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Author Topic: So does anyone wonder if we'll ever see not just 3D Printing but 3D scanning?  (Read 7082 times)

Offline Conquistador

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4375
  • There are hostile eye watching us from the arroyos
<snip>
expect huge legal battles...

Yes, that is a concern of mine.  No matter where you stand on IP rights and no matter what the results of the cases those legal costs won't lower the pricing of the figures.

Gracias,

Glenn
Viva Alta California!  Las guerras de España,  Las guerras de las Américas,  Las guerras para la Libertad!

Offline gamer Mac

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8207
3D scanners are already out there. I used to use one at work. It was accurate to 0,07 mm more than enough for highly detailed figures.But as someone mentioned very expensive about £30,000 a few years ago but I am sure as with the 3D printing it will get cheaper.

Offline nic-e

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2073
    • Mystarikum
http://www.maplin.co.uk/3d-printer
Lower end of the market.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fabtotum-personal-fabricator
Future end of the market! this machine is what you really need if you aren't very good at 3d modelling ,as it incorporates scanner ,printer ,and milling machine in one. it also doesn't need the 3d files converting to the right format ,since they all come from the same place.
A machine like this is what you want if you intend to produce 3d printed masters for remoulding.the only problem is that the actual printer is fairly low res ,but im sure in the future a similar all in 1 device could be made with a resin pool printer instead.
never trust a horse, they make a commitment to shoes that no animal should make.

http://mystarikum.blogspot.co.uk/

Offline FramFramson

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 10681
  • But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back
Jokes aside, I am far from the only person who has issues with scale differences between figures. Pretending such concerns are irrelevant is silly.

@ Pendrake: What do you suggest in case where the alternate format does not actually exist for the company in question? It's one thing to say you should buy a region 2 DVD rather than copying a Region 1 DVD over, but what if a company simply does not make a Region 2 DVD? Stare blankly at a wall beamoaning format issues?

In your example, if Foundry made what I wanted, I would just buy that. There's no point in artificially complicating some hypothetical situation just to make a point about IP.
« Last Edit: October 26, 2013, 07:31:49 PM by FramFramson »


I joined my gun with pirate swords, and sailed the seas of cyberspace.

Offline Conquistador

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4375
  • There are hostile eye watching us from the arroyos
Jokes aside, I am far from the only person who has issues with scale differences between figures. Pretending such concerns are irrelevant is silly.
<snip>

I seem to be disagreeing with you a lot in this thread, please forgive me if I come over disagreeable.  I don't mean to "sound" that way but you lose so much in print.

Are you the only person who feels that way?

If you mean you want all the figures of the same race/species to be almost exactly the same height?  I know a few others but they generally play mass battle Seven year War Games in 15 mm.    ;)   lol  Seriously, no you are not.   I have certain height ranges that appeal mostly to me in figures - 20 to 25 mm dwarves yes, 35 mm dwarves not so much.  Others feel much like you do.

Now named characters in a known setting?  You have room to complain if "Battlebrat the Dwarf thief" is a full header taller than "Dumbon the the Tall and Massive" who is a Barbarian.  And a named character that is known to be 5' 8" should be visibly shorter than one known to be 6' 2" even if it isn't too much of a difference in scale.  Yes, I know "size" is not a "scale" but I am talking in War-Gamer not English.   :)

If you are dealing with <insert species/race here> warriors, especially humans, who average between 25 mm and 28 mm then no, I don't think you have a lot of empathy/sympathy complaining about the size difference IMO.  But then it is not my game we are talking about is it?  It is what you and you co-players preferences are.  

Honestly I think you have less room to complain about non-humans unless the game setting, for example, takes the (to me) rather (Peter Jackson) foolish assumption that all elves are significantly taller than Humans.  I don't remember Elves being all so tall from LOTR (I read over 20 times in my youth but not recently) but I have never bothered to follow up after seeing the LOTR movies so he may be right.  But I may be warped because I remember playing The Gygax/Perrin rules Chainmail where (depending if you used 30 or 40 mm humans) Elves were (in the former case) around 25 mm and dwarves around 20 mm - IIRC.  I won't go look it up right now but those numbers sound right... My point is that there is no real world norm for fantasy races except as the author/game writer/GM arbitrarily sets the norm.  So I think unless you pre-define fantasy races as a certain size there is lots of latitude for varying heights.

