I've seen some wonderful images of whales breaching the surface, and it started really sticking with me. I really wanted to make it something special, and it was in my mind's eye for several weeks. Finally, I created this model, and frankly I'm thrilled. It turned out even better than I had hoped.This is a hybrid model: the ocean surface was created using HueForge filament painting. It requires 4 colors, but it's pretty straightforward: you start with black, then do 3 filament swaps. The rest of the model is in black and white. Details on how to do the ocean surface is in the print instructions.
15% Gyroid infill; supports needed. I used tree supports, but I put .3 for the upper and lower interface of the supports. 

There is a separate 3MF file for the for the HueForge ocean floor due to the much thinner  layers than the main whale model.

Instructions for the sea surface:

If you use the 3MF file, the filament changes will be set. To print the sea surface, I used four colors: Inland White PLA+, Sunlu meta Green, Creality Blue Hyper PLA, and Inland Black PLA+. You'll want the first layer to be 0.16 mm thick, and all other layers to be .08 thick. Start the print with black. At layer 8, change to Meta Green. At layer 13 switch to Hyper Blue. At layer 19 switch to white and complete the sea surface print.

To assemble, start with the black platform and glue the sea surface to the top, aligning the hole of the surface with the cone of the platform. Next add the foam over the cone. Notice that orientation is important for a good fit.

For the whale, assemble the dark and light flipers, left and right. The right flipper won't have a peg, where the left does. (There is a hole in the whale body for the right flipper, but the peg didn't fit properly, so I deleted it). Next, glue the white belly to the whale body, then attach the flippers. Finally, set the whale into the mount on the platform. 

UPDATE 12/23/25: I just uploaded an update to the foam cone on the model. The original cone had some floating pieces I didn't originally notice. It didn't affect printing -- until someone decided to scale it up to print it on a Giga Orange. The new version has those floating pieces removed. It's uploaded as "Foam V2," with the original still in place.

Then enjoy!

Please post makes!