Shapeways Store Opens
There's a site out there called Shapeways.com
It's based in the Netherlands, but operates in English. Which is good, since my Dutch is terrible.
Anywho, Shapeways lets creators upload files, list them for sale, and prints and sells them for them. It's like a Lulu.com or other production-on-demand outlet. You start an account, and put data in it. If people like your product, Shapeways creates it, packages it, and ships direct to them. You get a small piece of the action. Very small. But, hey, it's money that you weren't making beforehand, so stop complaining.
My shapeways shop is http://www.shapeways.com/shops/johnbearross
I've got a tank for sale there now, and will be adding more as time allows (I'm getting more and more prototyping done for other clients, which is great). Bear in mind, the pricing structure is wacky (this is just a beta site), so the prices will seem a BIT steep for a mere tank.
For beginners, I've uploaded an old tank that I had gathering dust. I rescaled it for 15mm scale, 1/144th, and 6mm scale. Basically, you can purchase one for your Rebel/Khurasan/GZG army, or your CAV/Heavy Gear force, or your Dirtside/NetEpic/Adeptus Titanicus collection.
The prices are a bit high, though, so I don't hold it against you if you start laughing when you see them.
There are advantages, though. Worldwide shipping is included in the price. Inevitably, prices will drop. I can make things without any real concerns about undercuts or other molding issues. Bonus of all bonuses, I don't have to spend weekends running to the post office, sending packages off to all four corners of the Earth.
Well, let me know what you think. I have a few of my own tanks on order, so I'll be posting up a review soon. This is just an experiment. Let's see where it goes together.
Best,
JBR
Comments
Seems like this is quite a good idea.
Always thats a rather nice model.
Best,
JBR
Without divulging too many trade secrets, is this a typical cost for this size of a prototype? I've been thinking about modeling a few 15mm Sci-Fi terrain pieces, having them prototyped, and using those for resin casting. Terrain is one thing that seems to be missing in our scale, and I was hoping to fill the void.
The $106 price is about what I would expect to pay for a 2.85-inch-long tank prototype. More accessories and turrets would bump the price, but $100 is ballpark.
I use Moddler.com for one-off prototypes that are intended for production. John V. over there is good people, which goes a lot farther with me than an automated website. John can fix just about any problems with your data files, and print away.
Shapeways only accepts perfect files, and if something is wrong (and it usually is) you have to do all the debugging yourself, something that can take a frustrating number of hours.
I don't blame you for not wanting to spend $200+ for a foursome of 15mm tanks. It's insane, but I think it's a product of the automated quote process.
Best,
JBR