Hot out of the mold.
 

If I had seen the skull I'd have picked up one or two when I ordered Karl-Otto. If you want to PM me with a price on the skulls I might pick up a couple. I imagine they're at least a lot easier to paint! :p

Cool

Looks great!



Jeff

Thanks guys, I put a steel pot on Pitt, I figured you guys would want him going into battle...

Cool! Pm sent for skull head :)

Looking good! If I had a sherman I would order Oddball.

That's impressive!

In a flight of fancy I wonder if I could 3d-scan my mug and print myself using a 3d printer... talk about ego- I could crew my own tank models....

Jerry

Thanks guys.


Jerry, the technology exists, but not at the home level yet. There's a French company that's doing amazing stuff, getting serious resolution with scanning and printing, but it's expensive.

There are apps that will let you take a series of photos in 360 and it'll convert into a renderable sculpt, but we're not talking anything that will scale well.

All the toy companies are using that technology for action figures, etc. but again, they're using high end equipment.

Hey Ausf! How much for the skull heads and I want two please? (I do enjoy it when you crack your molds!!)

I wasn't expecting all the interest in these yet, that photo is literally a few minutes after pulling the first pour out of the mold, that's the 'cleaning' run. I just threw it up there to share what's going on.

So, I started a classified thread for info:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/tank...l#post12307751

Not to hijack the thread, but here is the 3d figure of my son. ITs about 6 inches tall or so. Printed in a colored gypsum.
This company can print in clear or white plastic as well but figure size is not scale, its based only on overall height so multipule figures scanned off real people will only vary in height if all scanned together at the same time touching each other for the print job.
We are almost there. Next time, Im getting done.
Pocketme in San Francisco and Berkley(I think)

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201819

That is very cool. It's hard to tell from the photo, but is the detail in the surface or more of a painted on look?

This is what I was referring to, a French company doing amazing things with scanning and printing, but it ain't cheap.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201836

There is detail in the surface. Less on the colored gypsum than on the plastic white ones but that's how it goes.
Those are very good figures. Some day sculpting will be as obsolete as the master pattern and casting process becomes less used over 3d printed parts.

They are great figures, but there is still a sculptor working on it after the scan. The limits of the scan are based on what's available. If they want a WWII Russian tanker, they need to get a reenactor with the proper gear and then scan. Those figures are cleaned up scans from a very high end printer.

Casting is not going anywhere though. No one is going to tie up a quarter of million dollar machine to print multiple copies of a figure that would wholesale for $6-7 (retails for $15), especially when a mold can easily be made to run hundreds. Technology is runaway, but it can't melt plastic faster than a certain speed. Things have to cool, etc.

Sculpting isn't going anywhere either, just digital sculpting is going to be the future of it. Figure collectors still prefer hand sculpted stuff, they liken it to an oil portrait verses a photograph. A good sculptor can capture something, but things will change that's for sure.

For just your basic DML figure or a McFarlane action figure, we're already there, very little hands on work in those areas.

Definitely a great time to be a modeler. The options are endless and the engineering the best it's ever been.

I have a small 3D printer and scanner neither of which I've had the chance to use yet. My main purpose for getting them was to see if they could help in the making of patterns for my casting work. In particular for tracks. I hope to be able to make some of the less common machines and I'll need track for them. By making masters with the printer I can test fit and function before I actually throw metal into a crucible. I'm hoping it will work. Also to design and execute fixtures for drilling all those annoying pin holes...

I'm hoping...

Jerry

Even the cheapest home machines are ideal for that Jerry. I print out clamps, gears, armatures, etc as I need them. Track links in your preferred scale would be a breeze. You could also print them out on trees. Even if your printer's max resolution is 100 microns, you can slice it at 50 if you need to, but you shouldn't need it for parts like those.

With the right extruder, you can print out all sorts of material, even edibles. I know of one company that is spooling a wax based clay (120 degree melt), I bet you could even print out a master that could be melted out of the mold.

If you haven't checked out the software yet, 123Design is free and a very powerful tool. I make all my mother molds for silicone with it. It takes seconds to design, about a half hour to print and cuts about half a day off the normal process.

Really nice, so do you have an skeleton tanker that can replace the figure that came with my tank? If not , can you point me in the right direction to find about three of them? Again nice work!!

Why the hell is that boy holding a boat? Where's his Sherman?!? ;) :cool: :p :p :p

Well, I have this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONS58Loi5QY I'm actual redoing the that TC and adding a loader and driver to my Tiger I. I was limited before in function because I needed open channels to drive the thing, but now that I've learned enough Arduino to be dangerous, I can independently animate the crew and hatches.

In terms of skeletal figures, I wasn't planning on it until I saw the way you guys took to the skull.

I'll probably do a bust version, but not a full figure and I won't do anything that fits just tanks, the market is too small.

I'm pretty sure I'll be doing more versions of the skull though, different ranks and head gear, etc.

Honestly, if you have enough skill to run/work on a RC tank and paint the heads, you should be able to alter an existing figure body convincingly enough to look emaciated.

Cool

I'll be putting this up on the market soon. It's the OOP Xion Ketten modified for better speed and a Losi pistol grip Tx/Rx and lipo. It no longer has the IR firing capability, but the Tx will be included with it.

I had to change out the handle bars for brass since the plastic kit part tended to flex, so I need to redo the hands. The arms are full articulated and steer with the front wheel.

Here's some teaser pics, not the best, but you get the idea.


http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201894http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201895http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201893

Better photos.


http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201962http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201963http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201964http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201965http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201966http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201967http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201968http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2201969