3d Printed Ponies by Hashbro (& others, and you?)

[Malicieuse]

Some of those look pretty rough...
Can't say i care much about these, even though some are very nicely made.
I prefer the items in my collection to be official. Otherwise i could just as well be buying fakies and bootlegs. I'm not someone who easily spends money on customs either.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

They cute, but the texture on some of them bother me... like on the Lyra one...

[Honey Bunches]

Seriouslu Amazing!   

[appleponygal]

Why not save alot of bucks and just get some modelling clay of fimo or something?!  I bet that's way more fun and messy anyhow! It is interesting and some of them are cute but given the proice of regular print supplies that I would certainly pass on.

[Galactica]

Looks like some of the materials require some serious sanding to look okay (the plastic ones)

I was reading that artist's page for the plastic ones above-  and apparently the first plastic they were using was very durable- but that also made it really hard to sand- so they recently switched to a softer plastic (ie the nightmare moon one)

I actually like the texture of the sandstone one- it is "fuzzy"-

I would certainly buy modeled ponies just as fast- I love customs and fan-art!  If only I could make stuff this good-

[Tulips]

They print in "sandstone" too- it does in fact feel like stone... (brittle brittle stone)

The hollow plastic (is this the biodegradable stuff?) is not that great- I got one one of those BJD ponies before they got expensive and she is so thin and fragile I am afraid she will break apart if I sneeze.   She would definitely NOT survive a fall to the floor....

Oh no.. really? I was kind interested in one. ): I guess they should cast it in resin instead.

That might have been the first design which has since been improved upon, I'm waiting on one of the newer ones to arrive so I hope it's a little more durable. The creator was trying to find a way to cast in resin last I heard but it's not as easy as it sounds.

I love show accurate 3D printed ponies, especially ones with creative poses! If only Hasbro were more into this, the Funko ponies look promising but they're still in the standard standing pose so far.

[Galactica]

They print in "sandstone" too- it does in fact feel like stone... (brittle brittle stone)

The hollow plastic (is this the biodegradable stuff?) is not that great- I got one one of those BJD ponies before they got expensive and she is so thin and fragile I am afraid she will break apart if I sneeze.   She would definitely NOT survive a fall to the floor....

Oh no.. really? I was kind interested in one. ): I guess they should cast it in resin instead.

That might have been the first design which has since been improved upon, I'm waiting on one of the newer ones to arrive so I hope it's a little more durable. The creator was trying to find a way to cast in resin last I heard but it's not as easy as it sounds.

I'm sure you are right-  it feels thinner than an eggshell - probably so she could get the design hollow enough to string.  I am impressed that she figured out a way to make a strung jointed pony at all- quite impressive really.  Resin would be a significant improvement...

[banditpony]

They print in "sandstone" too- it does in fact feel like stone... (brittle brittle stone)

The hollow plastic (is this the biodegradable stuff?) is not that great- I got one one of those BJD ponies before they got expensive and she is so thin and fragile I am afraid she will break apart if I sneeze.   She would definitely NOT survive a fall to the floor....

Oh no.. really? I was kind interested in one. ): I guess they should cast it in resin instead.

That might have been the first design which has since been improved upon, I'm waiting on one of the newer ones to arrive so I hope it's a little more durable. The creator was trying to find a way to cast in resin last I heard but it's not as easy as it sounds.

I love show accurate 3D printed ponies, especially ones with creative poses! If only Hasbro were more into this, the Funko ponies look promising but they're still in the standard standing pose so far.

Oooh. I hope you make a post about it when you get it. I'd love to hear an opinion about it
u__u; yeah resin is no fun and toxic.

[Galactica]

Yes- please do post about it when you get it!

I am dying to see what someone can do with one of these-

[Tulips]

Yes- please do post about it when you get it!

I am dying to see what someone can do with one of these-

I'll definitely make a post about it. I won't be customising it though, I prefer the creepy blank look lol, plus I've heard it's a nightmare to paint because it absorbs colour so easily that mistakes can be difficult to fix.
She's also made pegasus and unicorn molds, if the earth pony I get is awesome enough I might just ask if she'll put together an alicorn for me.

[hathorcat]

In some ways I agree with LBS on this to be honest.

I do think these are very very clever and how creative fans are continues to amaze me. But in my personal opinion, I am surprised Hasbro are not a little more protective of their intellectual property. There is a very large difference between creating something for your own interest & your own collection and printing something in order to sell it. I say that as that is what people pay Hasbro for licenses for. You can be sure Funko have shelled out a significant amount of money for the rights to their licences - I think its perfectly understandable for someone to have the opinion that if items are being sold commercially the original artist, in this case Hasbro, are entitled to a percentage of the item.

When its done on a small scale its not anything I imagine Funko or Hasbro will concern themselves and it is lovely to see how character images are being recreated 3D. 

[scarletjul]

I think they're an interesting product and that it is really cool that we have the technology to print these sort of thing nowadays, in our own homes.  It looks like it takes quite a lot of talent, skill and patience to create anything viable with them though so I don't believe Hasbro (or any other toy company ) has much to worry about yet.

As for intellectual property, I consider these in the same vein as customs - original creations inspired by Hasbro.  I don't think Hasbro feels threatened ATM, which is why they aren't objecting.  And if they don't want people to create their own versions of Dr. Whooves and the like, maybe they'll start to release official versions.

[kitkatvintage]

Would there be any interest in 3D "blank" pony bodies for customizing? I'm thinking of G1's in harder to find poses, or ponies that would not generally be used as bait like Piggy ponies. My husband does rendering & works with vendors that have 3D printers. I'm not sure what a project like that would cost, but it could be interesting.

[Galactica]

Although I'm speculating, I suspect Hasbro enjoys and profits from its reputation of being extremely fan-focused and tolerant of minor derivative works that are common in its fan base (why else would they encourage pony conventions and custom pony contests?)

The deviant artists in question don't make more than a couple of dollars on each one of their projects- which is a far cry from a toy company that is making a widely available commercial product and advertising with trademarked names...

Out of curiosity I read through the cases that Hasbro has pursued over the years, and it is quite a fascinating read to see what they go after and why- and what they win and don't win (it is news to me that in the 80s and 90s- they sued fakie makers like Lanard all the time over competing, infringing products- they didn't always win...

Would there be any interest in 3D "blank" pony bodies for customizing? I'm thinking of G1's in harder to find poses, or ponies that would not generally be used as bait like Piggy ponies. My husband does rendering & works with vendors that have 3D printers. I'm not sure what a project like that would cost, but it could be interesting.

I would think that making a mold of a piggie would be easier than 3D rendering and printing?  Printing something the size of a G1 is likely to be very expensive-

but I would LOVE to see smaller G1s in unusual poses- maybe modeled after the early artwork

[nullcherri]

3D printing is pretty expensive and lossy. I mean- its easy to mess up your print. And unless you have a very big expensive machine, it's very slow.

It's definitely not a true manufacturing process yet. It's really only for prototyping or for creating something to cast off of.

 Give it time- when it's perfected, then Hasbro can worry.

Err, also to the OP - a top of the line 3D printer actually costs closer to $40,000. We have some at work and they're still fussy and unreliable  . . . .