cylonchaney

I found a great free photo to 3d AI that allows multi-angle in its free workflow. Output quality is fantastic. The only challenge at this point is that the rendered Mate is tiny. I then have to upscale it to correct size and carve out the parts I want. Some are coming along nicely but some I've made too small and then the part is too thin and doesn't print well. But I've got a couple of fantastic parts already. If you have basic Blender skills, you should be able to follow my workfow. I use free gemini.google.com to generate images. My prompts start out something like, "Create an image of John Rambo as a Minimate block figure. No nose. No background. Display the figure from 3 different angles suitable for generating a 3d model. I may have to update a few times to add more detail. When I'm happy I save the image. I use GIMP to split the file into 3 separate images. Then I go to https://3d.hunyuanglobal.com/ . I choose Image to 3d, Multiple Images, and Staged Generation as I only want the stl and don't need textures. I upload the 3 images I created. Typically front, back, side. This outputs a full 3d model of the figure. I import that to Blender. I also import my standard Minimate-like head (with no peg hole) I use the head as a sizing guide to resize the model. Then I cut out the parts I want. So far it's been hair pieces and helmets, etc. But it would be just as easy to copy any part really. It's a good workflow resulting in good quality parts. I will have to redo some because I didn't sit the hair far enough down on the head when carving them out. But I'm really happy with the quality so far.

That's about 50 - 75% of the total number of customs I've created ever! Just in this one display. I would definitely be patting myself on the back after completing a project of that scale. Congrats.

It's so satisfying completing something of that scale. You must be pleased. I assume some are factory standard and some are customized to small and large degrees. Can you quantify in some way how much customization work you did to put this together? How long have you been working on it? Impressive!

Right. Phantom of the Muppet Show is now added to my list of characters to try to make with AI. He looks great!

I've got a pretty good library of AI renders now. I think pretty soon I'm going to subscribe to one of the 3d AIs and make a bunch of Minimate parts from the renders. I will list below some of the characters I plan to make mostly hairpieces / helmets for. Please let me know if there's anything you can think of that I should try to add while my subscription lasts. These are all characters I've had AI render as Mates for me. I just have to 3d-ify and chop out what I need. Admiral Akbar Ajax from The Warriors Andy Griffith AC / DC Austin Powers Beast Man (MOTU) Boba Fett Bogart Bruce Lee Burt Reynolds C3P0 Chewie Chuck Norris Claude Rains - I want to make Casablanca Mates LOL Clone Trooper Space 1999 Mates Cobra Trooper Col. Saunders Conquest - Invincible Count Chocula Beverly Crusher Darth Maul Data David Lee Roth Death Dealer - Frank Frazetta painting Dirty Harry Dr. Evil Eddie Van Halen Elvis Evel Knievel Fonzie Crimson Guard - GI JOE Greenshirts - GI JOE Gilligan G'Kar from Babylon 5 - so far can't get a good likeness but I love the character Gordon Freeman GOT - Arya GOT - Bronn GOT - Jaime GOT - Tormund GOT - John Snow GOT - Brienne Gowron Greedo Grievous Green Lantern Han Solo Hellboy He Man Horse - not a character - a Minimate horse for Mates to ride Indiana Jones Jabba - LOL Jar Jar Jeff Lynne Joker Kid Flash - new hair Kirk Kirk - older Klingons Carl Kolchak - The Night Stalker - can't get a good likeness so far Kratos Lalo - Better Call Saul Lando Lara Croft Leia Luke Skywalker Magnum PI Mates Mando Martian Manhunter Martok - DS9 McCoy Marilyn Monroe Mork from Ork Mr. T Obi Wan Chief O'Brien Ogre - Revenge of the Nerds Phantom of the Paradise Rebel Pilot Riker Robin - spikey hair Robocop Jim Rockford Rolling Stones Romulan Ronald McDonald Santa Saul Goodman Scout Trooper Storm Trooper Felicity Shagwell Skeletor The Skipper - Gilligan's Island Snow Trooper Space Racer - Invincible Spock Superman - hair with a curl in front Tarkin TIE Fighter Pilot Tonto Trump Tusken Raider Uhura Vader Wonder Woman Yoda Vault Dweller LOL Longer list than I thought. Anyway, happy to try to add to it.

You could 3d print a bunch or cast one and make a mold. I prefer it in the sticker myself.

The materials and cost of running your own machine are very inexpensive. A kilo of ABS can be had for $20 CAD or less. Could probably print hundreds of block figures from that. It's just time consuming. I think it takes me 2 or 3 hours to print all of the parts to make one 2" figure. If one had a booming business in Minimate parts, it could be scaled by having more printers. But there's still finish time for the parts as well. Or, if you don't want to be a 3d printer hobbiest, PCBWay will print one of my Andorian hairpiece (as an example) for $7.98 USD. 10 for $24.89 and 50 for $115.29. Those must be minimum prices. When I change from that one hairpiece to an entire figure, the pricing is still the same. You could get a Minimate-like figure printed for about $2.50 US. I'm tempted get one of mine in Aluminum for $85.00. LOL

The pieces are all there now if you want to put them together and don't mind paying a little. I'm too cheap which is why I'm not already doing it. You can get AI to spit out a 3d model of a Minimate you want parts of and then use traditional tools (Blender) to carve out what you need. Typically, I cut off the head with hair / helmet and then remove a head shape from what's left. This leaves you with a helmet or hairpiece that can be 3d printed. There are services now where you can upload models and they print for you at livable prices. I'd be happy to teach you or anyone the manual cleanup part. It's very easy. It's exactly how I made my Andorian hairpiece. It would be even nicer if I used paid tools instead of the free versions.

I never really warmed up to the character. Thinks he's too cool for everyone else. I gotta go with the blue tinted myself. He seems pretty chill.

a silicone mold would be done something like that. I assume most injection molds are CNC machined out of metal directly from a 3d model. One also has to design channels for the plastic to flow into all the parts and for air to pushed out. Think sprues on old model kits.

You need 3d printing quality and materials to improve for made to order to be feasible. Technically good enough for me now. But those layer lines ... For that sweet smooth injection molded look and feel, you need molds. No one is going to make a mold for your one off part. It might be something that could be community kickstarted or something if enough people want pigtails or dreads or whatever. But there has to be enough demand that someone expects to make their money back on molds or else you have to live with 3d printed quality. Those home injection molding machines are hobbyist priced at the low end. My thought when I was considering it was more towards blank bodies of my block figure in a couple of standard sizes. I think some of the parts with cavities and through holes would be a challenge for a home machine and I'm happy enough with 3d printing. It was a fun fantasy though. Home injection molding would be a good fit for in demand accessories I think. If someone was heading down this road, I have more detailed versions of a bunch of my weapons. Handgun, revolver, Trek Phaser, Cylon rifle, etc. I'd be happy to share for an Injection molded weapons pack.

Steady Craftin with The Crafsman has a few videos on the subject and lots that might be of interest to customizers. Here's an injection molding one. But I think there's one out there when he does his very first run.

Just to send BHM down another rabbit hole, there is such a thing as home injection molding. Molds for this can be produced in the hundreds of dollars price range I believe. The quality would be superior to any current plastic 3d printers that I'm aware of. But I'm not sure how it would compare to factory created product. I had considered looking into this for creating some accessories in the past.

I don't think there's a lot IP rights you can get on such a basic block figure. You can't let someone patent cubes, spheres and cylinders or any specific basic combination of them, I would assume. The existence of Palz and others suggests to me there's not a lot to sue over when your design is so basic. I thought I read somewhere that was the case with block figures.

Sewage flood in my condo a few years back. Say no more!