[fik]

IF this is still an active thread forward it to BILL GRIFFIN, he may access toa Rapid Prototype Machine. He also is very very talented at Soldiworks, I betch he can help with one part, not sure about a run of them but trying one might be doable. IF he gets mad don;t tel him I sent you<G> fik

[under-dog]

This is the sort of thing that is normally sculpted by hand. Look at games workshop, privateer press or McFarlane, all hand sculpt. I am an ID and sculptor model maker and work with quite a few engineers from Hasbro. Guys that were around since before the 80's GI Joe era. hasbro still does this sort of thing by hand, sculpted in wax and then digitised in for burning thier molds. I have also talked to ID's that do work for Hasbro as well and they usualy make the base substrate or form of the product and a sculptor finished off the "sculptural" details by hand over an RP of the digital file.
The reason for this is that it is far easier and quiker to sculpt these sort of things by hand that to electronically model them and the detail and life derived from a hand sculpt are superior.

With this said it is all what you expect from the process and how much you are willing to spend. At work we use a dimension ABS addative system probably similar to what someone mentioned earlier. It is a relatively inexpensive machine for its class but as a result the resolution and quality is not so good>>>.02 x .01 high strands it builds in. In most cases it is good for only a rough prototype.

Stratasys makes a printer that is extremely expensive but seems very good.
I have a few samples or Raptor Heads from a show when we were researching machines. Very good detail
SLA is ok but I am not sure for this application.
Someone earlier showed a link to a milled pic of a barbarian which looked great but probably the machine costs a mint.

As mentioned you may be able to have it made by a job shop.



I personally bought a small 4 axis mill for the same purpose you mention. My expectations are reasonable with its functionality. I do not expect to ever pull a fully finished model off the machine. Hand finishing at the least will always be needed. In most cases I plan to make parts to larger assemblies or rough structural mock ups to use a subsrtates to begin hand sculpting...etc. etc. I have been a sculptor for years so wish to finish by hand but the machine will act as my "grunt worker" by carving repetative parts, tediouse rough outs and so on. The other thing is very geometric forms which is the thing that CAD and CAM excell at.At any rate the plan is to break things down to workable and logical parts. As is the case with and sort of model making or sculpting.



The minatuar looks very good. I would drop the biker shorts though and go for something more like a loin cloth(studded leather straps possibly). Something a little more suited to the Genra or the time period. Take a look at some Greek pictures and see what the Hoplites and such are wearing. I would suggest a bronze axe over stone for the same reason above.


As far as building something of this nature it is worth mentioning that unless the pose is very static and centrally parted as you have shown the production model will probably need to be split into parts to make it castable for production. Even in your case the chain is an issue. This lends itself to my theory of splitting into more basic parts. This is a good way to approach the limitations presented by 3 or 4 axis milling. You wont be able to mill all around every contour especially the ones that are internally surrounded surfaces with the fully assembled model especially if it is complex with a complex pose. If the model is split into parts you will stand a far better chance of fully capturing the geometry of each part then you assemble the whole thing post casting.

[JustDisGuy]

Check out RepRap.

[JustDisGuy]

Check out Reprap . DIY at home rapid prototyping using extruded plastic. Very cool stuff.

[Harryman]

I use Freeform for CAD modeling figures and other parts. http://www.sensable.com

It's the best for true sculpting, there's force feedback so you can feel the part as you work on it. It's heavily used in the toy industry as well. Nice, but plenty pricey.

CB Model Pro is free and fun to play with.
http://www.cbmodelpro.com

I have a 4th axis machine, you can make figures with it by cutting some parts off, arms that stick out and such. If you plan ahead you can make it work. It's easier to have figures made using Rapid Prototyping machines though. Both methods have their advantages and limitations.

There's plenty of RP suppliers with machines of varying resolutions.

These guys are the cheapest I've seen.
http://www.3darttopart.com/product%20info.php#proton2

Rapid Prototype machines are getting cheaper @ $5000.
http://www.desktopfactory.com/

You can build your own.
http://www.fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Even ones that use sugar!
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/candyfab

[SteveC68]

How well do 3-axis machines handle very simple 3-D shapes? Like say a segment of a sphere. How many slices can you cut a model into in software?

Thanks,
Steve

[Harryman]

There's no limit to how many slices I can cut a piece into as far as I know. So if you wanted, you could slice your model into what would scale to 1" slices in the final size, cut the profiles in 1" foam on a cnc router, stack them up and have your basic shape at whatever size you needed. It's a fairly popular method for scaling up to monumental size.

I can also define cut lines and cut parts off, like arms, hands, whatever, add a way to register them, mill them seperately, then reassemble.

A 3 axis mill could cut any part of up to a full sphere, a half at a time. The limitations in the size and surface finish are defined by size and accuracy of the mill and the cutters used more than anything.

[art3d]

More models for 3d printing here
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1...68746988055361