Ivan

I've looked at a bunch of the consumer 3D printers (RepRap, MakerBot, etc.) but their output leaves a bit to be desired. I love to see the progress that community is making, but it seems the resolution isn't quite there yet. The one item I've had printed (so far) came out great. I used Shapeways. They do more than plastic too, you can also get a glass material or stainless steel with several different finish options. Scan lines are still visible though not nearly as jarring. Turnaround time is a bitch though. It was hard to wait two-plus weeks for it to show up. I haven't heard of PP3DP before, but the website doesn't inspire me with confidence. <Reason for edit: Conjunction overload>

My envy knows no bounds. If ever you grow weary of their presence, my wallet will be open.

Where's Chris Hansen when you need him?

Oh bother, I'm not going to be able to make this one. I hope we can get a full transcript posted. Send Chuck my regards.

Oooh, it's an "OFFICIAL" thread. Did you get all the paperwork filled out? Stamped in triplicate? Hopefully you paid all the appropriate fees in a timely manner. Do I need permission before posting in it?

I'm advising all my clients to put everything they've got into canned food and shotguns.

I don't have the little blighter in front of me, but I'm fairly sure those are printing/tampo defects and not tricks of the light. That poor little guy has more problems than an unwed squirrel. I'd like to note though that the Minimate in the loose photos is not the same as the one in the packaged photos. The loose one came from AA Donna via eBay some time ago and is not one of the "Official 50". For all I know he was set aside because of his tampographic distinctiveness. Perhaps he is some sort of emissary of slightly irregular toys everywhere. Maybe he exists to spread the word of their hardships. To let people know that that 'imperfect' toys are just as good as their more desirable counterparts. They will no longer be silent. Their voices will be heard. Just because your JLU figures can't remain upright or your McFarlane figures have broken from an angry glance, it doesn't mean they don't deserve your respect. They have feelings like everybody else. They will only take your mocking and disparagement for so long. Their day is coming. I can see it in the not-to-distant future. The irregular toys shall have their revenge. They will come with their bent rifles. They will come with their purple swords. They will come with their musty odors and rotting rubber bits. The revolution will not be televised. First against the wall will be the sixth-scale figures. They think they are so high and mighty with their twelve inches, their shiny armor or their custom tailored suits. What good will a suit be when you have no arms to put in it? Next will be the vinyl. Oh, pretty vinyl. With your bright colors, your artist signatures, and your limited editions. None of that will help you when being stared down by hundreds of googly-eyed Indiana Joneses. You cannot hide. They are always watching... Take heed perfect toys. Your days are numbered.

Yeah, he was pretty much a fixture at the Minimate and other toy related panels. Here are a pair of photos from a couple weeks ago at SDCC 2010. (Sorry the quality is suboptimal, I wasn't using my normal camera.) Here's one from SDCC 2007. And one from 2009 Usually I don't post in (much less make) these kind of threads, but after seeing him so recently this just hit me really off guard. He is someone I would have liked to have known better. There's a tribute post at AFI.

I was checking out the latest Q&As on the AA site and I saw this simple post from Chuck. After a bit of research, it appears Minimate-painter and all-around great guy Eddie Wires passed away last night in his studio. I haven't found any more details than that, but I'm just floored. I've talked with him at a few Comic-Cons and he was the nicest guy you could ever want to meet. Talent beyond measure. Here's his website if you aren't aware of his impact on the industry.

Thanks Nessex. I'm not sure if I'll do any more BSG, but I have thought about trying Ghostbusters in that style.

Just a tight crop of my latest (Minimate-related) 3D render. Whenever I make something I really like I change my avatar to give the work a bit of promotion without spamming the board.

I used to listen to This American Life for a long time before I realized I wasn't get any work done while it was on. Took me years to figure this out. My bosses never did.

Chuck said at the SDCC Minimates panel that they aren't in talks with Target or Wal-Mart (or K-Mart) right now. Of course that could change pretty quickly if Target comes knocking.

yeah - i totally remember reading that too, but was surprised that we didn't see anything on the database. . . i figured it must have been a mistake? Smeg! Sorry guys, I'll get it in the next update.

I didn't use the site, but I might be able to give some insight into the 'hacked' comment. If you're not careful writing database code it's quite easy to leave holes open that a malicious person can exploit. With such a hole a carefully crafted URL could delete all the tables (and therefore data) in a database. I'm careful but not perfect, so I've got backups of my data scattered in various locations. I've never had to do it, but if MMDB went down I could probably restore it rather painlessly. Without backups it might just be more trouble than it's worth for the creator to resurrect it. Not to speak for the creator, but the hack might just be a convenient excuse to move on. Although with that type of following one would hope the site would be passed on to another caretaker.

I think I've finally got the audio done from the panel. The quality is not all it should be, unfortunately. I've tried to clean it up, but any filter I try to apply seems to give Chuck a robotic voice. I'm not an audio engineer by any stretch of the imagination. If anyone can clean this up, please feel free. SDCC 2010 Minimates Panel (~43MB)

Wow, great job Storm. I can elaborate on a couple of questions. Chuck originally wanted to redo all four translucent colors from 2008 as giveaway for this year but ran out of time. The factory just made what they could. It looks like some 2008 Oranges slipped in with the 2010 Blues. I recorded audio* from the Minimate panel but I need a real computer to clean it up. I'll post it when I get it uploaded. *Can only get about 30 minutes of video and apart from the initial slideshow there were no visuals.

MMMVers are quick and wily creatures so all of my attempts came out blurry. Maybe others had more luck. But I have it on very good authority that all of the following people are avid Minimate fans. They may be members, I don't know. These are only from the first couple days as I haven't had the opportunity to edit or upload anything more recent. Hopefully soon.

A few new shots from this morning's goings-on. I wasn't able to get back for the winner announcement. Dunno what happened. I'll try to fulfill photo requests, but no promises.

Listening to Danny Elfman talk right now. Since it's obviously not a visual presentation I've been able to upload some of yesterday's photos. There's probably some duplication of other people's photos, but hopefully they're useful.

Okay, apparently DST has two full page ads in the guide this year. The other is located on page 165. Here are the photos:

Due to off-site registration I am currently in possession of this year's SDCC event guide. DST's ad is near the back this year on page 173. A few interesting Minimate notes: Giveaway at noon each day. Build-a-Minimate zone? Minimate prize pack giveaway. Minimate poster giveaways!! Trying to upload the ad now. More news as I get it.

That's funny. My TRU only charged me $6.99. Did they raise the price at your store when they saw 'variant' written on the package? I think they might be trying to rip you off. You should take them back and complain to the manager.

Screwy TRU.com shipping anecdote time. I put my pre-order for three sets of this latest wave when they first went up on the site back in May. Like many others, the Mayor/Subway Ghost packs shipped last Thursday. When I checked my account today I found the rest of my order shipped on Friday... ...all in separate packages. They each have different tracking numbers. Each one! They're not shipping the three Ray/Theater Ghosts together, all three have their own tracking number. One day soon I'll have nine padded envelopes waiting for me with Ghostbusters of varying degrees of crushination. It shall be a glorious day. (For certain, limited values of glorious.)

Ahhhhh, the exile is over. It's nice to be back in the warm, embracing, bosom of MMMV. The real world was cold, dark, and smelled faintly of sauerkraut. I think someone stole one of my fillings. Don't make me go back... please.