Arms are movable, gun can come out.... that's it  

 

Sweet! I think it's fine it doesn't transform. With that much detail on such a small scale, to make it transform might take away from it. Very cool!

 

Awww, he's so cute! What is he made of? Looks like clay, am I right?

 

No, he's a 3D print   I drew it in Google Sketchup and sent it out through Shapeways.com. 2 Weeks later I received it and painted it.

 

I just want to hug him, he's that cute! Awesome job!  

 

It's so tiny and appealing I just want to eat it! Well...if I was three I'm sure I'd try to eat it. Great job! Is it made out of Sculpey?

~Z

 

Great to see your custom micro collection continuing!

 

Adorable! I love him!
Shapeways, huh? I had no idea...

 

very cool. It's nice to see your ever-expanding WST set... How many more characters do you have to go to get where you want?

 

Agreed!

Also, I really like seeing you experimenting with 3-D printing. This gives me some high hopes for future Delta Star things  

 

micro size excellent job

 

Excellent stuff, DS...just had a quick scan of the Shapeways site, and to say I'm intrigued is an understatement.

Mind if I ask how much it cost to have Perceptor printed? PM me if you want it kept private.  

 

Oh, no secrets here   It cost all of $25, including shipping! It's right on the threshold of the minimum order. I have a Grapple (not yet painted), and it cost $37 because it was just slightly bulkier.

Now, if you want a full size TF, make sure you have $1200 handy  

But I see great potential for kitbashers. A head would be about $15 for an Alternator, and you could make accessories for deluxe size toys for about the same price.

I recommend Shapeways to everyone. It's just good fun  

 

Even more intrigued now - thanks for the info, DS! One question - did you build the 3D model as 'hollowed-out', or from 'solid' objects? Just thinking that the costs might be reduced a little if it's printed from the former...in fact, I think I'll put a test model together, just to see what it'd cost!  

 

I made mine solid, but it is supposed to save money if you hollow it out. Of course you need some wall thickness, though.

I was afraid it would be too light or weak if it wasn't solid, but I can't say I'm worried about that now that I see what the WSF material is like. It's unbelievably strong. And I don't think it would be any lighter, because there would still be unsintered powder in the cavity.

Two more points... you can cut thin pieces off with a blade, but it doesn't machine well, so don't bank on sanding or drilling into it. Also, the gun/fist connection and shoulder joints were designed to be exactly the same size post as hole. In other words, if you don't reduce the post size compared to the hole, you end up with a nice tight joint. If you want a free moving joint, like say a wheel axle, then the post would need to be smaller that the hole  

 

Thanks again, DS - to say I've been inspired would be an understatement!  

 

I'm intrigued, to say the least. Thanks for the info!

And awesome Perceptor, by the way.

 

Cool. Well you know where to find me if you run into problems. I had to solve a few to get the end result, so feel free to e-mail me if you need help.

 

DS that is awesome.

 

Okay, Treadshot just asked me to explain how to convert Sketchup files for Shapeways, so I'm posting the conversation here:

Never tried Meshlab. You can use Blender, but I find it extremely confusing. Get Blender anyway so that you can follow along the Shapeways tutorial on finding manifold errors. It's useful for that anyway  

To get files into Shapeways, you need a Sketchup plug-in called CADspan. It should be easy to find with a Google search. It will add four icons to your toolbar. When you're ready with your model, you just click each one in sequence and it gives you a nice STL file to upload.