Jatta Pake

Stunning stuff as always Ivan,

Now you've peeked my curiosity about 3D printing and it seems to me that it's a natural progression for you considering your 3D modelling skills.

How difficult it is to create the models that are required to print such complex parts as minimates?

How well does it work for smaller parts? say custom replacement pieces in actual minimate size?

I see it as being far too daunting for a total 3D modelling novice such as myself but an interesting project if you have those skills.

T.

You may be able to cheat and get the parts 3D scanned. Theoretically, all you would need to do at that point is scale up the 3D model and print.

I have a feeling it is much more complicated though.

I have to chime in as I, too, love board games. I've got a closet stuffed full of them. So my obligatory 2 cents:

I think Minimates would work very well in a board game. You could shoe-horn Minimates into any number of games, but you don't really end up with a "Minimate" game. You end up with a themed version of an existing game - Minimates Monopoly for example. So rather than being just pawns, I think there should be an original game mechanic that utilizes the Minimates design. Ideally, the Minimates art aesthetic would also be incorporated into the overall design as well. So what the hell do I mean?

Mainly, the interchangeable Minimate pieces lend themselves nicely to a "character building" game mechanic. You could have four players taking the role of Iron Man heroes - Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy. They start as regular civilian Minimates. As they move around the board achieving objectives they acquire pieces to the Iron Man suit of armor. As the armor is added to the figure, new abilities and powers come into play. Every fifth turn, an Iron Man villain Minimate appears on the board and the players must work together (or not) to defeat him/her. Pretty straight forward but slightly boring. To flavor the game, you could allow players to "mix and match" different kinds of Iron Man armor. For example, your character could acquire Mark 9 gloves, Silver Centurion Chest, War Machine legs and a Crimson Dynamo helmet, each lending some different mix of powers and abilities. After a set number of rounds, the players all fight each other in a winner-take all battle (or go Euro-style and whoever earned the most points wins). You could even add an "area control" element as characters take control of different gameboard spots for added advantages and abilities.

Hope this isn't coming across as criticism of any existing ideas or asinine pontificating. But my overall point is that Minimates themselves have some inherent properties that would make a game unique and original if used the right way. Given the tremendous creative power of members on this board, I think a truly amazing game could be designed by folks here using Minimates. I hope my comment sparks some ideas as the toy itself would make an excellent vehicle for a board game.

I can't wait to see what you come up with Jeff!

Can I be the first to say "Thank God for Bronies"? Nothing has made my hobby less weird than when compared to Bronies. Collecting "Lego-people" is mainstream compared to Bronies. Cosplay Bronies? You'd think I was collecting baseball cards.

I salute the Bronies. Thank you.

You could also use the House of M Spider-Man for the X-Men. In that reality, Peter Parker was believed to be a mutant.

Just saw this thread. I'm in Burbank right now, but my Terry Crews Minimate is back home. I know the Tonight Show tapes at around 2pm so I probably wouldn't have time to go get it. Plus I'm at work...

Sounds like you found a solution, but if this situation comes up again, Zach, let me know via PM or email. If I get some lead time, I can have any Minimate in the hands of a studio fairly quickly.

I'm also kicking myself because if I'd checked MMMV before leaving for work today I could have done it. Damn!

Cubify's Cube retails for $1299. The plastic "ink" cartridges are $50. This would be equivalent to laser printers back in the day when they came out.

To me, the technology has two fundamental barriers to widespread adoption:

• 3D modeling is too hard for the average consumer. Ivan (Hail Ivan) is a modeling genius, but your average housewife isn't going to be designing stuff yet. We need the equivalent of Photoshop Elements or Instragram for 3D modeling. Check back in 2023.
• The alternative to 3D computer modeling, and what everyone really wants, is 3D scanning. Right now there are Cloud based options but no consumer level 3D Scanners.

That said, I do see both barriers being overcome in the future. Imagine an iPhone app that lets you scan a copy of your house key. You walk into your local hardware store, upload the scan, and the 3D printer prints out a metal copy. Nice, but you can do that today by just bringing your key into the store. How about this scenario in 2023: You 3D scan your key that you accidentally packed with your luggage when you got on a flight to Free Pyonyang. From the airplane, you 3D scan the key and text it to your housesitter. She curses you for having old fashioned lock and keys instead of voice-recognition locks but heads off to the hardware store to print a key so she can get in and water your plants.

I think 3D printing is a boon for toy makers at the moment. Designers and artists can prototype very quickly, and can experiment with cost reducing designs. Factories still have massive advantages over household 3D printers, and this won't change for a while. These include: wider range of materials available to use, tampo printing, packaging, safety testing, distribution, logistics, etc. Certainly there are implications for collectors as bootleggers and fraudsters have been around forever. But people want originals when collecting. It's not like a piece of fashion you wear to show off - it's meaningful to collectors to have an actual original. You want the original Joe DiMaggio baseball card if your collecting, not the reprint.

The only Multiple Man I'd like is the classic outfit.

He narrowly lost out to the Nova Corps Centurions in the fan poll!

>Still holding out for Mandroids. (With SHIELD Agents underneath) That'd be incredible.

Lost out to Nova Corps Centurions, Stepford Cuckoos, Classic Madrox and HAMMER Agents in the fan poll.

Mindless Ones for sure.

Lost to everybody but the Dire Wraiths and the Warwolves in the fan poll.

I wanted all of these, BTW.

