What Gets Made and What Doesn't?

General Discussions
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In the decades that I’ve been on the modeling forums (and others forums besides this one), what gets made and what doesn’t over the years?

With 3D printing and China being a modeling powerhouse, it seems that almost anything can be made into a model kit.

Now take the Chenowth SEAL DPV. It’s made by Black Ops Models in resin, but why when Dragon Models encountered copyright issues with Chenowth who wanted a huge payment for using its name? A 1/35 SEAL DPV was a “Most Wanted” Grail kit for so long that when it was actually made into a realistic 1/35 model kit, it took decades since in service that even I didn’t want it anymore or buy it.

Furthermore, in all of decades of looking at model kits and the hobby, I haven’t even seen all seven “PREDATOR” movie figures made in realistic scale except for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Dutch” and minigun “Blaine.”

This is the only time I saw all seven “PREDATOR” commandoes made, and they’re wargaming figures, not realistic scale figures.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1778666737/predator-miniature-set-resin-miniatures?ls=s&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=predator+soldier+figures&ref=sr_gallery-2-1&cns=1&content_source=9c112f09-9a68-4ca6-8c59-e9f7eb1de43f%253ALT6e874985d18dfa9c681d90f600e9e702744d3d38&organic_search_click=1&logging_key=9c112f09-9a68-4ca6-8c59-e9f7eb1de43f%3ALT6e874985d18dfa9c681d90f600e9e702744d3d38

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There are a few things in play.

One: Technology greatly advanced from 1990 to today. Back in the 1970s, models were hand made, over scale, then broken down into parts and rendered into a scale model mold using a panograph. The process depended on master model makers, was very time consuming, and cutting molds was expensive.

My the 2000s, models designed on a computer using Computer Assisted Design and Computer Assisted Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) were becoming common. (Around 1997, I made my first 3D drawings and rendered them using free software.)

During the 2010s, 3D printers become cheap enough for anyone to own. Dozens of free or very cheap CAD programs existed. Schools were now teaching CAD to kids. (The first 3D printed product design I was personally involved with was in 2002.)

Today, anyone can design and 3D print a model using free software and cheap machinery. Software exists to break a 3D model apart, render it as part trees for injection molding, and test the layout for proper injection. Automated machinery to cut molds is readily available and relatively cheap. Automated machinery to injection mold is readily available and relatively cheap. You can take files to lots of companies and have them manufacture parts by the 1000s for pennies a tree.

Everything I just described happened for figure modeling. Programs exists to create human figures in seconds, then allow complete control of every detail. Libraries of faces and clothing exist. Once you know where to get the drawing files for cheap or free, it is possible to crank out figures in whatever poser you like, then 3D print them of have them turned into injection molds.

Two: There are a lot more people with the know how to do these things today than 50 years ago. In 2026, you can learn the entire work flow to manufacture almost anything by watching a bunch of videos on YouTube. You can get better quality courses through a number of instructional streaming services.

Three: People make what they want to make. In other words, if some guy who loves Motor Torpedo Boats decides to learn how to manufacture stuff and has a knack for it, pretty soon, we are going to see a bunch of Motor Torpedo Boats for sale.

Four: 3D file repositories are now massive, growing all the time, and most of it is free or very cheap.

Five: Computer programmers are now writing software that puts all the pieces together, reaches out to the 3D file repositories automatically, and puts everything together for the user, drastically reducing required know how further still. Dum dums who claim to be reporters call this the AI Revolution. Nope. It is all part of a slow march that started before I was born. The necessary pieces reached fruition for the next phase of automation to progress. It was inevitable and quite pedestrian in development.

Put that all together and making stuff is easier than ever and getting easier all the time. The next big push will involve computers and machines painting everything for us. The Golden Age of model building will end. We will be one of the last generations of model builders who actually knew how to build and paint a model.

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Thank you for the very detailed, informative, and comprehensive reply. I totally agree with you and you’ve touched on several topics and areas that even I didn’t think of, @Damraska .

It’s possible that future model kits might indeed be preassembled and painted by computers and machines, but if so, where is the customization in that? They sell painted (Anime and collectibles) statues already that are mass produced, many hand-painted overseas, but if John and Jane Doe down the street already have them, what separates theirs from yours if Miller Smith has one across the country and Susan Woman has one overseas?

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Maybe so, but there may still be some die hard who will enjoy the process of building and painting it themselves rather than being collectors of machine produced items. But right now, the possibilities in modeling provided by 3D printing are incredible in what is out there compared to just a few years ago, and increasing by the day. Both in 100% 3D printed stuff, and in 3D printed detailing items and/or conversion kits for existing injection molded model kits.

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I completely agree. Somewhere on Earth, someone is still making Illuminated Manuscripts in the traditional way. I watch a number of YouTube channels where guys make Medieval weapons from scratch using traditional methods. Given the huge repository of how to video now in existence, it seems unlikely the human species will lose any current crafting arts. In essence, they will be archived for future people to explore and, perhaps, master.

The current state of home production of complex objects is very exciting. I plan on spending my “retirement” (Dr. Evil quotey fingers) making all sorts of crazy stuff until the ship finally goes down.

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This video was posted yesterday. Rather curious timing. I think it’s relevant, at least in part, to this discussion.

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I noticed that 3D color printing makes the 3D figures printed in color appear like “glossy plastic.” That looks very unrealistic, as if the figures (or the people they represent) are all “polished in car waxed.” I don’t know if Matt Coat will dull the gloss or one has to use flat paint to paint over the 3D color-printed figures to make them appear flat in sheen.

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Is some ways 3d printing is harder. You cannot take a piece that is close, couple swipes of a sanding stick and be could. One has to declare everything with cad, the length, the radius, print settings and angle. All that and still not be right or close enough.

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Your point is well taken. But I’m not sure “harder” is fair. From what I understand (full disclosure: I do not have a 3D printer, but my son does) scratchbuilding and 3D printing are just different beasts aimed at achieving the same, or at least similar goals. Tactile verses cerebral, perhaps?

Although a 3D printer is not in my immediate future, I am itching to have a go at it, truth be told. The big selling point, at least for me, is the theme of this thread - one can manufacture a need / want that the modeling companies don’t offer.

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A 3D printer and seller on ETSY told me that 3D printing in resin is highly toxic (the fumes when heating and printing the resin) and that the 3D printer has to be used in a well-ventilated area and he highly recommends using a respirator and exhaust fans. He placed his 3D printer in a covered and ventilated garden shed in his backyard.

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