Would you buy a team in digital?

[rolo]

Fair enough. Sorry if it sounded like I was snapping at people.

I find the idea of buying a digital design directly from the artist to be fascinating, and I can see myself doing that, maybe making a few edits and changes (put my logo on the shoulders! Change some poses, make things unique) and banging them out at home with a 3d printer. Basically the same thing we all do with models now, but with less lead dust.

For the record I think we're years away from that still. But I also expect 3d printing to really become mainstream soon, which will decrease the price and increase the quality. Who knows?

[Regash]

As fascinating as 3D printing is, I already ask my myself: What would you use it for?
And to be honest, I haven't found an answer yet.

I really think this will be a technology for the industry but not for home use.
A toy for grown up kids.

[rolo]

What won't you use it for! Basically any small to medium parts, especially complex parts which stores don't like to keep in stock. Need a special screw? No more searching through 200 tiny drawers at the hardware store. Need a case for your phone? Mounting brackets for your car's light? A saucer that's just slightly smaller than the standard size to fit an antique tea set? A replacement valve for a tuba? Those silly plastic plugs you stick in an outlet to prevent kids from killing themselves?

But that's minor stuff. I think gaming and modeling have the most potential, just because so many games use small, complex figures and tokens. Need some custom dice? Reroll tokens? Objective markers for 40k? My dad has a great antique chess set, which is missing a pawn. In a few years I'll be able to just print a new one. I could print checkers with my own face on one set and my brother's on the other. And of course, making customized models for any game you can think of.

And probably a hundred thousand applications that we haven't even thought of yet. Think about everything you can do on your phone - there's a chess timer app, most cities offer an app to show where subways and buses are, weather reports, dating, just about anything you can think of. But we all remember when your phone was just something to use to make phone calls, and if you had a really fancy plan, sending text messages. Right now 3d printing is in the "send a text" phase. When it goes mainstream, there will be stuff we can't even imagine today.

But yeah, I guess what I'm saying is, in a few years we'll essentially have Star Trek style replicators. And I intend to use one to make miniature orcs and elves and pretend they're playing football. Tell that to 10-year-old me and I'm not sure if I'd be impressed or disappointed

[Regash]

But that is exactly what I mean!
Screws and brackets? Yeah, for the industry a fine thing but for a private person?
Think of the amount of work to be done in 3D sculpting and tell me again you wouldn't go to the hardware store for that one silly screw or bracket.

Most things would be cool if you printed them but you'll print them once.
And for that buying a sculpt or sculpt yourself? I don't think so...

[rolo]

Oh, I wouldn't take the time to DESIGN a screw, I agree with you there. But every once in a while, you need one. Like if you're repairing an old clock or lamp or something. Have you ever gone to a hardware store with a broken piece of junk, trying what feels like ten thousand different screw sizes until you find the one that fits? I have, and the only thought going through my head (besides a lot of swearing) was, "what a dumb waste of time!". I want to look up what I need, download a 3d design for that screw, print it out, and be finished.

As to only ever doing something like that once, well, that's kind of the point, right? If I needed the same size screw every week, I'd buy a box of a thousand. But that's not how life works. You always end up needing that one thing you don't have. This week it's a screw, next week it's a pot handle, and whatever, so on and so on.

But to re-rail this thread, I don't want to talk about 3d printing in general, but rather it's specific application in gaming. I want to print out block dice if a friend doesn't have any. I want to print out reroll markers with my team's logo. And who knows? Maybe some day, I'll buy a team design from Questron or someone like him, print it out, and be finished an hour later.

If you don't want to, no problem! But I'm kind of looking forward to that

[Steam Ball]

I really think this will be a technology for the industry but not for home use.

Not will, but has been for some years already. What the jury is still thinking about is if it will ever manage to work in mass production (or just as one of the first steps). Maybe yes, maybe only for limited cases.

My dad has a great antique chess set, which is missing a pawn. In a few years I'll be able to just print a new one.

You can probably do it now. Ever heard of silicone moulds?

Have you ever gone to a hardware store with a broken piece of junk, trying what feels like ten thousand different screw sizes until you find the one that fits? I have, and the only thought going through my head (besides a lot of swearing) was, "what a dumb waste of time!". I want to look up what I need, download a 3d design for that screw, print it out, and be finished.

You need to figure how the part is, no matter if you want to make a new one or to find one in a big supplier. If you want to order 1000, a big supplier will be helpful and fast. It happens with electronic parts. If you provide the exact model they will probably be ok with just 1 too, but if you ask them to figure it, not so much for just that one. Once you have figured, does it matter if you print or get one from a supplier? Maybe not, maybe yes because printing can give you the shape but not the mechanical properties. Figuring was required anyway.

BTW, there are many other methods to get things, like CNC or the above mentioned moulds. And in all cases it's about knowing they exist, what they can do and if it's worth it.

Has nobody mentioned that Questron could offer to brands, instead of players? He seems to have long experience, but also very narrow as he jumped into this without knowing how much it would cost to just print. So "pay" or "get paid", but third party handling in any case.

[hutchinsfairy]

OP asks an open and interesting question and gets told he's a bad person for thinking about it.

Q: Would you buy digital files for BB minis?

A: What you do is easy and not art. I think you might be a criminal. I wouldn't buy from you. Do some research.

[nivlaps]

I think it's a brilliant idea, and I'm sure there'll be a time for it, although I'm also relatively sure that time hasn't quite come yet. We're close, but not quite there in my view.

[hutchinsfairy]

Oh, I wouldn't take the time to DESIGN a screw, I agree with you there. But every once in a while, you need one. Like if you're repairing an old clock or lamp or something. Have you ever gone to a hardware store with a broken piece of junk, trying what feels like ten thousand different screw sizes until you find the one that fits? I have, and the only thought going through my head (besides a lot of swearing) was, "what a dumb waste of time!". I want to look up what I need, download a 3d design for that screw, print it out, and be finished.

As to only ever doing something like that once, well, that's kind of the point, right? If I needed the same size screw every week, I'd buy a box of a thousand. But that's not how life works. You always end up needing that one thing you don't have. This week it's a screw, next week it's a pot handle, and whatever, so on and so on.

But to re-rail this thread, I don't want to talk about 3d printing in general, but rather it's specific application in gaming. I want to print out block dice if a friend doesn't have any. I want to print out reroll markers with my team's logo. And who knows? Maybe some day, I'll buy a team design from Questron or someone like him, print it out, and be finished an hour later.

If you don't want to, no problem! But I'm kind of looking forward to that

I've previously listed why I would be excited to buy a digital sculpt team but I also think mass market 3d printing could be a game changer for BB generally (pun intended). Producing smaller runs with easy personalisation for disparate users with common requirements could be the sort of use case where 3d printing excels right off the bat.