Let's see if I've got the order (and perhaps prediction of army builders with future waves)

1. Classic Madrox - Probably in an X-Factor wave (Strong guy, Siryn, Banshee, 90s Havok)

2. Stepford Cuckoos - This would probably be a modern X-Men wave (white Fantomex, Dark Nightcrawler (AoA), Pixie, Dr. Nemesis, Armor)

3. HAMMER Agents - This would be a Dark Reign inspired wave (Madame Hydra, Ghost, Headsman, modern Luke Cage)

4. Mandroids - This would be perfect for an Armor Wars wave (obligatory Iron Man, Controller, Beetle, Shockwave, the Mauler, Firepower)

5. Warwolves - An Mojo X-Men era and Exiles (Mojo, Spiral, Mimic, Beak, Magnus, Nocturne)

, various box sets

Please, please, please, please, please West Coast Avengers box sets! Canada got a lot of love last year. West side needs to represent!

I have a ton more links to post, I'm just short on time at the moment. I'll add them and any others posted here to the first post so they are all in one place. I found some really cool stuff last night (thank you Japan and Europe!).

Inspired by Winkerbean's excellent dioramas, I thought it be fun to start a thread listing links to free paper craft backgrounds and dioramas to print and build with Minimates.



Here are some links I found:
http://cwoolse.tripod.com/miniprintables/furniture.html
http://spoonful.com/sites/default/files/crafts/decorated-dollhouse-craft-steps-FF0411CART_A24.pdf
http://spoonful.com/search?query=Paper+craft
http://pinterest.com/pinterestpetra/paper-craft-dolls-house-furniture/
http://www.papercraftsquare.com/
http://www.paper-replika.com/index.php?option=com_alphacontent&section=10&category=63&Itemid=169
http://papermau.blogspot.com/2011/07/desktop-architecture-serie-02.html
http://jleslie48.com/stbb/rel.html
http://speckyboy.com/2011/04/08/40-amazing-papercraft-templates-for-the-geek-inside-you/
http://www.stones-edges.com/freesamples

Interesting rant on this blog. Talks about what the Extremis soldier may or may not be. Blogger uses Minimates as an example of some of the spoilers coming out due to toy manufacturers. Warning - It may or may not contain spoilers. I have absolutely no clue.

http://screenrant.com/iron-man-3-extremis-soldiers-spoilers/

Curious if any Trek nerds know why Kirk wears green in the tribble episode? Is it his fur ball killing uniform?

Congrats again! Just a few more away from the 4 or more kid club. A few of us can attest that they get better the more you have. Just like Gremlins.

Congratulations!!!!

As a 4-club member with a daughter who just turned 13, I can assure you that you have nothing but 10-12 years of bliss ahead. After that ...

I stopped collecting Joes. The hunt became impossible and I lost interest. Figure I'd like to track down someday are pretty much just Lifeline. The fact that red Jinx was a Con exclusive killed it for me. I'm tired of the impossible to get ARAH remakes. I'll pick up Kwinn and BlindMaster if I ever see them but I'm not buying the Retaliation figures.

These are some of the best quick customs I've seen! Very very cool.

What about The Prowler?

He's already on the list as "Prowler"

I think it'd be neat to have two categories to vote on. One for "All New" characters and one for "Re Do" ones. That way new guys don't have to compete with rehashes. Just my thinking, though.

That is beyond my poll making skills so a single poll will have to do for now.

Oh jeeze. Who was the Spidey Villain who was pert of the Super Soldier project? Queen Bee or something? Lived on an island in the pacific. Miry?

I believe it is Adriana "Queen" Soria who is on the list already. Maybe I'm wrong though?

There are no rules! Actually, I'll change so you can pick THREE later today. And I'll add June Jitsui. Any other villains to add to the list?

Sorry not all TRUs got in Battle Beasts, guys.

@$($*#!%

I've got five TRUs in my immediate area and none got in Battle Beasts.

No one has set up a poll for this yet?

Since I am home sick, I'll put one up after I get my kids to off to school. Any preferred format? List of villain name or vote by category (ie. crime wave, clone wave, 60s villains, etc., I'm sure folks could come up with better categories).

With Morbius coming out next month, who should our next Spider-Man foe to get the Minimates treatment?

My list:

1. The Jackal - Classic villain who starred in the epic clone disaster. A wave including Jackal could include an updated Scarlet Spider and some clones like Kaine.

2. Hammerhead - I don't think he could anchor a wave himself as the main bad guy but I could see him in a crime "wave" with Tombstone, Count Nefaria, and Maggia goon army builder.

3. Molten Man - An oldie for sure. Maybe a Spider-Man Beginnings wave with the Tinkerer, Mary Jane, Crime Master, Looter, and Scarecrow.

What are yours?

This article seems sadly apropos. Maybe just for me...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/find-the-thing-youre-most-passionate-about-then-do,31742/

That describes me to a tee. But wudya gonna do while waiting to hit the lottery?

Toad vs Enchantress run off!

I guarantee Toad will win. (Could make a cool 2-pack: Princess and the Frog).

This has been one of our best-selling lines in a while at TRU. Hopefully, TRU is interested in more.

I'm excited to hear that.

I'm excited and nervous. I haven't yet found Moose/Bat or one of the other packs. My TRUs seem to get a lot of new releases later than other areas so I'm hoping these are still on the way.

Thought this was an announcement thread.

So far of the two issues I just think the series is "ok" I would like another Ultron but other than that the designs aren't that great.

I want modern Uncanny X-Men designs.

I put the "Please" in the title hoping to indicate it's a wish thread rather than an announcement. Guess I wasn't as successful as I'd hoped.

Admittedly, not much has happened yet but I feel like the ground work is being laid. Certainly setting up some interesting questions. I'm not a fan of Phoenix so AvX didn't do much for me. But I love dystopian future killer robots. Plus I'd love to see more of the two villains in issue #1. (Minimates please!)

I just read the first two issues of Age of Ultron and I'm hooked. I think this would make a great wave to compliment/follow-up-on the upcoming Marvel Now! stuff.

Army Builder is easy:

Anyone else reading AoU?