Well, this is interesting! The rise of 3D printers promises the world, but the technology isn't cheap or advanced enough yet to deliver it. YET. But give it time - look at how normal scanners went from expensive to cheap, everybody owns a smartphone, and... look, automobiles are incredible. So are printing presses. Eventually, we'll all get the ability to make whatever we want, but right now 3D printers are still kind of rare. And so, a few people have figured out how to market it. MicoStudio, a Finnish company, has made My Little Monster: Make It Real, a smartphone app designed to, well... 3D print stuff. You design a monster, and then pay to have your custom creation produced.
Basically, the app lets you customize monsters from a pre-set bunch of parts - body, eyes, mouth, hat, clothes, etc. etc. It's got a pretty good variety, and they do add new pieces from time to time, though admittedly there could be more. And although all the monsters have basically the same shape, you can create things ranging from a lava monster to a zipper monster to an eyeball monster to an ice cream monster, or whatever else. I started on a lava base, colored him green so it was toxic, added a gas mask, horns, and extra eyes, to create...
Name! Really, that's his name. I forgot to fill in the NAME category, so his name is Name. You can print your monster in one of three different (but basic) poses, and it costs $20. Shipping does not come with a tracking number, and it is from Finland, so expect something like two or three weeks to come through. I went on vacation, cam back, and it still hadn't arrived.
The figure is roughly two inches tall, and kind of chuny - little bigger all around than an OMFG figure, though roughly the same height as the larger ones. It is made of mineral resin - see how it looks fuzzy? That's becausethe texture feels kind of like sandstone. This mens that, unfortunately, these figures are FRAGILE. They come with little warning labels - do not drop it or handle it roughly. It's an unfortunate limitation of 3D printers at this time that they tend to use brittle materals, and looking at this guy honestly makes me impatient for better tech in that regard. The texture is fuzzy and the figure (which feel slike stone) is fragile, but it does have all the details of the in-app mode, even that spot of yellow on the rim of his gas mask rebreather. Note the low polygon count, too - it translates exactly.
So, overall, this is a rather fun little thing, and I like Name a lot. But the technology is still a little limited, and you have to be aware that you are paying $20 for an extremely fragile little statue. It isn't a toy for a kid, which is unfortunate, but it sure is a step in the right direction. Overall I am satisfied, and I will probably even order another one someday, but just be aware of those material issues.
Edited by Ridureyu, 05 August 2015 - 08:32 AM.
