Diamond Declares Bankrupcy

[cylonchaney]

1 hour ago, Padrino said:

so how is a mold made? 3d print first, make the impressions, and then use it as a mold? is there another method?

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.

Edited August 6 by cylonchaney

[Barry]

36 minutes ago, cylonchaney said:

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.

The way it was done for us was the 3D model was printed and then laid out in a tooling model which then created the sprue.  The problem with going directly from 3D to metal is you can't test the tolerances.  Plastic wall thickness might need to be adjusted in case it's too thin, otherwise you get tears and holes.  Also, because the new parts are fitting on a pre-existing model, and not just interacting with each other, you need to fit them to the base body.

Something might look good in a 3D render, and even with the knowledge of the millimeter measurement, sometimes you don't realize there's a problem until you see the physical object.  To go straight to cutting metal is very expensive, and while tools can be altered post-tooling, it's not great to have to do.  It's easier to remove more material than add it back, as you're working with the shape in it's inverted form (think of the tool as a big ice-tray of MM parts).  So, because it's flipped, if a part is too thin you can carve out more to make it thicker, but if the part is too thick it's hard to add material back to make it thinner.

[buttheadsmate]

16 hours ago, Navaan said:

I've previously tried to push for this. Wasn't able to get interest but I'd still support it.

 

Imagine made to order pigtails, ponytails, dreads. Hats with hair, helmets, etc. 

I didn't mean to steal your thunder ...... sorry !

The idea of an 'accessory only' foray into the currently dormant Minimate product-line might perhaps gain a bit of attention , an attorney's letter at least  .   I loved the diversity of Minimate parts & accessories yet sometimes I ended up just crying my eyes out trawling through the MMDBase* wondering why there are so many 'individual' fire-arms that often looked  (to me ) the same .  Yes that is a criticism but thanks to Barry I now realise why it happened !  

 

[Navaan]

3 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

I didn't mean to steal your thunder ...... sorry !

The idea of an 'accessory only' foray into the currently dormant Minimate product-line might perhaps gain a bit of attention , an attorney's letter at least  .   I loved the diversity of Minimate parts & accessories yet sometimes I ended up just crying my eyes out trawling through the MMDBase* wondering why there are so many 'individual' fire-arms that often looked  (to me ) the same .  Yes that is a criticism but thanks to Barry I now realise why it happened !  

 

Oh no no no no thunder stolen, sorry, more meant 'I was a firm believer but couldn't make it happen, I'm still down if people are interested or getting interested.' I hope I did not come off frustrated or snide, and if I did, apologies for not better wording my thoughts.

[Padrino]

8 hours ago, Barry said:

The way it was done for us was the 3D model was printed and then laid out in a tooling model which then created the sprue.  The problem with going directly from 3D to metal is you can't test the tolerances.  Plastic wall thickness might need to be adjusted in case it's too thin, otherwise you get tears and holes.  Also, because the new parts are fitting on a pre-existing model, and not just interacting with each other, you need to fit them to the base body.

Something might look good in a 3D render, and even with the knowledge of the millimeter measurement, sometimes you don't realize there's a problem until you see the physical object.  To go straight to cutting metal is very expensive, and while tools can be altered post-tooling, it's not great to have to do.  It's easier to remove more material than add it back, as you're working with the shape in it's inverted form (think of the tool as a big ice-tray of MM parts).  So, because it's flipped, if a part is too thin you can carve out more to make it thicker, but if the part is too thick it's hard to add material back to make it thinner.

Barry, was there ever a conversation about using other materials in minimates? I frequently use cloth Lego capes and some of the other minifigures use cloth as well. 

[cylonchaney]

2 hours ago, Navaan said:

Oh no no no no thunder stolen, sorry, more meant 'I was a firm believer but couldn't make it happen, I'm still down if people are interested or getting interested.' I hope I did not come off frustrated or snide, and if I did, apologies for not better wording my thoughts.

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.

[buttheadsmate]

I hope that I'm not coming across as if I'm discounting 3D printed 'stuff' , TBQH I love what you guys produce but I'd assumed that 3D stuff would be too expensive for large runs ?    I may well ruffle feathers however by saying that there are thousands of Minimates (just the bodies) lying in peoples collections / generally available & ,at this point in time , accessorising them is IMHO the way forward .

[Barry]

16 hours ago, Padrino said:

Barry, was there ever a conversation about using other materials in minimates? I frequently use cloth Lego capes and some of the other minifigures use cloth as well. 

Maybe briefly about cloth capes, but they really wouldn't have solved any problems for us.  I believe Lego does them more for playability, fitting into tight cockpits and behind the wheel of a car, and it's less so for cost.  For us, they wouldn't have saved anything in tooling at that scale because they're small anyways, and we really didn't have vehicles to contend with.

For Gallery pieces, Robert and I were discussing doing the AzBats one I'd designed with a cloth cape because capes at that scale can be their own tool.  The BTAS Batman that I did had to have a reduction from proto to final because of that, (you can still see the original in promo photos, with a kicked up edge compared to the final's more conical version. 

So, if there's room in the tool for one more part, it can be a cape without costing us any more.  Plus, we had the backlog of parts to choose from too, and generally capes are pretty generic.

I also don't find that soft goods look very good at certain scales.  For Lego it's very charming, and I actually dislike some of their sculpted ones, but for 3 3/4 figures, or even 6", I find it very off putting.  For 3 3/4 figures, its usually done for playability, so I get it, but I was not fond of collecting soft goods Star Wars figures when they made the switch.  For 6" it's probably more the tooling size, but they often just look bad.  

