Might be the End of an era.

[OldManModeler]

With computer aided design (CAD) software; One can design and build small parts all day long. In their garage.

With the progression of 3D printers within the average home; What we can design is amazing. At home, in our garage.

Common injection molding companies (the model companies that we buy kits from): May become a thing of the past. I think that most plastic model manufacturers are still stagnant in the dark ages.... (40years ago}. Resting on their laurels. Something is coming. No, it is here.

All of your thoughts, input and comments, Is my absolute intent.

Please advise.

Be well. Model on.

Eric

 

[myhobbyroom]

I think it is practical to be able to print a specific tank, truck ,car, plane, ship kit , in your favorite scale. You may wait your whole life time and never see the " kit you always wanted " ever made. I am glad to have been able to purchase a 3d printed Ken Block mustang and truck kit . Maybe the model companies could start selling 3d printing programs to model builders?

 

[BarleyBop]

Yup, I was introduced to 'laser lithography' in the early 90s in my professional life. Now, 3D printing is as ubiquitous as tattoos!

I look at it as yet another tool...

However, if you are old enough to have fashioned objects with simple tools and scratch materials, there just seems to be a level of indirection with CAD and printing 'auto-tune' algorithms that is missing that visceral "with my own hands" satisfaction.

I get the design part, the 'build of your dreams' part, the convenience part, and the 'democratization' of plastic model production part.

Won't it be wonderful when I can just say "Siri, print a two tone 57 Buick, in 1:26 scale, as it appeared in the second half of it's production run, the one my great uncle Joe lost his finger on attaching the front left fender."

Voila!

 

[scottrc78]

I foresee modelers who are not able to do their own source files being able to buy just the 3D files for parts and kits and do their own printing.
I have a few kits I printed from downloaded files. After paying for the files and material, the cost is just a small fraction of what an injection molded kit costs. Even more less if I design my own part or use a file that is public domain. I just picked up a new SLS printer and its fast, clean, and pretty dang reliable compared to older ones I have used. I personally prefer to separate myself from the 3D CAD and printing aspect in the hobby since my profession involves me working in 3D CAD all day. When I go to model, I prefer to distance myself from all the technology so I can decompress.

 

[OldManModeler]

Ya know, after I posted this thread I realized that there are those new to the hobby that will still need to option to buy a kit at the LHS or online. And maybe I would just prefer to buy a plastic kit on a whim.

So, this thread is somewhat too much. Too soon.

Anyway...

Not until California politicians make it all illegal. They will dream up that plastic injection kits, or the glue, or the paint, causes cancer in a rare yellow spotted Botfly located only on a small island in a tributary river in the Congo. No more 1/35th Panzer IV's.

 

[BarleyBop]

California politicians make it all illegal.

No worries, those health warnings are only if you live in California!

 

[OldManModeler]

No worries, those health warnings are only if you live in California!

Not so much in the USA. CA politics spread like a cancer.

The Woke and Progressive Religion spreads worldwide.

 

[Rob]

Woke is dead. Trump's in charge now. Common sense is here to rule. And I don't know about you all but you can have your 3D machines and build your stuff in your basement from a cad whatever the hell that is. There is nothing like getting a box from your local hobby store or through the mail and you can't wait to get home and go through it nice and slow look at all the screws look at the instructions isn't it just so neat. The box art blah blah blah. You're a kid at Christmas opening a new present. Now what I think the future will hold? Mom and pop businesses are going to come back. Owning your own home will become feasible again. I also think Amazon has a hold on people. It's so easy to order from them and it arrives on the doorstep a couple days later and sometimes the same day. Man is it convenient but it's also really damn lazy and not good for a country or your beer belly. Anyways. But you guys who have 3D printers and the like that's fine and dandy but some of us like to open

 

[Rob]

Presents.

 

[BarleyBop]

some of us like to open presents

I have to agree with that!

 

[OldManModeler]

Woke is dead. Trump's in charge now.

For only 4 years. What comes after is anybody's guess.

