Coincidentally I’ve been working on my own 1/35 Little Willie. It’s a challenging balance between detail, buildability and printing capabilities. And it’s gonna take a lot of build testing to reach that point. I can see where this kit simplified details for better printing instead of upping parts count, which ups kit cost, so they have their own balancing act and I can’t knock them for that. I’m of the believe that the best way to manage quality control without wasting time and material is to sell files for a nominal fee and outsource the printing to the customer where they can reprint as needed.
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Good luck on the build. Your making it look good.
Cheers,
Ralph
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@Landships If you are only licensing an STL and expecting people to print their own, you are only addressing a small fraction of the available market. I don’t see myself ever getting a 3D printer, and washing/curing station. I don’t want the toxic fumes in my home nor do I want to try and fit them into my modeling studio. Nor do I want to go through the science project of determining the right resins, settings, temperature, etc. etc. to get a good print. I just want buy a kit. As I like obscure subjects, I’ve built about 30 3D printed kits so far. I am willing to pay more for 3D printed kits to get improved quality. Many manufacturers are competing on price when I would rather that they compete on quality.
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^^DITTO^^
I don’t plan on getting a printer and figuring it all out, let alone trying to do CAD. Definitely not my thing. I am happy to pay a little more for a printed kit though.
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That’s fine, I don’t expect it to be for everyone, and am willing to accept that there are plenty of modelers that I’m losing out on. But I’ve seen the exact opposite sentiment before as well, and a quick tour of the office full of young engineers I can see 3D prints littered all over.
There’s a couple of newly released fantastic looking 3D printed railroad guns by some small company or individual over in Europe, but I’m balking at that $300+ price tag. I understand their business model and the pricing and labor involved, but personally, I’d prefer to print myself.
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Add me to those who are uninterested in learning 3D modeling and spending money on a print capability. It’s not a good use of my hobby time.
Have you thought of partnering with someone to produce prints off your files? Not a Shapeways-type company but an individual with a similar dedication to the product.
KL
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Yup, it’s crossed my mind, and I’m completely open to it. I just haven’t made any moves towards accomplishing that.
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It was less suspicious than “Landships”, the name that had the military in mind.
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Dan Silvestru / D-Models?
Yup, that’s the one