3D Printing and 'down-scaling'

[StellarX]

Given the advances in 3D digital scanning and printing, has anyone attempted to use this technology to scan and down-scale existing 1/35 figures to 1/72 scale? 1/72 is my preferred scale. There is a wealth of 1/35 sets out there that I dream of finding as 1/72 figures - in particular the Airfix Wild West series, Medieval, Napoleonics, Modern Germans and Modern British, etc. I am not suggesting doing anything for financial gain that might infringe copyright - but am keen to learn if anyone has tried this, and see the results, to determine if it is worth investing in the techology to scan & print for my own personal use.

Anyone?

[Bluefalchion]

From what I gather, there would be no particular reason to be limited to the poses on offer from your coveted 1:35 figures. You could create scans of your modern Germans, say, and then modify them to create any additional poses you desire.

[MicroWorld]

I don't need a scanner and printer to reduce figure. I just know special secret spell.

Right figure is 1:32 original, left - my 1:72 copy.

[stenfalk]

I don't need a scanner and printer to reduce figure. I just know special secret spell.

Reducio! That´s Harry Potters spell to shrink things..

[Wiking]

MicroWorld wrote:
I just know special secret spell.

Mark the right answer.

a) The force be with him. (A black figure!)
b) Scotty beam me down.
c) Wash the 1/32 figure too hot in the clothes washer.
d) stenfalk wrote at 28 May:
Damned! ... together in a small black box. ;-
I thought they were all female.
I must have been mistaken. Look what happened!

[Wiking]

@StellarX
The only one I know and think to 3D digital scanning figures is Shapeways / Panzer vs Tanks figures. A lot of them look to me like Preiser figures glued together sanded in different poses and print finally in 3D.
Non of them are Wild West, Medival or Napoleonics etc. right now. But who knows?

[MicroWorld]

Here you can see a part of my "magic":


And as a result - short-run polystirene sprue:

Not perfect, but exclusive: I'm making it only for myself and my friends - not for sale.

I use my own technology. But guys - do you really never heard a word "hydrospan"? Roumored it also working...

[Kostis Ornerakis]

Dear Mikroworld,

But guys - do you really never heard a word "hydrospan"?

I am very interested in the product. I haven't hear of it till now, so I googled it. But I have some questions.
If I understood well for your example. From 1/32 to 1/72 is about 45% reduce, so we mix 1 part hydrospan 400 and 2 parts ice cold water and pure it in the rubber mould we made.
How many hours we leave it in the mould?
Then we take object out of the mould and wait for the water to evaporate. For how many hours?
Then we make a new mould for the reduced object.
Please correct me where I am wrong.
You have made a 2 parts mould. Any bubbles problems?
Is it expencive?
Thanks in advance.

[MicroWorld]

I don't use "hydrospan", so I know about it only what I can read in Internet.
I use my own method, which allows me reducing about 20-25% in turn. It means: 1:32 to 1:72 - 4 turns, 1:35 to 1:72 - 3 turns. Yes, it's slow. But most of necessary materials I can buy in local household goods shop.


About bubbles. It's a polystirene - not a resin. I have a small injection unit for plastic. It gives a pressure about 80-100 kg/sq.cm. Too low comparing with industrial injection machines (about 1000 kg/sq.cm.), but enough to forget about air bubbles.
More important problem is a too low pressure. Because of it thin details can't be casted properly:

[Cryns]

Dear Microworld,

This is amazing and very interesting information! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.

And Kostis thanks again for pulling this info out of the Microworld man.

So I start to wonder by now:
What are producers, sculptors and casters of 1/72 hide for us?
Do they really sculpt that often in 20mm scale?
Or do they sculpt much bigger and size it down afterwards?

Is that why some professional sculptors deliver such incredible tiny perfect work?

[poky]

the old school way is a pantograph, with that most if not all plastic figures are made, but also things like coins, how it works takes me to long to explain but there are a couple of videos online that will do it much better then I can.

there a couple of companies uses 3d scanners and 3d printers with that any size would be possible too print

as for most metal or resin figures does are still mostly hand sculpted in the scale that they are in.

I have seen a trick of soaking the mold in acetone whish swells the mold, this was done to make bigfoot tracks of all things

[MicroWorld]

t
there a couple of companies uses 3d scanners and 3d printers with that any size would be possible too print

I can't understand - for why 3d-scanner is needed? If you have a good 3d-printer (or possibility to order printing for acceptable price), you can make your own 3d-model using your PC. It is not so difficult as usually think:

(unfortunately executioner's axe was accidently broken because it was too thin )

[poky]

well its faster and more accurate then pc design, wen a weapon is scanned all the parts and bits are at the right place, wen its made on the pc or by hand mistakes can me made, same with a figure it self, its easy to make a anatomical mistake not the case with a scanner. of course if the model being scanned has the wrong uniform or what ever, the figure is still wrong

[Kostis Ornerakis]

I thanked already Microworld in my thread, but I want to THANK YOU again here, where I informed by you for hydrospan.



I still want to fix some small bubbles and cut the base at 1/72 copy.

[Cryns]

Excellent work again Kostis.
Poky and Microman thanks for sharing your experience.

[Wiking]

Thank you Micro World for the info how to scale down figures and these 3D printing results. Very interesting.

Thank you Kostis Ornerakis for trying and let us see your good results.

[MicroWorld]

hodude, sorry, but not now.
Now I'm working on another project - 20-25 figures as minimum. And this project is still on half of it's way. But I should to finish it - at least to test all stages of technological process. I'll show a result when the first figures will be ready in 1:72 (they are 1:43 now).
Figures I show above aren't a part of this project - it was simply a test.

[MicroWorld]

I do not have the 3D equipment and so far I haven't had luck with the people on Shapeways. How can someone like me get figures made like the ones you showed?

I also have no special 3D-equipment - only usual PC and DAZ3D program (http://daz3d.com/). I'm making 3d-models and sending it by e-mail to guy who has an own 3D-printer. He is printing my models, I pay money to him. One 50-mm figure cost me about 6-8$ (smaller figures are cheaper - proportionally to square of floor). But printed figures has a small horisontal stripes - it's a common disadvantage of midle-class 3D-printers. These three test figures were printed in 36-mm size. May be later I'll convert it to 1:72...

[cesar]

Microworld:

I am very interested both in your reduction method and your small injection machine
On regards of your "magic": Could you please give more details?


And regarding your injection process: Could you please give more information about this small injection machine?
What material do you employ to make the moulds?

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Cesar.