3D PRINTING & SCALE MODELING //
a Shapeways store to sell 3D-printed models is that they get a piece of the action. That’s not entirely a bad thing, but it’s another cost. They handle the production and shipping, so really the shop owner comes out ahead in the end. I already have those structures in place, so it really isn’t a huge draw for me. That’s why I use them in a very limited way right now. If they were to start offering some different, higher quality printing methods, I would reconsider how I use them to manufacture and distribute my products. Currently, it seems that armor modelers are the only ones 3D printing; it hasn’t caught on as much with aircraft builders. Is there a reason for this?
I think that the aircraft guys need (or expect) a higher level of surface smoothness than a typical tank modeler. I know guys who do wargaming have really embraced 3D-printed pieces. For example, there are a lot of really nice smallscale aircraft models available on Shapeways. Figure modelers are the most advanced 3D users among the different hobby genres. There are stunning figure kits that have been produced from Zbrush digital sculpts for a few years now. The quality is amazing. Where do you see technology going?
3D
The hardware will only get better, but the output quality of a $200 printer may never reach what a scale modeler needs. There are $4000 printers on the market now that could satisfy a scale modeler, though. Think of decal printing: the technology to print stunning, high resolution waterslide decals has been around for decades, but the average modeler has never had access to that kind of quality. Yes, we had the heyday of printing our own decals with Alps printers, but those printers could never fully
do what screen printing is capable of doing. Common inkjet and laser printers can make decent decals, but can’t make Cartograf-quality decals. Same with 3D printers. An expensive hobbyist level printer will do a fine job, but a professional level printer will do it better. Could 3D printing replace resin or traditional kits today or in the future?
There are lots of discussions about this on the internet modeling forums. Some guys imagine a time in the near future when they simply download a set of files and print their own copy of a kit at their scale of choice. That’s a neat idea but file security would have to be addressed or no manufacturer in their right mind would allow their printable files to get “out in the wild.” One of the main draws of 3D modeling and printing is that it allows the modeler to do a subject that no manufacturer has or would ever kit; that capability has driven my interest in 3D. Like scratchbuilding, 3D modeling is a skill to be developed and the research requirements are the same whether you’re 3D modeling or doing traditional scratchbuilding. A lot of people think that simply 3D scanning a subject will let them print a scale model; it can, but there is a whole set of skills needed to make that scan into a 3D model that can be printed. Any other parting thoughts for us on 3D printing?
I think 3D printing
smq
on a mass scale will be the biggest thing since the industrial revolution. Ironically, it’s sort of like the industrial revolution in reverse— we’re able to decentralize the manufacturing process. For scale modelers, 3D design and printing at the manufacturer level has already brought more detailed, better fitting, and accurate kits. We are still in the toddler stage of applying the technology to scale modeling, and the next step should be really exciting. I hope this small introduction to 3D printing will help modelers better understand the uses and limitations of this emerging technology.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: fireballmodels.info pixologic.com shapeways.com
©iStock.com/emyerson
Scale Modeling Quarterly SMQmag.com // Spring 2015
07