. Leave everything flat until fully cool. Use the finished turtle as a decoration.
Check: All four large sections are filled; the frames, strands, and wide bases form one flat turtle. Once cool, it can be moved as one piece.
If it does not work: Close any gaps in B; use B for spot repairs as well, without a second color change.
Parts and methods for this stage
1 × Lower-right B panel · PLA
• template follow the written method
After the single color change, fill the section with bonded strands against the frames, in the same plane. Each strand is about 1.2 mm wide and 1.2 mm thick. Finished cross-section [mm]: 1.2 × 1.2. Support: The entire panel on the flat mat, inside the existing frames. Strand direction: From the cross-divider toward the panel edge, lay short adjacent segments between the frame and divider. Cooling: Keep the entire turtle on the mat until cool; do not lift the fresh panel. Tip access: Access from above, with the tip over the mat beside the existing PLA.
Finish both remaining B sections
Lower-right B panel · Upper-left B panel
Blue / dark emphasis: the part used in this action. Arrows: visual guides. Illustration not to scale.