Andy,

I have seen a makerbot in a shop and seen the sample parts it produced. Some had more "digital" look than others but there was definately a texture to all of them. I would do as suggested and get some samples before you make your decision. It uses spools of resin in different colours kinda like an ink jet printer.

The cool part was you could make functional bits like interlocking parts to make a custom hinge or hatch latch, etc. custom brackets/mounts for installs would be awesome. Even detailed parts like gears. Pretty tough parts too.

PaulD