Chiisai!!

What's happening, y'all? Just some fun experimental stuff to share with ya this week. Last night, I just got back a 3D print of the Gin Gin M.U.S.C.L.E.-style figure I was showing off last time. On the real, I really wasn't expecting much...but as it turns out, I'm actually pretty impressed with how nice it came out! Now, my prototyper warned me that 20 mils (.02") is generally the lower limit on 3D printed detail from their Objet printers. Anything under that will likely get lost...or end up looking like a pile of dog shit.

I didn't dumb down the Gin Gin design before I sent it, so all the tiny/sharp detail's still in there. But amazingly, most everything came through okay.



Now, as y'all have noticed by now, my camera work's aiight...if it were 1993. But on top of that, there's just something about the surface texture on that Objet print material ("VeroWhite") that makes it damn near invisible to my camera! Hell, even my early full-size Gin Gin printout shots look the same...



Anyway, rest assured--the majority of that surface detail is there.

I'ma send this lil dude to Joshb of Sharkfist Designs to see if he can resin cast it. He seems pretty confident based on the pics, but I dunno. Yo, it's mad small...and kinda delicate. We'll see. Anyway, it's all good--I was just fucking around with this whole thing. I really just wanted to have an example in my hands of what kind of resolution these machines can deliver.

As it turns out, in the next few months, my prototyper's actually looking into getting a new printer that's optimized for smaller, high-detail parts. Perfect for joints like this, y'knowmsayin?

And this may just be a pipe dream right now, but I've been considering getting a 3D laser scanner. The idea is that we can start developing hybrid CAD/hand-sculpted designs. Like, say you wanted to make a M.U.S.C.L.E. figure, right? Well, sculpting at that scale is nightmarish. Imagine being able to sculpt at a 2UP or even 4UP scale, 3D scan that shit, and pull the data into CAD. You could then add geometry that's a pain in the ass to hand sculpt like primitive shapes or other mathematically-precise shit...then ultimately scale down the data to true M.U.S.C.L.E. size.

And of course, that's where having a reliable prototyper who can come through with the sharp 3D print outs! See where this is headed? Some hot shit, right here...

More later.



Now update time, as usual!

The real Gin Gin is chugging along. In fact, I just got a call from my metal caster the other day: a sample of what could very well be the final figure is on it's way as I type this! She sounded pretty confident, so I'm cautiously optimistic. The next step--IF I approve it--would be to measure up the figure for fitting the stickers and do a final paint color test. Word the fuck up!

And lastly, all you poor transfans waiting patiently for an update on the next round of Unicron stands...FEAR NOT!! The fabricator I work with is notoriously slow, but as many have seen, their quality is always on point...and, of course, their prices are thankfully sane. Anyway, I got word from them last week that the stands are ready to ship. Only a matter of time now! As soon as they arrive, I'll immediately start processing the dozens of preorders I've received before announcing their general availability publicly. Heh...I have a feeling I'm gonna have to place another order for a new batch pretty damn soon...