# Multi scale figures



## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Now that 3D printing is an economical consideration for me, I am going to be offering the first set of figures in multiple scales.








These are the blanks in 1:32, 1:13.7142, 1:20.32 scales from left to right. They will be clothed. The kid with the fist will have a pair of overalls on. The guy who is clother will have hair and some suspenders. The old guy holding up his fist will either be clothed as a conductor or an engineer with a watch in his hand. 
As soon as scanning becomes just as affordable (or I make my own scanner) I will be offering The Albert Einstein kit in 1:20.32 scale. I don't think he will work to well in 1:32.If anyone has suggestions on other more preferable scales, could you please address them in this thread.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

And here is the first 3D printed blank of a 7/8ths scale figure I am doing. To keep the cost of the printing down, I'm doing him with a very low polygon count.


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

Any chance of adding 1:29 to the list? I would think that the volume of Aristo-Craft and USA Trains would indicate that's an appreciable part of the market. 

JackM


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Humm,,,, I thought those were all 1:32 scale. I'll check on it. Maybe not this run, but for sure the next if 1:32 doesn't pan out. I model in both 1:20 and 1:13.32 and 1:12, so I'm for sure going to offer in those scales.


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## bnsfconductor (Jan 3, 2008)

I would also think that 1/29 is a under populated market for people. Does any manufacturer besides aristo make 1/29 people? 
Can you explain polygon count? I've never heard the term before, but then again I'm don't know to much about 3D printers. 
Craig


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Richard...why are you stopping at just LS sizes? I mean, the folks that do N, HO, O, and S need figures too. 

Question .... why is you first 3D printed figure...naked?


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

All 3D objects are made up of combinations of polygons. A polygon is a geometric shape made up of 3 or more sides. They are like building blocks in 3D. Each polygon is described by 3 or more Cartesian coordinates relative to a single point on 3D grid. For example.
If I want to make a simple square plane. (polygon) and I were writing it out in ascii (some of the older software used ascii coordinates) It would look something like this.
0,1,1;
1,1,1;
1,2,1;
0,2,1;
That would make a polygon 1 unit forward, 1 unit to the left and 1 unit up on the 3D grid. Basically a square plane hovering 1 unit in the air and facing the imaginary camera or viewer.
Hope that helps.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Mike, 
These are just blanks. I will sculpt the clothing later. The folds in cloth and buttons and seams all add more polygons to a 3D figure. A higher polygon count means more processing time. Besides, as you can see from the finished (naked) engineer, the details are a little blurry. I have to do the likeness, so I may as well add clothing too. It also makes it easier for me to make a new figure out of parts of the naked existing figure because I won't have to remove clothing. I do that when I sculpt a piece with clay too. I start nude, usually cast it and then add clothing. I got a lot of naked figures I already made, waiting to be dressed in different period clothing.


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

Richard I too think that 1/29 figures would sell well.

Can I suggest an idea please? It would be nice if figure makers made a sprue of different types of hats, caps, safety helmets etc. for their models. Even as a seperate item.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I do make different hats, but they are so hard to cast so I have a limited selection and a limited supply.


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

Well, I'm glad I suggested you do some of your amazing figures in 1:29. I'd especially like to have Albert E. occupy a prominent spot on my layout. Perhaps he could explain to me: 

Each polygon is described by 3 or more Cartesian coordinates relative to a single point on 3D grid. 

That stuff makes my head explode. 

JackM


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

If you don't want your head to explode just think of it like this. The minute you walk through the door of your house after work, you're going to want a beer. Your mind knows exactly where that beer is because it knows how far away the refir is from the front door, how high the handle of the refir is above the floor and and which direction left or right it is from the front door. Those are Cartesian coordinates. Your mind makes all these calculations in less than a nano second,,, that is till after you open that beer and then you enter the beer, space, time continuum and all you care about is the next even horizon :-D


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## JohnReid (Aug 31, 2010)

I would suggest 1/24 scale for all the car guys.


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

so you are going sci-fi... 

which 3D printer do you use?


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Kormsen, 
Only partially sci-fi. I used to do a lot of 3D sculpting in LightWave about 14 years ago. They were just coming out with rapid repo and scanning was way out of my league price wise. I worked on a project for HBO and they gave me a few scanned meshes and 3d cad files to use, but most of the stuff I did myself. It was like sculpting, but with a mouse and a keyboard. I don't know which printer the guy uses. Its my first real venture into this even though I knew about it and wanted to do it for a long time. I'm just going for the core because that is the hardest part to get right. I usually spend a good 22 hours to 40 hours just getting the core to look right. 
Its just now affordable enough. 
John,,, I might do that on future runs..


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Here is a figure core I am working on right now in 7/8ths. I've been working on it for about 2 weeks and I have put it down to look for work so its just hanging around my studio collecting dust. I gimp'd the face on (Gimp 2.0 open source) just to see if the proportions were going as I wanted. So far so good, but I can do the same core in a 3D modeler in way less time and if I don't like the pose when I'm done, I can change it very easily and not have to waste my original. The conventional way, can be saved too, but I have to make a mold, cast the original, cut it up and wire it back together and hope that I didn't deform it in the process.


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

thanks for the explanations. 
choosing boomer seems apropriate for a model, that will be cloned...


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## Therios (Sep 28, 2008)

I really REALLY think you need to make some zombies for me...


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

rip off an arm gouge out an eye and splatter red paint on any of my figures and they could be zombies


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## PLONIEN (Jul 31, 2008)

A quick search found lots of 3-D body scanning and printing links, but here is one video which shows very quick reproductions of people in 1/24th scale (3 inch figures).
I doubt that the scale figure market could support the purchase of such technology, but it would be interesting to see what the production costs might be. You could get free "live models" for the figure production, by offering them a copy of "their body" if it was one which had merit in printing, cleaning up, detailing and then going through the molding and mass production process. 1/24th scale is popular with plastic and die cast car modelers, LS railroaders, sci-fi figure modelers, and architectural/doll house modeling... so the "investment" might have a larger "market" than just a few reproductions marketed to the very small and limited G scale folks. 
Any investors out there for a scale figure production company?








Anyway, cool concept and technology. Enjoy the video [url]http://vimeo.com/21676294 [/url]

Regards, 
Jack


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## DennisB (Jan 2, 2008)

You mention 1:20 & 1:32. Why not use 1:24? It is a universal size and the one that is more forgiving. I can't post pictures here and I would like to send you some visual comparisons. Regards, Dennis.


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Dennis, thanks for the suggestion but 1:24 doesn't really work for me. The figures are too small for 1:20.32. I do use some 1:22 figures and I offer one 1:24 scale figure on my site.


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