Would there be interest in producing generic blank figures?

[Clif52]

I'm not sure on the flexability of the plastic yet. I'm waiting for the FabLab to get opened so I can experiment. I'll try for solid and hollow parts to see how assembly goes. We are thinking along the same lines of the different "blanks". Do you think we need built in "hair", or maybe snap on, or glue on? The flexable clothes I mentioned will probably be a mould and cast process unless I find a more flexible plastic for the 3D printer. What I have used so far is pretty solid and would probably still require the heat and pop method on parts. I think each "blank" will have different versions with plain like the Silver Surfer, street clothes, business suit, maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit, possibly a military uniform. The possibilities are endless. Once I can get the basics down on the 3D maybe morphs in between body types. Maybe mix and match heads would work. Pick your body type and then choose the head of your choice. I would like to get the old classic Marvel Legends articulation if possible, not sure yet. I'm thinking about using one basic color for all parts depending how painting goes. That way you don't have to change colors during production. The working parts are hot enough to melt plastic. I haven't seen a flesh colored plastic available at this time, but they do carry a tan and an off white. They have just developed a glow in the dark plastic (green). There are basic colors like red, white, black, green, yellow, medium blue, tan, dark brown, silver gray, orange, fluorescent red-green-yellow.

Clif

[Shinigami]

As long as the hair pieces would fit any head, glued on are ok. Short to medium lenght hair probably would look better sculpted on, so maybe every/some faces would be available bald and with hair?
From there we also have lots of mask types: full head, full with visible hair, visible mouth (Captain America), visible hair and mouth (Captain Marvel), visible hair and face (Gambit, Angel), domino (maybe even different designs - classic, tied like Golden Age Robin, Nightwing, Kyle Rayner, Ms. Marvel's and Black Cat's wider masks with visible eyes), full mask similiar to Deadpool's - with the "drop" on the back of the head.

And for articulation, TB style is great to hear, though I prefer the Mattel WWE Elite style hip joints. I think they're the best looking, though their range of movement is limited.

Maybe mix and match heads would work. Pick your body type and then choose the head of your choice.

I like that idea. You could have ready sets or a step by step shopping - first choose the body(bodies), then head(s), hair, accessories etc.

[Shinigami]

Here's a cool idea:
http://www.firebox.com/product/5300/Per ... on-Figures

[Boxghost]

Your concept sounds interesting but I don't know how well it would work realistically. Most 3D printed things I've seen are not smooth at all and show many lines from where the layers of plastic came together. That would require sanding over all of the parts which would be very tedious and time consuming. For instance, in the link the guy above me posted, that head looks like crap. In the closer up pics you can see how it isn't smooth at all. Now, I don't know what type of 3D printer you have access to so depending on how the parts it makes are, I may have to eat my words.

Second area that I could see being a problem would be assembly. Marvel legends style articulation would require a ton of pins. Would those be included along with the pieces you'd offer? Also, joints such as the hips and shoulders may require that the torso pieces be put together after the shoulder and hip balls are assembled and put into place. Whenever assembling parts like this is needed, the put together figure sometimes has extremely loose joints that don't allow it to hold poses. I could see this being a problem with 3D printed parts.

And this other thing isn't really a problem but more of a comment. I sense that you are trying to focus on way to many different items. Since this would be a very complicated process to go through, I'd say to just pick one item and focus on that exclusively (for now at least). Then once you got the hang of it and you've worked out any problems, broaden your scope and offer different items. Look at what GoNativeToys is doing for instance. They're selling only the 4" scale male blank body now and are gauging interest for what other 4" scale bodies people would want next.

Sorry, didn't want to sound like I'm being a mood kill but I was looking into doing something similar once upon a time. Found out just how complicated it was and it made me run away as fast as I could! There was a lot of work (not to mention time) involved in the process and it didn't seem economically profitable at all. Instead of 3D printing as a means of production, getting molds made of a prototype sound like it's much more economically friendly and easier to work with in the grand scheme of things. I'm actually still working on a well articulated sculpt of a 6" scale female body in hopes that eventually I'll have the funds to pay someone to make molds and cast multiples. (I'm talking high quality molds. Like the metal master molds that actual toy companies use.) Like 3D printing, theres a huge upfront cost that is into the thousands. Best of luck to you!

[Clif52]

Thanks for all the input. After continued research I've decided to drop the idea. Too many variables that make the custom blanks to time intensive to make it profitable. I'm concentrating on my original idea for creating custom displays for displaying action figure collections. Kind of like giant playsets for collectors. I'll post photos of the prototype that we are working on later in a new post. It will be customizable in size and layout. You will also be able to add your own logos for S.H.I.E.L.D., Fantastic Four, Stark Industries, Wayne Tech, Wayne Foundation, Daily Planet, Daily Bugle, Avengers Mansion, GI JOE, Cobra, Justice League, etc. You get the parts you want and lay it out the way you want it.

Clif