3d printed minimates

[minifigvig]

i smell a business venture!

a 3D printing company called Gold Standard Toys (GST) producing a line of 2” block figures called LittleLads ?

with all the weapons and accessories a collector could ever want

 

but fr, after seeing @davypenn’s giant ‘mates i’ve also been thinking more and more about what 3d printing can do for this line and i keep revisiting the thread because i’m excited to see what’s being made! keep up the good work fellas

[hellpop]

5 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

I always read this thread & I continually ask myself why the avenue of 3D printed Minimates isn't fully exploited . As always I probably need to explain that I'm not patronising or criticising those people who are making such fantastic 'pieces' , no way, I am in awe.

I am questioning quite why someone hasn't fully exploited what must be considered to be the future of Minimates ?

That's a question .

I think it's mostly due to the extreme niche nature of our community. You can get some great parts on Shapeways, and I know Nervous was working with someone there who designed some things for him, but for the most part I just don't think there are that many designers that are working on Minimate customs the way there are, say, Legos.

The one real advantage that I think you would have with 3D printing Minimate parts is that it should theoretically allow you to have tampos printed directly on them. I remember talking with someone (Luke or Nervous, can't remember who) about that, and the big problem with printing directly onto Minimate parts is that these days even the blanks are usually painted rather than just colored plastic, and they won't take a printed tampo the way plain colored plastic would. So theoretically you could 3D print your own torsos and then print a design right onto them. Far, far outside my area of expertise though. And I could be wrong about all of that!

[Onyx_6]

I have the 3D printer, but I have no design skills. My attempts at recreating something at Minimate scale was a disaster. 

Aside from an 8 inch MInimate just for kicks, I would love to have the design for some of the larger Minimate pieces (hulk hands, hulkbuster armor pieces, etc.) to be able to print them at a slightly larger scale to fit on 2.5 inch and 3 inch Minimate bodies. Hulkbuster should be close to 13 feet tall, which should be closer to 4 inches, or the bulked up pieces on a 3 inch body. Same for Hulk on 2.5 inch body.

But, yes, sadly there are not a lot of folks out there creating accessories for Minimates in the 3D realm

[cylonchaney]

On 7/23/2022 at 12:43 PM, Tribble_WC said:

Lol, got side tracked. The sizing was a little off, but it prints pretty smooth. Could be better, but for $4.40, I'm not complaining. I've just got to work out the kinks to get the size of each file to match up.

Any updates?

On 4/7/2022 at 7:58 AM, Mattallica said:

not great ,ive made a few small items, tried to make a few others that didnt turn out well, but havent really had a lot of time to devote to figuring it all out to be honest.

Any updates?  

On 7/26/2022 at 4:22 PM, Onyx_6 said:

Curious for details on the outcome of this. I have been tempted to buy that file for a while, but I recognized it was stolen photos, so I wasn't sure.

Started working on that Cylon Raider yet? Any other mate related prints?

[Onyx_6]

24 minutes ago, cylonchaney said:

Started working on that Cylon Raider yet? Any other mate related prints?

Sadly not! 😂 I have been sewing lately. 

[Tribble_WC]

So, for $5, I got 4 files of various minimates parts and none of them are sized to go with one another. I've been working off and on on getting them scaled to match one another. Seems like every time I think I have it, something else doesn't match up

[cylonchaney]

1 hour ago, Tribble_WC said:

So, for $5, I got 4 files of various minimates parts and none of them are sized to go with one another. I've been working off and on on getting them scaled to match one another. Seems like every time I think I have it, something else doesn't match up

Bummer.

Just a thought. Blender is free and there are plenty of tutorials on Youtube. It looks daunting at first. But the workflow you'd need to learn is actually not too hard. For example, if you have a poorly fitting shoulder joint,  you can create a sphere slightly larger than the existing one and merge it to the model. so that the ball on the end of the peg is now slightly larger. I've followed a couple of tutorials and now use Blender for some tasks. It's much better at merging things than the tool I was using previously.

Even just the tiniest bit of skill with CAD or 3d modelling really open up the power of 3d printing. I get such a feeling of accomplishment every time I look at one of my Raiders.

The little bit of workflow above would give the skills to mashup models. If you want a Buddha with a Predator head and have a model of both ...

[Tribble_WC]

I will definitely look into it! 

 

[thereasonsy]

Did that person who was printing out new hips to get Minimates to cross their legs ever succeed?

[cylonchaney]

1 hour ago, thereasonsy said:

Did that person who was printing out new hips to get Minimates to cross their legs ever succeed?

Ivan was successful. Look a bit down this page.

http://www.minimatelabs.com/default.php

Or is there a more recent effort you're thinking of?

[minimateship]

those hips are incredible, not gonna lie

[cylonchaney]

This is what I like about designing and printing stuff.

