Topic: Shapeways 3D printing online.

[JDeck]

   Recently I discovered this website Shapeways.com. they have some really cool stuff. Everything from star wars Armada miniatures and models to 1:1 lightsaber parts, all kinds of stuff. Designers create a 3D blueprint and Shapeways prints them made to order. It takes a few days to process depending on what it is, I ordered a few small things last week. Last night I was looking around and found these awesome 3D star wars planet globes. https://www.shapeways.com/shops/yo3dps
   
They look really cool. He's got Hoth, Tattooine, Endor, Yavin IV, Dagobah, Naboo, Corellia and more. He has 3 different sizes from 5cm, 8cm &12cm.

[Tamer]

I agree Shapeways is pretty cool. I got a new and updated at-at driver comm pad there awhile back. It was a lot more accurate then the first version I have.

Sometimes the mark up there scares me a bit. Still the stuff you can print is so awesome. I think this is where I saw a six inch Darth Talon Figure too.

[JDeck]

 Yeah the 3d stuff is a little expensive on certain things, but really not much more than if you got something done in resin, better quality in some regards.
    I got a few things in today from Shapeways. First 24 1/2256 x-wing in cruising position. 24 1/2256 Y-wings, and a 1/2256 corellian gunship. The x-wings and Y-wings  are tiny, I dropped a couple on the carpet, I'll never see them again. The gunship is really cool, really nice detail. Its hollow and it has a hole on the bottom and in the engines, so mounting lights would be easy peasy. These are all from J_Roncho he does a bunch of 1/2256 stuff. The grand total was about $25 w/free shipping, a little high, but its worth it. They'll go great with my 1/2256 fleet.

[Tamer]

Very cool. If you can post some links I will try to get those featured too, but off to the front pages with you.

[JDeck]

 The way the website is its hard to find exactly what your looking for. If you keyword star wars there's 23 pages of stuff. https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/?tag=star+wars I can't find too much 3.75" scale things, just some wall panels. If you like small scale ships, there's tons of them. I like this battle of hoth set, I believe its 1/270 scale, same as FFG X-WING miniatures. https://www.shapeways.com/product/SG8BT25BE/theme-battle-of-hoth?li=search-results-1&optionId=32092732 On most items you can choose between white (cheapest) or frosted (most expensive).

[Tamer]

Neat stuff, not sure I am ready to bite for 100 dollars for that size, but thanks for the links!

[JDeck]

If you get it done in white vinyl its $50. I'm sure something that size will still be nice in vinyl. Big stuff I'm not sure, I'm looking at a 1 /72 T-16, dont know if the vinyl will warp or not . you can also buy these pieces individually from the same seller, but the set is cool. It just takes time to get acquainted with the website. Its not done in a convenient manner. If you click on the designer's name, and click on creations or shop it'll give you a list of their products.

[JDeck]

   I got some more stuff from Shapeways today. These are "Armada scale", which there isn't really a set scale for FFG Armada, but some of the small ships are similar. These come out to almost 1/2256. I got a CR-70 Corvette, a Cr-90 carrier and 3 GR-75 transports. There all from Mel's Miniatures, http://www.shapeways.com/designer/mel_miniatures  all done in white. I chose white to see how it looks and feels and to test its rigidity, also  its the cheapest. Its described as hard white vinyl, strong and flexible. Its much stronger than vinyl, which is great, not much flex. However, It has a very grainy texture, like a sugar cube. I think I can polish it with a dremel, or wet sand. The frosted plastic is more expensive for a reason, much more detailed.
   I took some pictures along with resin 1/2256 counterparts.

[JDeck]

 I just did a quick paint job on one of the transports. I was concerned about the gritty texture. I tried to polish it up a little, but it didn't help much, so I just started painting. The white material is very porous, so you need a primer coat to seal it. I just painted it black then dry brushed and added detail. Its not bad once its painted. Still, the smallest amount of grit makes a big difference in these small scale ships.  But the cheap white plastic works well within a fleet. Not so great as a centerpiece ship. The frosted plastic is the way to go for that.

[Tamer]

They look pretty good to me. Time to go share a bit.

[JDeck]

Yeah the white isn't bad, considering the scalescale, there's nothing really to compare them with. These are made for gamers, but I just like collecting themthem, they're like Micro Machines but better. The transport is only about 0.80" longlonglonglon, so its pretty detailed. I'm a detail freak though, but if you look at it from about a foot away it looks really nice.

[hemble]

I AT-AT/AT-ST and speeders they would make a great little dio, I'll have to head over there and have a look thanks for the links mate.

Also I love the troop transport at that scale your paint apps really bring out the detail.

Ron