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Custom scale figures?

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  • Member since
    September 2017
  • 48 posts
Posted by msrrkevin on Sunday, November 12, 2017 3:06 PM

People have HO figures for sale on Shapeways:

http://shpws.me/ExON

I havent bought any or designed my own yet - but seems viable.

 

- Kevin

Check out my shapeways creations! HOn3 and railroad items for 3D printing:

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/kevin-s-model-train-detail-parts

  • Member since
    February 2017
  • From: Ayer, MA by way of Queens, NY
  • 84 posts
Posted by TheGamp on Thursday, October 26, 2017 12:06 AM

Thanks guys. If I make any progress I'll hunt down a new photo host first!

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Farmington, NM
  • 383 posts
Posted by -E-C-Mills on Wednesday, October 25, 2017 9:51 PM

Count me in as definitely interested.  There's going to be so much you can do with a scanner and 3D printer.  Looking forward to updates.

  • Member since
    November 2007
  • From: California
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Posted by HO-Velo on Wednesday, October 25, 2017 1:40 PM

"What'll they think of next."  That's really neat, especially the 1:18 figure, & I dig the get-up.  The possibilities for 3D scanning must be endless, like doing a holiday scene with the entire family, that is if one could get them all to sit still for a scan.

Thanks and regards,  Peter

  • Member since
    February 2017
  • From: Ayer, MA by way of Queens, NY
  • 84 posts
Posted by TheGamp on Wednesday, October 25, 2017 11:32 AM

I'm not expecting to suddenly make kitbashing go the way of the dinosaur or anything. I just thought it'd be fun to be able to make figures of my friends with the costuming and poses I want without going blind in the process.  

MB, you're not far from me. I'm going to try to do some fine tuning on my scan rig for a few hours on Saturday at the makerspace I belong to in Lowell.  Let me know if you wanna give it a whirl (literally).

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,483 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Wednesday, October 25, 2017 10:41 AM

HO figures are pretty small, and you can do a lot with simple techniques to create unique characters.  I started these with cheap unpainted figures.

I used a razor saw and glue to re-position arms.  A tube of Squadron Putty made one figure a bit larger around the middle and gave others hats.

Next, just craft paint and a small brush.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    September 2013
  • 90 posts
Posted by shahomy on Wednesday, October 25, 2017 9:47 AM

Thanks Gamp, i`m gonna ck it out

Am i ever gonna be able to lay any track???

  • Member since
    February 2017
  • From: Ayer, MA by way of Queens, NY
  • 84 posts
Posted by TheGamp on Wednesday, October 25, 2017 8:39 AM

Shahomy,
There seem to be a lot of support for 3D scanning with the Kinect sensor. I had the game system lying around gathering dust and thought I'd try. There's a gentleman known as The Great Fredini from the Coney Island Sideshows that has shared his turntable and vertical-motion scanner platform designs on the web. There are a couple of software packages available (I've been using Skanect).

I modified Fredini's hand-cranked platform by adding a motorized belt-drive for the Kinect sensor and some software for sending it up/down/pause/speed and a self timer so I could do 3D selfies.

  • Member since
    September 2013
  • 90 posts
Posted by shahomy on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 6:00 PM

"I've put together a 3D-scanning system based around an XBox 360 Kinect video game sensor and 3D printer."

Holy cow!

Good job, and it sounds pretty technical...would like to hear about some details on how you did this...

Am i ever gonna be able to lay any track???

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
  • 9,094 posts
Posted by BigDaddy on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 5:53 PM

There is no punishment so you are safe.  I did see someone's google pics once.  Maybe they were Mel's.  I use gmail all the time, but I don't know why I could see them once and only once. 

Links to HOSeeker.com are the same way.  You can see them but no one else can.  Dunno why, not my pay grade. Surprise

 
 

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Bakersfield, CA 93308
  • 6,526 posts
Posted by RR_Mel on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 5:39 PM

I tried using Google Photo and it only worked for those with a Google Account.  I have a Google Account and I can see the pictures.
 
Now I post pictures from Google Blogger, that seems to work.
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
 
 
  • Member since
    February 2017
  • From: Ayer, MA by way of Queens, NY
  • 84 posts
Posted by TheGamp on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 5:09 PM

BigDaddy, thank you. I'm certainly not trying to run afoul of any rules. I'll review the sticky. 

ButI'm perplexed because the pictures (Google Photos) show up for me. 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Bradford, Ontario
  • 15,797 posts
Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 5:05 PM

TheGamp:

Sounds like a logical use for 3D printing. With the right software you could design your own figures to be posed exactly the way you want them. I can see particular opportunities for hard to find figures like car or truck drivers. It would also be nice to not have every engineer posed exactly the same way, although that can be accomplished with a #11 blade too.

Keep us posted,

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
  • 9,094 posts
Posted by BigDaddy on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 4:59 PM

Can't see your pics.  There are rules on posting photos to this forum in a sticky.  You can't cheat on the rules.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/249194.aspx


PS They aren't my rules, I'm only a visitor.

 
 

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

  • Member since
    February 2017
  • From: Ayer, MA by way of Queens, NY
  • 84 posts
Custom scale figures?
Posted by TheGamp on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 3:46 PM

Since my eventual layout will build on a nostalgic scene from my own life, I wanted to see if I could populate it with figures of people I know. So instead of working on my White Castle building or my R36 WF subway car, for the last few months I've put together a 3D-scanning system based around an XBox 360 Kinect video game sensor and 3D printer.

Over the weekend I had the first test flight of the system and printed out a 1:18 scale figure. And last night I did a quick-and-dirty test to see if one could even be printed in 1:87 scale. It came out way rough, but I do have a finer-bore printer nozzle that I will be experimenting with in the days to come. And someday I'll learn how to paint.

But I'm curious to see if anyone else has either a) built a similar scanning system, or b) found other suppliers of such a service for their own layouts. And just to gauge if there's any interest in this sort of thing beyond my own obsessions.

edit 1/11/18 - hopefully these pictures show up now

 

 

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