[hinterlands]

I've done some projects like that, although not with as many parts! I think the main disappointment that awaits the author is that within two years or so, the epoxy will turn yellow. These resins are unfortunately not UV-stable, even if kept in a reasonably well-lit area indoors (bookshelf, etc).

There are resins you can use for projects like that if you want them to last, but they're less fun to work with.

[fellerts]

Modern epoxies often claim to be UV stabilized, and as far as I can tell, this is a relatively recent advancement. For reference, I used Entropy CCR (slow cure) for the final model: https://entropyresins.com/product/ccr-clear-casting-epoxy/

I guess we'll wait and see!

[hinterlands]

We had UV-stabilized resins for the past two decades or so, but it just slows down the process. I used several UV-stabilized products and it just doesn't last.

For the UV-stable options, you have polyesters (which are very smelly) and premium aliphatic polyurethanes (which are finicky to work with).

[hunter-gatherer]

Would putting some UV filter glass, the kind often used in museums, work to protect it the resin? I'm wondering if you fixed a glass casing around it that way... granted you'd have corner seems for the glass though

[cyberax]

Maybe a cylindrical glass instead?

[fellerts]

I tried that. Refraction makes it hard to understand what you're even looking at. https://fellerts.no/img/epoch/first-cast.jpg

[cyberax]

I was thinking about a larger with less curvature glass. It might also be interesting to see if it's possible to match the refractive indexes of the epoxy and the glass.

[lukan]

Yellow and not transparent anymore?

Or just a yellow tint?

[hinterlands]

Just an orange-yellow tint. Here's a good example: https://preview.redd.it/k98iwl9flsk71.jpg?width=1080&crop=sm...

[lukan]

Hm, the left example does indeed looks bad in the sense of loosing transparency. But it was kept in direct sunlight.