I be he had a Eureka moment when he decided to make one peg longer than the other. It just works so well.

[thereasonsy]

On 8/14/2023 at 1:22 AM, cylonchaney said:

Ivan was successful. Look a bit down this page.

http://www.minimatelabs.com/default.php

Or is there a more recent effort you're thinking of?

Exactly what I am thinking about! Man I wish it was on shapeways 

[cylonchaney]

14 minutes ago, thereasonsy said:

Exactly what I am thinking about! Man I wish it was on shapeways 

You could reach out to Ivan. He still has an account here and checks messages from time to time if you don't mind maybe waiting a bit.

I could create this model easily enough when my project queue thins out a bit. The only problem I have with uploading to Shapeways is that I'd have to order at least one myself and make sure it actually fits with Minimate parts. And if it doesn't then you gotta update and order another one. Not very convenient for me to help you out this way.

I'd prototype on my own FDM printers. If that quality is good enough for you, we can probably work something out.

But maybe try Ivan first. I've got lots of projects on the go and his is already done if you can get him to share or put on Shapeways.

[thereasonsy]

On 8/18/2023 at 2:47 PM, cylonchaney said:

You could reach out to Ivan. He still has an account here and checks messages from time to time if you don't mind maybe waiting a bit.

I could create this model easily enough when my project queue thins out a bit. The only problem I have with uploading to Shapeways is that I'd have to order at least one myself and make sure it actually fits with Minimate parts. And if it doesn't then you gotta update and order another one. Not very convenient for me to help you out this way.

I'd prototype on my own FDM printers. If that quality is good enough for you, we can probably work something out.

But maybe try Ivan first. I've got lots of projects on the go and his is already done if you can get him to share or put on Shapeways.

Great suggestion and thank you!

[thereasonsy]

Does anyone have an alternative to Shapeways since they closed down their marketplace?

[cylonchaney]

10 hours ago, thereasonsy said:

Does anyone have an alternative to Shapeways since they closed down their marketplace?

I don't see anyone with something similar now. However, it's only removed one step of convenience.

There are quite a few sites where you can download stl files either paid or free. You can still upload your stl to shapeways and have them print it. It's just the integrated file shop that's gone.

Dave and Ivan are on this forum. It seems to me that most of the Minimate stuff was in their stores. You might try to make a deal with one of them for the file you want, if one of theirs. Then just upload it to Shapeways yourself and have them print it.

What are you looking to get printed?

Edited December 7, 2024 by cylonchaney

[thereasonsy]

I was building up my motu customs:)

[cylonchaney]

I think most of the MOTU stuff on Shapeways was Dave's. An incredible talent, that guy. He's still around here.

Who is your most wanted character currently?

[Dave]

10 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

I think most of the MOTU stuff on Shapeways was Dave's. An incredible talent, that guy. He's still around here.

Who is your most wanted character currently?

Thanks for the compliment

[cylonchaney]

On 12/8/2024 at 6:14 PM, Dave said:

Thanks for the compliment

Was it you that did that parts for Frazetta's Death Dealer?

I loved that custom and had always wanted to get around to ordering those parts and making one.

And a bunch of your MOTU stuff. I'll probably try to do my own now, for the fun of it. Tri Klops looks like maybe an easy start.

[Dave]

8 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

Was it you that did that parts for Frazetta's Death Dealer?

I loved that custom and had always wanted to get around to ordering those parts and making one.

And a bunch of your MOTU stuff. I'll probably try to do my own now, for the fun of it. Tri Klops looks like maybe an easy start.

I didn’t make the death dealer

[cylonchaney]

I found the guy I was thinking of. This guy had a pretty big Minimate accessories store on Shapeways. Again, might be worth contacting directly. He has some MOTU stuff and some other stuff as well.

https://www.elliott-johnson.com/more#/figurine-accessories/

I think this guy, Dave, and Luke were the top 3 biggest Minimate stores on Shapeways and definitely had the best models.

Edited December 22, 2024 by cylonchaney

[cylonchaney]

@thereasonsy maybe you just need to wait a little longer.  When they've completed the takeover, hopefully your favourite modelers will reestablish their stores.

https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/shapeways-acquires-thangs-to-establish-new-creator-ecosystem-235230/

@Dave and @luke314pi I hope you're going to put your stuff back up when it's possible again.

[Dave]

13 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

@thereasonsy maybe you just need to wait a little longer.  When they've completed the takeover, hopefully your favourite modelers will reestablish their stores.

https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/shapeways-acquires-thangs-to-establish-new-creator-ecosystem-235230/

@Dave and @luke314pi I hope you're going to put your stuff back up when it's possible again.

As soon as I can, I will reopen my shop.  With some brand new pieces as well.