It's like complaining that female figures should always be shorter than male figures.  I'm 5' 4.75" on a good day and my first wife was around 5' 6" in height.  My current wife is right around 5' 3" tall.  Variability is the norm.

Now it is very irritating when two ranges are said to be "x" mm 'scale' and one company measures to the top of the head standing upright and the other measures to the eyes of a crouching figure.  I have actually seen that and I sold off the 'offending' figure and bought no more from that source.  But I was younger and less flexible then.  Now days I would just give him a name for a mythical racial sub-species of human and declare the common view from others is that they "would be giants" in my games.

Heft is an issue too but let's not go there because it just complicates your question.

Gracias,

Glenn


Offline Conquistador

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4375
  • There are hostile eye watching us from the arroyos
<snip>
@ Pendrake: What do you suggest in case where the alternate format does not actually exist for the company in question? It's one thing to say you should buy a region 2 DVD rather than copying a Region 1 DVD over, but what if a company simply does not make a Region 2 DVD? Stare blankly at a wall beamoaning format issues?

In your example, if Foundry made what I wanted, I would just buy that. There's no point in artificially complicating some hypothetical situation just to make a point about IP.

It's not hypothetical.  It is a legal reality.  I would love to have recasts of the old Grenadier Power Armor figures that are "less than 25 mm but taller than 20 mm" in the suit because it would allow me to finish building a SST book Platoon.  But recasting them is possibly morally and certainly ethically wrong along with being legally culpable.  Thank is simply legally fact.  Yeah, not legal is ever really completely simple but this is pretty close.

I could have someone sculpt compatible figures and have them cast.  Expensive for my budget?  You bet!  But it would be the correct solution.  

YMMV.

Gracias,

Glenn

Offline FramFramson

  • Elder God
  • Posts: 10681
  • But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back
I really don't get the insistence on proving that I am "objectvely" wrong on what is a matter of opinion (scale of figures). Why do we even have the scale-o-matic if people don't have concerns about scale compatibility? I prefer my figures to be close enough in size that none of them stick out and look "wrong" - that's all. If I need a six-foot fellow, but got an under-five-foot shortarse, that won't work. Period.

As to your second post, it is apparent that at least a few people have Strong Feelings on IP. While I believe in fair compensation for creators and always buy directly from the original mini creator where possible, it is clear I would have... disagreements with some of the exremely narrow views I've seen. In lieu of that, I will repeat again that IP is not a topic I wanted to discuss directly, because I doubt that will have any outcome other than an argument and a locked thread. If people could stick to the technical questions, which are the thread's intended purpose, that would be appreciated.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2013, 03:35:56 PM by FramFramson »

former user

  • Guest
I fully agree, but I guess everything about the OT has been said so far

we could discuss about options how 3D printed miniatures could be marketed, especially painted ones


Offline Conquistador

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4375
  • There are hostile eye watching us from the arroyos
I fully agree, but I guess everything about the OT has been said so far

we could discuss about options how 3D printed miniatures could be marketed, especially painted ones



Both comments work for me.

Gracias,

Glenn

Offline Conquistador

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4375
  • There are hostile eye watching us from the arroyos
<snip>
we could discuss about options how 3D printed miniatures could be marketed, especially painted ones
<snip>

Well, that is am interesting thought - I would suppose that "premium" figures would be capable of being eventually created "pre-painted" so that one of the options in the printing would be clothing/uniform color...

Possibly "flesh" color options?  That may create PC issues for the overly sensitive but it would be a preference if you were using both European and native Askaris.

Multi-part options for arming specific figures with specific weapons?  One rapier armed, one musket armed, one with a club, one unarmed (non-fighter,) one with a pole arm type selections?

The same figure as a female or disguised as a male?

Gracias,

Glenn

former user

  • Guest
You are describing two different things here
the simple one is coloured printing along defined colour borders and a range of pre-defined categories, like skin colour

printing out different weapons of the same category, like sword/sabre/axe  or revolver/pistol/sawn of shotgun shouldn't be a problem either, although this is the other thing and could look occasionally unconvincing.

changes of posture isn't that simple - You'd need software to tweak the body and rearrange the clothing - this is very complex

 

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