[buttheadsmate]

17 hours ago, Padrino said:

Barry, was there ever a conversation about using other materials in minimates? I frequently use cloth Lego capes and some of the other minifigures use cloth as well. 

Kubricks are not Minimates  ....

Medicom used vinyl capes/coats on several of their kubrick chase figures notably the Star Wars Jawa chase/secret which is an homage to the original Kenner Jawa Vinyl.    The Masked Rider (Kamen Rider) line featured  removable die-cast metal armour pieces which as far as I'm concerned were just plain silly . 

There are several Minimates that have accessories that include metal-chains .

[Barry]

Metal chains were easy to source, hence why they were sometimes used if flexibility of movement was desired.  Depending on the application though, and how they had to be assembled, they became more expensive.  This is why tooled chains happened a lot more often.

[Padrino]

1 hour ago, Barry said:

Metal chains were easy to source, hence why they were sometimes used if flexibility of movement was desired.  Depending on the application though, and how they had to be assembled, they became more expensive.  This is why tooled chains happened a lot more often.

 

1 hour ago, buttheadsmate said:

Kubricks are not Minimates  ....

Medicom used vinyl capes/coats on several of their kubrick chase figures notably the Star Wars Jawa chase/secret which is an homage to the original Kenner Jawa Vinyl.    The Masked Rider (Kamen Rider) line featured  removable die-cast metal armour pieces which as far as I'm concerned were just plain silly . 

There are several Minimates that have accessories that include metal-chains .

I was actually thinking of the Spawn line, which used cloth for the capes. Lego as well. I forgot about the metal chains, honestly. 

[cylonchaney]

6 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

I hope that I'm not coming across as if I'm discounting 3D printed 'stuff' , TBQH I love what you guys produce but I'd assumed that 3D stuff would be too expensive for large runs ?    I may well ruffle feathers however by saying that there are thousands of Minimates (just the bodies) lying in peoples collections / generally available & ,at this point in time , accessorising them is IMHO the way forward .

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

[cylonchaney]

Too bad there's not a company actively protecting the brand. I wonder what will become of this horror.

https://www.facebook.com/people/My-Mini-Mate-Creator/61579110264977/

[Padrino]

8 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

Too bad there's not a company actively protecting the brand. I wonder what will become of this horror.

https://www.facebook.com/people/My-Mini-Mate-Creator/61579110264977/

interesting, does separating the words skirt around this?

[buttheadsmate]

16 hours ago, Padrino said:

interesting, does separating the words skirt around this?

According to AI Google , the Minimate brand name/logo are protected by trademark law not copyright law ...  

I was going to write more but what I've read so far didn't help so I bailed ....sorry .  

What I do know, because I trawl ebay every day for 'Minimates' ,is that there are (have been) several ,diverse products that bear the name minimate ....printing blocks & cooler-boxes for example. 

Over the years (hunting for the 'minimates' that I collect )  I have typed ,in my ebay search, the words Minimate, Mini-mate & Mini mate . These slightly different searches have rewarded me with occasional bounty  but not so much these days .

Just saying .

Also ( unless you're asleep by now ) if you are (or were) ever hunting a TRU Wave 7 Hulkbuster either on ebay or the MMDB you'll maybe struggle because the TRU7 packs bear the name Hulk Buster . So what ? When that pack was hot as hell ,an ebay search for an 'Hulk Buster' pack yielded different results than a 'Hulkbuster' pack  . 

 

Who was that company who brought out a new line of Battle Beasts?

 

Edited Monday at 11:22 AM by buttheadsmate
spacing

[Padrino]

3 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

According to AI Google , the Minimate brand name/logo are protected by trademark law not copyright law ...  

I was going to write more but what I've read so far didn't help so I bailed ....sorry .  

What I do know, because I trawl ebay every day for 'Minimates' ,is that there are (have been) several ,diverse products that bear the name minimate ....printing blocks & cooler-boxes for example. 

Over the years (hunting for the 'minimates' that I collect )  I have typed ,in my ebay search, the words Minimate, Mini-mate & Mini mate . These slightly different searches have rewarded me with occasional bounty  but not so much these days .

Just saying .

Also ( unless you're asleep by now ) if you are (or were) ever hunting a TRU Wave 7 Hulkbuster either on ebay or the MMDB you'll maybe struggle because the TRU7 packs bear the name Hulk Buster . So what ? When that pack was hot as hell ,an ebay search for an 'Hulk Buster' pack yielded different results than a 'Hulkbuster' pack  . 

 

Who was that company who brought out a new line of Battle Beasts?

 

thank you. I always get license, trademark, and copyright confused.

[Barry]

While there are more than one product with a combination of the letters ‘Minimates’ (in that order, but with spaces or hypens included) you can argue that there brand confusion or an attempt to confuse a consumer with something similarly named that is also a similar product.  A cooler you might not be able to argue as well as this figurine on Facebook.  (I’m thinking we would have pursued this one…)

[cylonchaney]

I'm pretty sure trademarks need to be actively defended in order to remain valid. I believe if they get away with it long enough, it can be too late.

[DSTZach]

I can't believe Teenymates outlived us. 

[Barry]

19 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

I'm pretty sure trademarks need to be actively defended in order to remain valid. I believe if they get away with it long enough, it can be too late.

Yes, it takes 3 years I believe, but you still have to either buy the rights or petition to obtain them.

 

17 hours ago, DSTZach said:

I can't believe Teenymates outlived us. 

LOL, I totally forgot about those.  That is sad.