Proxy War is 3D-Printing the Miniatures Revolution
- Thread starter JonB
- Start date
I hate how I don't have enough to contribute to this kickstarter. This would be a very fun thing to have for anyone and everyone who loves them some minis. I hope it turns out well.
And if someone hasn't already told /tg/ about this I feel like they should. They'd be all over this.
And if someone hasn't already told /tg/ about this I feel like they should. They'd be all over this.
I doubt their business model is viable. Time on a big industrial prototyper is expensive and desktop 3d printers have a high failure rate and hardly anyone buys them. The market leader, Stratasys, sold a grand total of 6ooo units worldwide in the last quarter. They may make a living catering to a group ultra enthusiasts but as challenge to games workshop they just don't have the legs.
Fortunately, a lot of patents for 3D printing are expiring in the next, like... year. So the whole market is going to get shaken up and lot of people are guessing everything's going to land nice and neat and within a few years most people will have a 3D printer in their homes. Cheaper, easier to use, more accessible... plus you're gonna have guys like these whoa re making 3D printing accessible for everybody.albino boo said:
Games Workshop is a big grump. They won't be willing to stream the minis, that'd take change and stuff.
If these guys can raise enough money to get a service like that going really fast, Games Workshop won't have a chance to reorganize after big ***** slap these people are going to lay on them.
Well, we are talking about a company that sells new product lines as unposeable, metal figures and seeing if they sell well before making them out of plastic, so 2 is more likely. However, I think a person could order a conversion without too many problems - if they could get away with the sigil spam and suspicious "similarity".MinionJoe said:
Here's hoping these guys can just cut a deal with GW (unlikely, but a man can dream) so we can all get poseable Sisters of Battle.
Its not a question of accessibility but demand. How many things around your average persons home is purely made from plastic and isn't dirt cheap anyway? Why are people going to spend even $100 on a 3d printer to make plastic boxes that you can pick up for $2.50. The aren't many things that have significant value added that are made from plastic. Seeing that the global sales for GW total 216 million, there aren't simply that many people interested.laskfj11 said:
Yeah
Additionally I have doubts about the model design thing either. It seems very challenging to have software that will not only let you mix and match hundreds of thousands of pieces, but also repose them too. It seems unlikely they could have enough staff to do all that modeling.
I think this idea has merit, but I think it'll be more than 2 or 3 years down the road.
Yeah, I have doubts that this model is viable at this time either. I don't own one but I was under the impression that 3d prints take a long time, that a lot them still need to be cleaned like mold made pieces, and that the prints are for very small areas like 1 figure at a time.albino boo said:
Additionally I have doubts about the model design thing either. It seems very challenging to have software that will not only let you mix and match hundreds of thousands of pieces, but also repose them too. It seems unlikely they could have enough staff to do all that modeling.
I think this idea has merit, but I think it'll be more than 2 or 3 years down the road.
I actually have a good deal of faith in this because there is already a growing sub-set of gamers who already do this for small scale miniature runs, like custom battlemechs for Battletech or historical warships and aircraft or sci-fi warships. These days, if you can do a 3d model of something, someone can print it out of either sandstone or plastic. The technology behind it has actually come a long way from even where it was six years ago when we saw things like the extremely over-priced sandstone WoW sculptures of characters offered that had long waiting lists.
So what they are actually doing is side stepping the idea that we all need to have a personal one in our homes to be able to make miniatures by absorbing the initial costs in equipment AND the need for most of us to know how to use 3d modelling software by having artists on staff so that we can actually get something done. That is actually not too bad.
Actually, if you want to see a company already doing this, take a look at the company Shapeways. This is very similar in both quality and idea to what this company is offering to do except Shapeways does not offer the catalog to assemble your own miniature nor the artists that could be commissioned to help you get that perfect mini you were wanting. So yes, there is a good amount to be hopeful for in this regard.
So what they are actually doing is side stepping the idea that we all need to have a personal one in our homes to be able to make miniatures by absorbing the initial costs in equipment AND the need for most of us to know how to use 3d modelling software by having artists on staff so that we can actually get something done. That is actually not too bad.
Actually, if you want to see a company already doing this, take a look at the company Shapeways. This is very similar in both quality and idea to what this company is offering to do except Shapeways does not offer the catalog to assemble your own miniature nor the artists that could be commissioned to help you get that perfect mini you were wanting. So yes, there is a good amount to be hopeful for in this regard.