It's a good time to be old.

 

[OldManModeler]

If the admin could just delete this whole thread it would be best.

 

[papaof2]

JD comes next.

 

[Col.Kilgore]

For only 4 years. What comes after is anybody's guess.

It's a good time to be old.

"It's a good time to be old."

I say that all the time.

 

[AKRoast]

I think it is practical to be able to print a specific tank, truck ,car, plane, ship kit , in your favorite scale. You may wait your whole life time and never see the " kit you always wanted " ever made. I am glad to have been able to purchase a 3d printed Ken Block mustang and truck kit . Maybe the model companies could start selling 3d printing programs to model builders?

However it takes a company like Tamiya probably thousands of hours by industrial engineers to develop a scale model, for a kit that will (hopefully for them) sell for possibly decades, maybe with tweaks, but otherwise recouping that big outlay over time. I would think it is pretty complex to figure out the steps and transferring actual vehicles info into the sprue designs, that have to work well with the manufacturing process. I don't see anybody doing that work on just any model kit anybody ever wanted. I could see specific, already popular kits being made in 3D printable versions by the big kit makers, but even that would require a big redesign because of how 3D printers make things. I think the resin parts upgrade market is the place it will affect the most.

 

[BarleyBop]

the resin parts upgrade market

Yup, that's the way I think of it, at least for now. Have used Shapeways, go through their catalogue, select the parts I want, the material and level of detail, then they put it into production, and mail me the part. Now if I had the geometry (CAD file) or produced one, I could do that with them too, and add it to their catalogue.
That's their business model.
BTW, I'm not associated with them in any way.

 

[Jim62]

Many of us are older and have enough in our stash to carry us through to the point we are either dead or just can't manage the builds any longer. I personally thought about a 3d printer at one time but I'm beyond the point of having any desire to learn new technology. When I got my cricut machine it drove me nuts because there weren't any good instructions for it for those of us in the modelling hobby. But I managed and I'm tired of managing it makes my brain ache. I don't even want to upgrade to Windows 11, not interested in it at all. Got rid of the smart phone not interested in that either. Not even going near AI, I don't see anything good about it. Heck I'd be happy to go back to a TV I have to get up to turn on and off and to change channels. Having to use a fob instead of a key for my wife's vehicle bugs the crap out of me. I do understand now when I was younger and the older folks didn't want to learn to use a computer. It all makes sense to me now. You get older and grow weary of constantly having changes thrown at you. Was expecting a delivery a while back and the delivery guy called because he can't find our address with GPS and asked me to go to googlemaps and drop a pin on it. I had to tell him I don't have a clue what you are talking about. Because of GPS younger folks can't get anywhere without it, or even follow directions anymore, yet alone use a map. My son came to visit us this past weekend and literally drove through a creek where a bridge was washed out because his GPS said that was the way to go. Luckily for him the water was low and on top of that he did it in a brand new car he just picked up two days earlier.

 

[BattleScale Collectica]

Yup, that's the way I think of it, at least for now. Have used Shapeways, go through their catalogue, select the parts I want, the material and level of detail, then they put it into production, and mail me the part. Now if I had the geometry (CAD file) or produced one, I could do that with them too, and add it to their catalogue.
That's their business model.
BTW, I'm not associated with them in any way.

unfortunately that version of Shapeways is dead, and the shop as it was is gone.

75% of what I'm building is a 3D print, but there is a place for "old" ways like Revell & Round2 and new ways like printing parts you need.

Either way it takes time and talent to design a model regardless of how it's manufactured. It's a great time to be a modeler!!

 

[BarleyBop]

that version of Shapeways is dead

Dang, and I thought I had a good thing going!
Anybody else out there?

 

[BattleScale Collectica]

Dang, and I thought I had a good thing going!
Anybody else out there?

nothing like what Shapeways was. I've kept in contact with a couple "sellers" and have had some design work or special prints done, but the vast majority of the old shops and designers don't have a way to operate anymore, since Shapeways handled all the production and fulfillment.