3D art to parts

[GobotFool]

I showed this off in the other-sci-fi toys section but no one seemed interested hopefully here it'll recieve a better response.

http://www.3darttopart.com/index.php

[GobotFool]

I'm suprised one ones interested. I mean you CG artists could render anything and then get a RL representation you could actually handle physically!

[Chronocidal]

Well, personally I'm pretty skeptic of what they show.. it's plenty detailed, but they also don't show how big the stuff is, or how strong the material is.. it might not work well to make model kits out of.. besides that, apparently, they want proof that you own the copyrights to the stuff before they build it for you... so, that right there probably eliminates 90% of the stuff people here would want to make. In my case, there's only a few things I'd really want, and almost all of them are either Macross or Star Wars related, both of which they'd probably refuse to do. I've got a couple of original designs, but they don't interest me as much as the other stuff.

One thing I think this would be great for is making replacement parts for model kits. Say you want to replace a small part of a kit, or add something, like custom missiles or whatnot.. you could make it, and have them send you the stuff, and you could add it to your model. But reproducing a whole kit this way would probably be incredibly expensive.

Edited July 23, 2004 by Chronocidal

[the white drew carey]

If you check out the detailed pics you'll see that it actually has a very rough texture, almost akin to sand. I thihnk that ther eliminates any use except for pure enjoyment's sake.

[mighty gorgon]

Well... you know. I checked the page and I kind of like it, but I would like to see some "plane alike" mesh. You know... wings and that stuff.

Besides, I am waiting to see the results of the mesh of the VF-4 I sent to Cobywan last march (here).

Regds.

G.

Edited July 24, 2004 by mighty gorgon

[fulcy]

If you check out the detailed pics you'll see that it actually has a very rough texture, almost akin to sand. I thihnk that ther eliminates any use except for pure enjoyment's sake.

Actually, that's how most of these processes work - you need to do a final finish sanding, to achieve any sort of smooth surface on these parts. Though you may not be able to reproduce panel line detail, since the resolution of their machine may not be good enough, this is a great starting point for customs. Instead of fooling around for days with a block of bondo, you can try modeling your parts in a 3-d app, till you have it how you like, and send it to them, so you have a good base to work off of. I am seriously considering this process for some of my customs, where it might be too difficult for me to carve a symmetric 3-d shape from a large chunk of something...

[VF19]

Hell, make a model of a gun like the GU11, have it made in human scale, and BAM you have your final cosply part.

[Chronocidal]

Heh.. yeah, if you can afford it.. and, somehow I don't think they'd be able to make something THAT big... I didn't see a size reference, but those samples would have better detail if they were in a large scale.

[Lestat]

Well, actually, it shows some examples to scale, and there are models in there of a good 11" or more.

[mighty gorgon]

Heh.. yeah, if you can afford it.. and, somehow I don't think they'd be able to make something THAT big... I didn't see a size reference, but those samples would have better detail if they were in a large scale.

There is a hand holding a coulpe of the models... that could give some hint of a possible scale.

Image

[Chronocidal]

Whoops... k, thanks, I stand corrected.

[Southpaw Samurai]

Well the prize for their contests is a sculpture of the winning entry in a size no larger than 10"x8"x8". Whether that's the maximum size they can do or not is another question. They say it's valued up to $200, so you can at least safely assume that such a size would cost around that amount. Depending on what I was planning on making, I don't know if I could live with the texture (and definitely wouldn't have the skill to sand it down smoother if I had detailing), but it could be very cool to have some physical representations (and/or 'inaction' figures) of characters I've drawn or written (now to polish up my 3d modeling skills...really haven't done much since I went crazy in the early Rhino beta days).

Definitely cheaper than the place that does head sculps for 12" figures, plus you still get the joy of painting it yourself (which was my favorite part of the model building stage).

[mighty gorgon]

Well the prize for their contests is a sculpture of the winning entry in a size no larger than 10"x8"x8". Whether that's the maximum size they can do or not is another question.

Yes, I was checking the FAQ section and they state that clearly:

"How large of a part can you make?

Parts must fit within a 8in. x 8in. x 10in. volume, although your 3D models can be made in sections and then glued together. You would need to submit the 3D file for each piece for us to provide a price quote"

I guess is better suited for organic shapes, where the resulting porosity does not hurt that much. This system cannot produce fine details (as explained in the FAQ), and unless heavily primed, It does not look like it can get scribed panel lines. At 10 in. you coud get approximately a 1:60 VF-1, which limits larger planes to 1:72 (in standard scale). Larger would mean several sub assemblies... Mmmm too expensive for me (but still interested, which is why I check this thread each 2 or three days!).

Regds,

G.

[Terrance Wong]

I may or may not have posted this before, but here's a great example of how this is done:

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mwdarkage/mw_a...frame=howtoplay

http://www.wizkidsgames.com/mwdarkage/mw_a...frame=howtoplay

The finished product is roughly three inches tall.

Oh, yeah, hardcore BattleTech junkies, avert your eyes.

Edited August 3, 2004 by Terrance Wong