Win a plastic Petunia!

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macouno is running an informal contest. Something that’s just for fun, and the rules are loose.

“This week I received something rather nice in the mail. An absolutely gorgeous prototyped print of the original Petunia model from the guys at www.shapeways.com and I can’t stop looking at it. It’s rather nice to have a figure you can actually hold. But I decided I’ll give it away!”

For those who are wondering about Shapeways, this is where Bart has been spending all of his time. He’s been very involved with the company right from the start. Shapeways is an on line, 3D printer company. And of course, you can create your object in Blender (Thank you Bart!) and then print them out, and have a scaled model of your creation.

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    • http://www.blender3d.no Gaute

      Cool!

    • Smelz

      This sounds really cool, Blender People would be perfect for this.

    • MrE

      Is there a estimate pricelist somewhere? This is something i would really like to use.

    • http://www.blendernation.com Bart
    • http://www.creaturefeature.info Ataru

      That is so sweet! Man Bart, that is right up your alley, and mine too! Maybe I’ll try this thing out…

    • MrE

      Bart thanks for the info. It’s expensive, but i think it’s going to fun owning some of your own creations for real.
      I’m currently working on a model that i would like to see printed.

      Can the material be painted?

      When a design is uploaded, will you advise on the changes that must/could be made to prevent errors/dissapointments in the printed product? Or will you put a sort of designguide to point out the do’s and don’ts?

      My design for instance is a sort of turbine-engine thingy and because the rendered picture doesn’t call for the rotor to be fixed to a part of the hull it just floats in its surrounding.
      Now if i would bring down the cost and don’t want to bring down the size i would have order a hollow version. the effect i forsee now is that the rotor would just be a loose part inside the hull.
      It would be nice to be pointed this out on forehand.

    • http://www.macouno.com macouno

      MrE, There’s lots of nice documentation on the shapeways site, basicly if you can succesfully upload a model and it’s accepted by the system they can print it. There’s automated checks.

      For help they have a forum, which works well and has some good tips already. Personally I’m really excited about affordable good quality printing. And yeah I think the materials used are all paintable, though some special paint may be best.. I wouldn’t know about that.

      Thanks to the people responding to the “competition thread” I’m so enjoying all of it… going to read the latests posts right now!

      Dolf

    • Tessa

      @Bart

      Why are you listing the prices in US dollars if the company is located in the EU?

    • http://www.dave3d.mad-host.net/index.php ddwagnz

      I wouldnt recommend bribing macouno for it either btw, i failed in that…. =P

      @Bart, so when am i expecting my free mancandy in a cool pose print ;) =P

    • http://www.shapeways.com Peter

      @MrE

      Good question about the painting, we are working on a guide howto paint, color the different materials we offer.

      Also if we spot problems with your design, we will contact you and ask what you want.
      As macouno says, contact us in the forum and we will try and answer all your questions before you order.

      Have fun!
      Peter

      (/me works at Shapeways as well)

    • MrE

      Thanks all for your replies. I have filled out the form like Bart said and will hopefully study the rest of the site and forum soon.

    • http://www.blendernation.com Bart

      @Tessa: we’re offering our services worldwide, so I guess that’s why the choice was made.

    • Keen

      whoa cool!! its fair pricey though… that little monkey is $62 at best O_O maybe cheaper materials could be found? if it could be put down to $20 for something so small i’d go crazy in making my 3D creations reality and maybe even selling them =D

    • maxwildcat

      Hey Bart, good luck on this endeavor..

      Since this turned into a Q&A session i was wondering if paypal is the only option because you can’t open a paypal account from Lebanon (they’d have you believe its a suspicious country…) now i’m not yelling Prejudice (sounds like something i’d do though :P)

      while i’m ranting a few sites also have a problem with a Lebanese issued card( I won’t name them, because I blame their gateway)… Others just charge me normally and ship ‘em here as well…

      speaking of which, could you ship to Beirut? (you said worldwide :P). most sites like amazon and play-asia (and they take my card so i’m naming :P)

    • Chris M.

      Hmmm,very intresting.I build scale-models ( scratch ,kits ,whatever)
      This could be a very helpful tool in making extra parts for “super-detailing”,plastic part are still cheaper than photo-echted parts.
      @ Bart : Is dit bedrijfje gevestigd in Nederland ,zou verdomd handig zijn!
      EN welke plastic soort wordt hiervoor gebruikt?( polystyrene ?)

    • Chris M.

      @Mr. E

      For painting these plastics ,you could use acrylic paints or enamel paints, There’s a choice between alcohol (Tamiya) or waterbased acrylics ( Vallejo).Revell has both,last time I checked.Sadly,Humbroll (UK ) no longer exists.Every good hobby shop should , at lest ,have the Tamiya and the Revellpaints in stock.
      Although the alcohol based acryls have good resistance to ” wear and “tear”,they’re eeuhh a little harmfull to use ,if used in a non-ventilated place.( Makes you a little bit dizzy!)Plus, they require specialized thinners for cleaning brushes and diluting the paint.And they’re a little bit expensive.For example ,for 23ml. net of Tamiya paint ,you probably pay about 3€.Could be more nowadays,I don’t now,when I need them ,I usually buy them with 3 or 4 at a time. Which means ,my stock lasts a little bit longer ;-p
      I hope this info helps you a little bit.

    • http://samsrandomjunk.com flyvin

      A while ago there was something about chocolate Suzanns made with a mold from a 3D printer. Ever since I wanted a 3D printer, but they cost SO much. YAY!

    • Guy

      The way I see it having a little print of your character(s) could be a real advantage in a production, Your riggers/texture artists/lighters have that little something they can pick up and rotate. It can really help to get the “feel” for the “look” of a character.

    • http://www.blendernation.com Bart

      @maxwildcat: I’ve passed that question on to a teammate, we’ll get back on that

      @Chris M: Yeah, we’re Dutch! It doesn’t really matter much though, but maybe shipping will be a littlebit faster for you :) We have two materials: Polycarbonate (our ‘Cream Robust’ material) and something the supplier specifies as ‘acrylic-based photopolymer’ (White & Clear Detail). The exact details of the material are not disclosed to us..

    • http://www.blendernation.com Bart

      @maxwildcat: you don’t need to have a PayPal account, but I wonder if they’ll accept your creditcard… If they don’t, then at this moment there’s not much we can do for you, I’m afraid. And yes, we’ll ship to Beirut, no problem.

    • maxwildcat

      Thanks Bart … I appreciate it .
      I guess I’ll have to try for the card… but if its paypal only i wouldn’t bother…

    • Chris M.

      @Bart 18/06/08

      Aha, Indeed very handy,net de grens over .Bedankt voor de plastics detail,de’r kan ik al mee weg.
      Polycarbonate;;;,well with the right glue(don’t like the matreial ,but alas…)Same material used in ” unbreakable glasses ( glasses as put on your nose …)
      Going to check up on the acrylic polymer,I suppose you don’t know who manufactured it?
      Thanks for the info.

    • Chris M.

      @Bart 18/06/08

      Aha, Indeed very handy,net de grens over .Bedankt voor de plastics details,de’r kan ik al mee weg.
      Polycarbonate;;;,well with the right glue(don’t like the material ,but alas…)Same material used in ” unbreakable glasses ( glasses as put on your nose …)
      Going to check up on the acrylic polymer,I suppose you don’t know who manufactured it?
      BTW the metal stuff is BAD ASS!!!!!Impressive.
      Thanks for the info.