TOPIC:

Edou wrote:

I've seen quite a bit of your craftsmanship by now but you still manage to surprise me. Excellent work.

Ta. I was quite chuffed at how that turned out

I can't remember where, but I read that you shouldn't use black for scale details as it can be too intense & therefore make things look too toy like... with the exception of the "Oxy" bottle there, I used XF-69 "NATO Black" instead (which is more like a very dark grey) - not sure if it looks "better", but it still looks black ... I've also bought a pot of XF-85 "Rubber Black" - not used it yet but at least it's vaguely amusing in American English

Your status has been bumped up... Lars, Edou, this man needs a "Grand Master Deluxe Craftsman" award. If you don't have one, it needs to be made in his honour...

JR, I thing you should start producing some of these scale items for sale. I'll buy them for sure. They 1 000 000 times better than the Proline stuff, No affence to Proline or their fans...

Louisbaby wrote:

Your status has been bumped up... Lars, Edou, this man needs a "Grand Master Deluxe Craftsman" award. If you don't have one, it needs to be made in his honour...

JR, I thing you should start producing some of these scale items for sale. I'll buy them for sure. They 1 000 000 times better than the Proline stuff, No affence to Proline or their fans...

Thanks



I'm not a fan of Proline stuff myself - I understand they have some new sets coming out, but you see the same old gear on everyone's scaler - it's not as it there's any real option though as the parts are already finished...

Where they are always going to do better is where things need a lot of detail and/or compound curves - injection moulding is far superior to what I can do at home as I'm effectively limited to flat surfaces & simple adaptation of existing objects.

I think my main issue with Proline stuff though is the cost - I know there's the cost of the design & especially the tooling, and the paint & assembly processes - but once it's all rolling the cost of the materials is pennies -

There might be another option - 3D printing.
That seems to be quite affordable these days...
More than the Pro-line prices you're quoting at least.

Edou wrote:

There might be another option - 3D printing.
That seems to be quite affordable these days...
More than the Pro-line prices you're quoting at least.

I nearly got a job as a "3D printer" minder/finisher ... but TBH it looked more isolated, smelly & tedious than the job I had, so I didn't bother.

The big drawback for me is that I'd have do build something, then measure it all up, then draw it in AutoCAD or whatever - the things I've been building are "designed" on the cutting mat with a ruler ...

I don't really think it's that great a way of "productionising" anything you want to be cheap - from what I can see, things produced on a _quality_ machine will still be hugely expensive, and need a lot of finishing ... it's only really an option where you don't mind shelling out a fortune, because it's slightly cheaper than having it machined from solid, or have injection moulding shells made

Check out these guys for 3D printing...

Shapeways

Posted simultaneously with the previous message btw...

Now, as for selling bits I make ... I have thought about it, but there's a world of difference between doing it as a hobby / for fun & doing it for the money ...

For a start, you have to consider what someone would actually pay - taking the welding kit I've just made, the costs of the materials is quite a chuck to start with - probably

Edou wrote:

Check out these guys for 3D printing...

Shapeways

Posted simultaneously with the previous message btw...

That looks interesting ... especially the bit about uploading designs & getting a price ... will register &^ have a play

Jonny wrote:

Edou wrote:

Check out these guys for 3D printing...

Shapeways

Posted simultaneously with the previous message btw...

That looks interesting ... especially the bit about uploading designs & getting a price ... will register &^ have a play

Pah, lost patience with it already ... but I did check out the prices

I guess they're OK if you have a one off design & no clue about how to make it, but as for doing things cheap enough for resale, no chance ...