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I stopped transformers a while back but have continued to keep an eye on it. I remember some customisers who used to use parts of anything really and would create some amazing pieces, they were painted beautifully. I always thought that they obviously could design a transformer from scratch, as pieces had been broken down to the point that they seemed to have the design in there head, this was no hit and miss, they knew what the end result would look like.
The otherday I was looking into 3d printers and i always have been thinking I wonder what those customisers are doing now. I bet they are making things that are going to get me back into transformers. So i have seen what 3p have been offering and when i saw the prices and then saw what the home kit costs now, I was expecting to see some next level creations.
All i have seen is things made by joe blogs. Is there a reason for this or are there some links people can show me the real stuff happening now.
Im a designer and I have 3d skills, if people have designs and need me to model them so they can be printed i will help. Can always print slightly over and sand down joints so no back and fourth.
i love the third party unicron and if i do invest the first thing im gonna do is make rinhs which light up. ai have taken so many other items now available for other things, and the guts are so simple in form that i have been able to simply re-engineer and made better, as long as you have a mind you are not restricted by whats possible now, its an amazing time. I don’t know how companies will survive soon. This time isnt going to be stable for long. I never thought transformers could actualy exist as I didnt ever think that the motors would be powerful enough in a robot that needs space for an alternate mode, but the toy that transforms shows that it will be. A form that has the power to be a robot and a vehicle and do both properly is amazing.
All this is happening so fast and the debate and maturing of technoogies is not happening so now things like escooters are everywhere and disnt even get a chance to be banned. Now people can download and produce a fighter plane if they wanted, it sounds silly but what is to stop someone getting the digital blueprints to enable a1-1 working replica of individual parts.
It’s even possible to be batman, you dont even need to be super rich. All im seeing is evil things or companies not using the tech well or overcharging. Its possible for all the people with talenst to work together miles apart and use technology to create amazing things, we dont need to wait for them to make it for us. Remeber live action vw jazz. i want to see a 3d printed fan custom that is full on fan and has no commercial input. Thats what i was
hoping for. who was that peron on deviant art who was killing it surely he has made
sumit

Those things are expensive. They also require quite a setup plus you need the software and the SKILLS to use a 3D printer. Those are not for everyone. Even customizers. It's like asking an artist who specialise in oil painting to learn and use photoshop.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Those things are expensive.

No, they're not.

They also require quite a setup plus you need the software and the SKILLS to use a 3D printer.

No, you don't. Work colleague bought one earlier this year, he has no experience in design, had never used a 3D printer before, just did a bit of research and he's constantly printing out stuff, including parts for his car.

Those are not for everyone. Even customizers. It's like asking an artist who specialise in oil painting to learn and use photoshop.

Do some research. You'd be very surprised how far 3D printers have come and how easy they are to use. You don't even need to do the design yourself, there's a multitude of websites out there for people to share their designs which you can then download and print yourself.

As for your analogy ... it just doesn't line up in this particular instance.

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Those things are expensive.

No, they're not.

They also require quite a setup plus you need the software and the SKILLS to use a 3D printer.

No, you don't. Work colleague bought one earlier this year, he has no experience in design, had never used a 3D printer before, just did a bit of research and he's constantly printing out stuff, including parts for his car.

Those are not for everyone. Even customizers. It's like asking an artist who specialise in oil painting to learn and use photoshop.

Do some research. You'd be very surprised how far 3D printers have come and how easy they are to use. You don't even need to do the design yourself, there's a multitude of websites out there for people to share their designs which you can then download and print yourself.

As for your analogy ... it just doesn't line up in this particular instance.

Well, if those things have leaped so much since the first times they came around, that's nice. However, we are not talking about a 50$ thing here. I see cheap ones at 250$can (for a cheap-ass one) to over 2000$ for the more interesting ones. That's still very expensive. Especially for the casual who don't do much custom work.

Be snarky all you want, but those are still not for the common guy.
Hell, I just barely got a hairbrush set. A cheap set at still 100$+. A 3D printer is tempting, but that's 2000$+ that I'm not willing to pay for this "inexpensive" device.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Well, if those things have leaped so much since the first times they came around, that's nice. However, we are not talking about a 50$ thing here. I see cheap ones at 250$can (for a cheap-ass one) to over 2000$ for the more interesting ones. That's still very expensive. Especially for the casual who don't do much custom work.

