DroneSwarm drones - printed from 3D models

[monoRAIL]

Well this isn't exactly a shmup I'm showcasing here, but it's somewhat shmup related.

These are 3D models of the DroneSwarm drones, printed by Shapeways.com

(Right-click and select 'view image' to see the full size photos)







The original low-polygon models used in the game...


High res versions created for printing...


The models are 9cm long and are printed with the 'White high detail' material and then painted with acrylic paints.

[TiaoFerreira Profile WebsiteICQ]

What is the printed material? Paper? Plastic? Isopor? It is too interesting!

[monoRAIL]

They're made with a kind of flexible plastic. This is what they look like before they're painted.



The company that I use to print them can do lots of other materials though, such as ceramic, silver and rubber.

http://www.shapeways.com/materials

[berilium Profile]

OMG! This is exactly what I'm trying to do! haha I want to make a spaceship model.
I recently bought a Super Sculpey block and carving tool set. Then make a mold.

I knew there was a kind of 3d printers but no idea who does works of this type. They look great. Thanks for the post. I will investigate more about this option.

[TiaoFerreira Profile WebsiteICQ]

Monorail, what is the scale of these models? What are sizes, in centimeters?

[monoRAIL]

Berilium - yes they're ideal for shmup spaceships! Actually many people print their own figures for Warhammer too.

Tiao - these models are all 8cm long, but you can print them any size you like, it just costs more for larger models. At this size they cost about US$20 each. Here's a photo of a few other models beside one of my drones for scale:

[TiaoFerreira Profile WebsiteICQ]

I want to do just the opposite! I intend to invest in plastic modeling, and customers are already asking me models at very small scales, as 1cm or 2cm, especially for models of aircraft for aircraft carriers.

Can you fabricate these models for me? how much would it cost me?

[TiaoFerreira Profile WebsiteICQ]

Monorail, I showed your models on a modelism forum, and they are wanting to know the names of drones.

You're getting fans, heheh!

[monoRAIL]

The first one I made was the blue one, which is inspired by the Global Hawk, although heavily modified.
The green one is based on the A-10 Thunderbolt II, but with a modified cockpit (enlarged to contain a radar instead of the usual gun) and with feathered wingtips for improved low-speed control.
The red one is based on the YF-23 Blackwidow, again with a modified radar/cockpit and slight change to the wings.

They're for my new game, DroneSwarm Command which will be coming out on iPad soon.

There's a large community of miniature makers on the shapeways forums, here's some of their work: http://www.shapeways.com/gallery/miniatures - you can see the prices for different materials by clicking the images.

[berilium Profile]

Berilium - yes they're ideal for shmup spaceships! Actually many people print their own figures for Warhammer too.

This is really cool. I've been thinking about organizing a highscore comp and thought a shmup ship model for one of the prizes would be nice. Now, with this 3d printing technology it can be done easier as opposed to traditional sculpting

Thanks~