Why not have 3-4 "printing heads" running side by side at the same time? If the same object is being made might as well optimize. : )
I can see game stores doing this they are part of a chain where they have the printer and software and they have a licensing agreement with the game publishers. The Publisher designs and provides the data file to print the figures. Maybe they can do load balancing where one shop is not as busy so they get a order in to print three armies to ship to another location?
The other option is instead of just printing what molds are doing currently, leverage the 3d printing advantage by allowing a bit of movement in the miniatures. Be able to adjust the arms or weapons being held, stance etc. Would be popular with WYSIWYG "What you see is what you get" gamers.
Also perhaps at first, print key miniatures on the custom printer and then slowly scale up as the technology and techniques of miniatures production gets better. I could see this with Fantasy Flight Games with expansion pack miniatures.
I really like the concept of printing miniatures on demand and right there on location. Also seeing it made right in front of me is really cool as well : )
I can see game stores doing this they are part of a chain where they have the printer and software and they have a licensing agreement with the game publishers. The Publisher designs and provides the data file to print the figures. Maybe they can do load balancing where one shop is not as busy so they get a order in to print three armies to ship to another location?
The other option is instead of just printing what molds are doing currently, leverage the 3d printing advantage by allowing a bit of movement in the miniatures. Be able to adjust the arms or weapons being held, stance etc. Would be popular with WYSIWYG "What you see is what you get" gamers.
Also perhaps at first, print key miniatures on the custom printer and then slowly scale up as the technology and techniques of miniatures production gets better. I could see this with Fantasy Flight Games with expansion pack miniatures.
I really like the concept of printing miniatures on demand and right there on location. Also seeing it made right in front of me is really cool as well : )
I talked to these guys at the Expo. They already have their printers and their minis were high quality. I played a demo one day. Far as I know, I was the only person to break part of a single piece all weekend, and that was because it was a prototype model. The main ones were far more resilient.albino boo said:
These guys are/were in talks for deals with Schock Mercenary and Erfworld. They are not pissing around.
People said exactly the same thing about computers.albino boo said:
The single piece of plastic which you don't currently have, but desperately need that nobody else will sell to you for the price of dirt.albino boo said:
I really like the idea- there are plenty of games out there I'd love to have custom miniatures for, and a dozen more in my head I'd love to have custom game pieces made for. But a line like
...makes me wonder if the whole enterprise, even if it's financially viable on a basic business level, isn't going to quickly become IP lawsuit-bait.
"Oh, you based those miniatures on my sketch of a gnomish engineer, eh? How charming. And how many of those did you say you'd printed...?"
(emphasis mine)
...makes me wonder if the whole enterprise, even if it's financially viable on a basic business level, isn't going to quickly become IP lawsuit-bait.
"Oh, you based those miniatures on my sketch of a gnomish engineer, eh? How charming. And how many of those did you say you'd printed...?"
Welp, GG Game's Workshop, you had a nice run with your obscene prices.
Seriously though, I really wish these guys the best. It seems like a very cool idea that could really help eliminate one of the main barriers that keeps most people (myself included) away from actual tabletop gaming, the entry cost.
The ability to have them design custom models for you is awesome as well, depending on how much it ends up costing. There's a lot of people who make their own tabletop systems for their own custom settings, and this would allow them to actually help bring their ideas into the real world and make a little pocket-change on the side from other people using their pieces.
Seriously though, I really wish these guys the best. It seems like a very cool idea that could really help eliminate one of the main barriers that keeps most people (myself included) away from actual tabletop gaming, the entry cost.
The ability to have them design custom models for you is awesome as well, depending on how much it ends up costing. There's a lot of people who make their own tabletop systems for their own custom settings, and this would allow them to actually help bring their ideas into the real world and make a little pocket-change on the side from other people using their pieces.
I'm super fuckin psyched about these guys.
Basically they're trying to put the future of the gaming industry into the hands of the gamer... if they can raise enough funds to make that happen, hell, maybe they will make it happen. Rewrite the whole industry.
I hope all you guys are also backing. I just threw half a paycheck in.
go proxy war go!
Basically they're trying to put the future of the gaming industry into the hands of the gamer... if they can raise enough funds to make that happen, hell, maybe they will make it happen. Rewrite the whole industry.
I hope all you guys are also backing. I just threw half a paycheck in.
go proxy war go!
Well, they DID have a table at the Escapist Expo. One of them fancied my friend's cosplay and made her blush. It was adorable. =3laskfj11 said:
