The custom world and 3D printed ponies... what do you think?

[kakenterprise]

They do print in plastic not paper.

[JoshsPonyPrincess]

I would be interested in buying baits in this form that I could further customize

[NoDivision]

A while back someone posted gauging interest in blank 3d printed ponies for people to customize, and the price was just way too far out of the realm of possibility. When you can buy a hasbro pony to bait for $5, I don't see any value in buying a 3d printed blank for 5-7 times the cost.

I have yet to see a 3d printed pony that's impressed me. There's too much risk directly copying hasbro, so people have to make their models a bit different, at which point they just look strange to me and I don't really see the point. And the better ones that are more show accurate don't look any better than what a talented customizer could do anyway.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

A while back someone posted gauging interest in blank 3d printed ponies for people to customize, and the price was just way too far out of the realm of possibility. When you can buy a hasbro pony to bait for $5, I don't see any value in buying a 3d printed blank for 5-7 times the cost.

I have yet to see a 3d printed pony that's impressed me. There's too much risk directly copying hasbro, so people have to make their models a bit different, at which point they just look strange to me and I don't really see the point. And the better ones that are more show accurate don't look any better than what a talented customizer could do anyway.

I have to agree on the fact of price for these. I remember looking at the BJD Pony and I think the person had the blanks priced at $80+

[okiegurl1981]

This is the first I've seen of 3D printed ponies.  While they are nice, I don't consider them customs.  I have to agree with NOD, why would I spend an insane amount of money on a pony base, when I can just pop into my local Walmart and grab one for $5? 

I would like that BJD pony tho, just for myself!

[Ellis1342]

I can appreciate all the work that goes into making the models of the ponies and I think they will grow to have their own place. I think they could and could not have a place with customisers in the future. Think about it. Some poses of ponies are hard to come by without mold or just due to the supply of certain ponies being very low. A 3d printer could help fill the void, though right now the cost is far too high for that sort of thing.

As for the fully printed characters...I think amongst those (namely bronies) Who want show accurate and factory quality this could become a big thing. For those of us that like the hand made feel and detail a customiser can put into something...i thing we may say 'cool, but not worth the price'

[thatg33kgirl]

Yeah, for me the big thing is price. While I like the look of some of the long-legged bases, I'm with NoD and its a bit more than I'd like to pay for a bait. (heck, I sometimes have a hard time convincing myself to spend 5 dollars on a G4 bait hehe). And yeah, there is a fine line between these being customs and not... and infringing on copyrights or not. (see the first link I posted, thats what made me think about it!) Plus, for me a custom is something I consider one of my own works of art (even the more simple ones) and that can't be reproduced. Since they can literally be reprinted over and over again, well, unless you hand paint every one, I don't think I'd consider them custom.

I've also never seen one in person but I'd like to as well- a lot of them look really stable, although some look a bit more jagged or put into pieces like a garage kit does.

[Starblaze]

My husband works at a fine art bronze foundry, and they have a couple of 3D printers there. He says that it is definitely expensive to print things, plus the objects are rather fragile. I personally wouldn't be interested in them as an alternative to handmade customs.

[Rosencrantz]

Went to look at the store, would love to see what someone could do with that folded wing blank pegasus body.

[Kimmers4Ever]

I might be a bit weird... but I'm all into that stuff.... *pets WoW figureprints* It's neat and different.  While I wouldn't want it for customs making... I would LOVE 3D printed figures of my Ponysona and OC characters. <3 Especially if they came out like the ones above.

It's just neat and gimmicky, but all in all I don't think it would impact us too terribly much.

[U2QueenBee]

Not to be Debbie Downer here, but how legal is this?  Are the people who are offering these for sale getting a license from Lauren/Hasbro/whoever to use their art and names and things?  I'd have thought selling them for profit fell outside of fair use clauses, personally.

For myself, I think it's a cool idea if it ever gets cheaper, to make a physical object out of any picture I like, but I would still prefer 'real' customs made by custom artists, I think.  I prefer brushables, for one.  I think if you got someone who would actually design a specific custom image and then print that it might be one thing (and likely very expensive) but it wouldn't really be like the ponies I grew up with, and more likely to be a mass-produced vinyl doll than a custom pony IMO.

[thatg33kgirl]

Mmm figureprints! It would totally be cool is hasbro offered them like Blizzard is doing! (for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, basically they print out a video game character using a 3D printer- very cool! http://www.figureprints.com/wow/Default.aspx)

Yeah thats another thing- I know Hasbro is generally pretty cool with the customs market since they are one of a kind and not interfering with their business, but I'm not sure how they stand on 3D printed things. Any ideas anyone?

[StarberryTart]

I've been thinking about this type of thing a lot.

I'd LOVE versions of my OCs that look like they were straight off the toy shelf, maybe even complete with custom packaging. 3D printing offers me a chance at that with the hairstyle completed in a way that could be smoother than molding hair myself or rehairing a toy.

Personally, in regards to officially released toys, I think that the ponies released with each wave should be up to the fans. Release four new ponies each wave and you get to vote on each from a bunch of different ponies from the blind bag designs, older generation ponies, background ponies from the show, and designs created by fans in a sort of Pony Creator program. Or at least sell a customizing kit like they do with the Monster High dolls. Believe me, I think fans would be all over that.

[Galactica]

I think the 3D ponies above are awesome- it takes no small amount of skill to create such cool works-
I love that 3D printing will allow fans to have oddball things like Chrysalis or persona ponies (if you have one) or  different poses- (like folded wings, etc).

The price is high enough and the items fragile enough that I don't think that there is any serious threat to Hasbro's market share- these things are quire pricey!

The whole idea of 3D printing is fascinating-   there are only a few really good ones out there (all mentioned in this thread) but I do hope to see more-

[keikokukien]

Yes, they will have an impact and a special interest market, but no, I don't really consider them customs. Customs are more like buying/painting a painting for me. They take alot of time and labor and human error to make...so...In a way, yes, those can be a custom-made toy, but not a "custom." There will still be a market for them, I'm sure. I would love a little Rarity with her "hipster" look, but I also would rather have hand painted brushables because that's more my tastes. I'm more worried about how these will impact the jobs related to manufacturing the current lines of toys...The last thing the world needs is a major job loss. I think we are a long way from that because it is still cheaper to make the toys the way they are made right now, but the minute someone learns how to make it universally cheaper... :x