discussion Interesting 3D printing development

[Tim Marlow]

Hi all. Saw these discussed on another forum and thought they might be of interest. They are 3D printed miniatures, not painted ones. They are supplied by this company.
https://only-games.co/





Obviously very early days for this technology. They are not cheap, and are currently only aimed at the RPG gaming world. A conventionally painted miniature will beat them hands down, giving a far crisper finish, but it shows where the world is heading. Anyway, thought it might be of interest, especially to those who don’t like painting figures.

 

[Tworrs]

That is quite a leap forward, to be able to print in colour like that.

 

[A_J_Rimmer]

Soooo? They're actually printed in colour?

 

[vizenz]

Hello,
yes, this technology has been around for a while (almost 20 years).
Basically, the models are made of very fine dust, which works like an inkjet printer with the four usual colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). However, not with ink but with colored glue.
The prerequisite is, of course, programs that allow the 3D models to be digitally painted beforehand.
And of course you need a suitable printer. However, the models available are all industrial printers that are probably well above the budget of most hobbyists (around 10K - 80K).
For some time now, you have been able to buy WW1 planes in 1/144 printed in color on Shapeways. I was able to take a look at one of these models. The surfaces are very rough and the material very brittle. The colors also fade very quickly. The figure manufacturers are therefore now treating their models. The figures are dipped in a type of superglue to make them more stable and then given a matt varnish to make them more UV-resistant.
Fascinating technology and will certainly be represented in the hobby sector at some point. As soon as such printers are available to the general public, I will of course treat myself to one! :smiling5:

Best regards,
Andi

 

[Jim R]

The more technology moves forward the more of a dinosaur I become!! Early days but impressive nevertheless.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Soooo? They're actually printed in colour?

What Andi says……he’s more up with this than I am….not hanging up my brushes just yet though.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hello,
yes, this technology has been around for a while (almost 20 years).
Basically, the models are made of very fine dust, which works like an inkjet printer with the four usual colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). However, not with ink but with colored glue.
The prerequisite is, of course, programs that allow the 3D models to be digitally painted beforehand.
And of course you need a suitable printer. However, the models available are all industrial printers that are probably well above the budget of most hobbyists (around 10K - 80K).
For some time now, you have been able to buy WW1 planes in 1/144 printed in color on Shapeways. I was able to take a look at one of these models. The surfaces are very rough and the material very brittle. The colors also fade very quickly. The figure manufacturers are therefore now treating their models. The figures are dipped in a type of superglue to make them more stable and then given a matt varnish to make them more UV-resistant.
Fascinating technology and will certainly be represented in the hobby sector at some point. As soon as such printers are available to the general public, I will of course treat myself to one! :smiling5:

Best regards,
Andi

Cheers Andi. I thought someone would know more about this than me :thumb2:

 

[Tim Marlow]

The more technology moves forward the more of a dinosaur I become!! Early days but impressive nevertheless.

Me too Jim. Only a couple of years ago I was the techie go to at work, now I can hardly turn the damn things on :tears-of-joy:

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Hello,
yes, this technology has been around for a while (almost 20 years).
Basically, the models are made of very fine dust, which works like an inkjet printer with the four usual colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). However, not with ink but with colored glue.
The prerequisite is, of course, programs that allow the 3D models to be digitally painted beforehand.
And of course you need a suitable printer. However, the models available are all industrial printers that are probably well above the budget of most hobbyists (around 10K - 80K).
For some time now, you have been able to buy WW1 planes in 1/144 printed in color on Shapeways. I was able to take a look at one of these models. The surfaces are very rough and the material very brittle. The colors also fade very quickly. The figure manufacturers are therefore now treating their models. The figures are dipped in a type of superglue to make them more stable and then given a matt varnish to make them more UV-resistant.
Fascinating technology and will certainly be represented in the hobby sector at some point. As soon as such printers are available to the general public, I will of course treat myself to one! :smiling5:

Best regards,
Andi

That's really very old technology, Andreas. I suspect these are made of resin in a process much more similar to the 3D printed 'decals' used for aircraft instrument panels etc.
The first machines I saw 5 or 6 years ago were capable of incredible photo-real graphic fidelity, and were of course ,crazy expensive.
It was only a matter of time, I suppose. I expect this will have an impact on the (physical)gaming world , rather than the figure painting side of the hobby.

 

[Andy T]

I wonder if it's a similar printing process to the one at mini-you (.co.uk), where you can get scanned then have a miniature of yourself printed in full cour.

 

[Neil Merryweather]

I wonder if it's a similar printing process to the one at mini-you (.co.uk), where you can get scanned then have a miniature of yourself printed in full cour.

that's usually the powder and super-glue type that Andreas refers to

 

[Neil Merryweather]

looking at the website these figures seem to be about 28mm scale so the powder process would not be anything like fine enough to get that kind of detail

 

[Tim Marlow]

I wonder if it's a similar printing process to the one at mini-you (.co.uk), where you can get scanned then have a miniature of yourself printed in full cour.

Wasn’t that the kickstarter/company that failed to deliver? Seem to recal they had a large presence at gaming expos, then a few months later the forums were full of complaints about the failure to complete orders? I could be very wrong though.

 

[Andy T]

Wasn’t that the kickstarter/company that failed to deliver? Seem to recal they had a large presence at gaming expos, then a few months later the forums were full of complaints about the failure to complete orders? I could be very wrong though.

I couldn't say Tim, it's just something I stumbled upon when down a rabbit hole one day, and thought it was a neat idea.

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Wasn’t that the kickstarter/company that failed to deliver? Seem to recal they had a large presence at gaming expos, then a few months later the forums were full of complaints about the failure to complete orders? I could be very wrong though.

there were lots of versions of this idea, Tim.
I don't know if many still exist though

 

[Dave Ward]

The best I've seen recently has been the Prusa XL, which has 5 print heads for 5 different colours or materials

at a price tag of $4000! With 5 printheads, it doesn't have to purge between colour/material changes, which saves a lot of filament, and a lot of time.
Dave

 

[Neil Merryweather]

THIS is the kind of thing I am talking about-way beyond $4k ,Dave!

 

[A_J_Rimmer]

What Andi says……he’s more up with this than I am….not hanging up my brushes just yet though.

I'm not surprised!

I mean, they're okay for what they are, and I'm sure there's a huge market for pre-painted minis, but even a relatively new mini painter like me could probably do a little better - besides, where's the fun in getting someone else to do it for you?

 

[A_J_Rimmer]

I couldn't have a 3D printer at home, it would drive me nuts. When I worked at Lockheed around 2010 I had a very early 3D printer, one the size of a small car, sat next to my desk - bloody thing used to give me the most god awful headaches.

I always guessed they'd end up a big thing in scale modelling though.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I'm not surprised!

I mean, they're okay for what they are, and I'm sure there's a huge market for pre-painted minis, but even a relatively new mini painter like me could probably do a little better - besides, where's the fun in getting someone else to do it for you?

Must admit I wonder at the market for these. They are aimed squarely at the RPG market, and some of the best figure painters in the world work in that field.