Well it depends on what you want to do with them. If you're looking to print small pre-designed parts then a cheap one will be all you need.

If you want to make a hobby out of it, or even a bit of money on the side (designing your own of course) then yes, you're going to pay more.

But for someone starting out, then you go for something basic. Work colleague went mid-range (around $600AU) with no design knowledge but enough mechanical background to maintain them. As I said, he's using pre-designed files and did his research. He's printing parts for his car which if he were to buy could range from a few hundred to over a thousand in parts. So you factor that in as well.

Be snarky all you want,

If you think this was snark, then you have no idea what I'm capable of.

but those are still not for the common guy.

Nope, wrong. Used my work colleague as an example twice now. Heck, he's even printed me some nice TF related stuff.

Hell, I just barely got a hairbrush set.

Save money and just shave your head.

A cheap set at still 100$+. A 3D printer is tempting, but that's 2000$+ that I'm not willing to pay for this "inexpensive" device.

Again, DO.YOUR.RESEARCH. You're just throwing a value out there at something you clearly don't fully understand. You don't need to spend that sort of money. You start with something cheap and basic, you learn on it and as you upgrade your skills and knowledge you upgrade your machine.

Roll your eyes and accuse me of being snarky all you want, but if you put your obvious dislike of me aside and actually read what I was saying you'd see I'm actually offering you advice.

Kanra is evidently assuming you need one of the $2000-range models to get usable pieces, which is happily not the case. Although there are definitely parts and premade models that do need additional kit for the printer (everything by Transformers_Gunroom_1, for instance, requires a flex plate because it prints directly to the plate).

It does have to be said that even the basic to midrange units can be a bit more than someone with a tighter budget is going to reach for as first choice, especially if most of their hobby money is going to collecting itself. And you do need a good space to set up the unit, which not everyone has. And it does take 3D modelling skill to be able to create new parts yourself, so it's not going to help for things nobody else has made yet if you lack such skill.

Other reasons people might eschew 3D-printing:
* A preference for casting. And casting does seem to be superior when it comes to clear parts.
* A preference for working directly with their hands. Which has advantages, like being able to test-fit as you go. Of course, it's not so good for mass-producing once you've managed to create something.
* They mostly do repaints, so it's not really a necessity to fabricate parts.

However, given the benefits it can have... I think if you do more than repaints then getting a 3D printer is definitely a good idea if you can swing it and have the space to set it up. Especially as the amount of repro parts available that way continues to grow; it may be 3D printing for the most part that eventually fills and even outgrows dark0v's painfully-empty shoes.

One thing that would be REALLY useful. Something akin to printer/scanner combo. There is a pert on one of my bot that have a broken off balljoint. Such a part is impossible to repair. But if I could have access to a 3D printer that included a 3D scanner, I could just take the part that is not broken, scan it, then copy/print it.

This would save a lot of time and trouble.

-Kanrabat- wrote:One thing that would be REALLY useful. Something akin to printer/scanner combo. There is a pert on one of my bot that have a broken off balljoint. Such a part is impossible to repair. But if I could have access to a 3D printer that included a 3D scanner, I could just take the part that is not broken, scan it, then copy/print it.

This would save a lot of time and trouble.

It would, it really would. Also helpful in completing partial duplicates where nobody's done STLs of the parts yet (*cough*ROTF Leader Optimus Prime*cough*)

That being said, broken-off ball joints aren't necessarily impossible to fix - I should know, I've had to mend a couple in my time. I may be able to advise on repairs.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:One thing that would be REALLY useful. Something akin to printer/scanner combo. There is a pert on one of my bot that have a broken off balljoint. Such a part is impossible to repair. But if I could have access to a 3D printer that included a 3D scanner, I could just take the part that is not broken, scan it, then copy/print it.

This would save a lot of time and trouble.

It would, it really would. Also helpful in completing partial duplicates where nobody's done STLs of the parts yet (*cough*ROTF Leader Optimus Prime*cough*)

That being said, broken-off ball joints aren't necessarily impossible to fix - I should know, I've had to mend a couple in my time. I may be able to advise on repairs.

I fixed mine eventually.
I just had to drill a hole in both parts, cut the head of a small screw, and screw both pieces together. Because it's a ball, no alignment necessary. Not perfect, but it works.