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Good morning all, I wanted to start a blog on a project I am working on getting off the ground. I think this is the right forum for what I will be doing.

So i don't have the start up funds, time or equipment to start my own miniature company but I found a solution for my goal thanks to technology advances and a company called Shapeways. I created a web store in shapeways to take my 3d designs and print them on demand. They handle all the labor, checkout, and mailing and all i have to do is work the design piece of it so for a poor mans business this is a great start for me.

My store:
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/redstoneminiatures

One of my goals and also the reason i started a Paint and Modeling blog thread is I will be doing commission work for custom designed conversion bits. This first post is about my first commission for a friend to do Aztec themed space marine chapter pads with a jaguar head. They are now complete and in my store for sale and he was really happy with how they turned out.

It all started with some artwork he provided me for an initial idea and facebook conversation. This artwork is my friends rendition of what he had in mind for a chapter of Aztec space marine warriors.



So based on that the first thing I did was try and build a should pad from scratch for the first time... That went so so and also showed me how rusty I got after not doing 3D model making in 12 years.


Next I started tinkering with designs and how to get them to look good on the pad. Started with some simple place holder stuff and text. I also designed a new shoulder pad with correct proportions.


Now that I had a shoulder pad shape I was mostly happy with I started work on the actual design of the Aztec Jaguar based off the artwork my friend provided me.


I went to google images next to make sure I stayed as true to the source material as I could. My friend is from Mexico and wanted to really capture the feel of the Aztec people. The first draft was a nice start but quickly drew comparisons to teddy grahams which then led to pedobear jokes.


I made changes to avoid the design looking like a bear and tried to make it more cat like while keeping it in line with the Aztec art style still. A bit of a redesign and even a tweak to the shoulder pad to fix some edges. This was pretty close to complete and I sent these to my friend for final critique.


Final changes were decided and then I uploaded it to my webstore so he could be begin ordering prints of the completed shoulder pads. I wont know for sure how they turned out until he gets them in though but as soon as he does he is going to send me pictures of the packing material and the pads before and after primer. I rounded out the emblems and added some small work to the opposite shoulder pad. This is a picture of the completed 3D model.

Also do to the demand generated from the pedobear comparisons of my early mock up I went ahead and knocked out a design for a single shoulder pad to please the mob.





Now that I have a foundation and a process sort of in place I need to figure out how much to charge to do a commission for a custom design. How much would people be willing to pay to have a shoulder pad made with a design specific to what they want? Some things to consider in the commission price would be that I would own and sell the desgin in the webstore once it is finished. You would not get the shoulder pads from me but would have to buy them in the webstore after i upload the model.

Hi thanks yeah pedobear got everyone laughing, i dont know if anyone would ever buy that but i think it would be great for slaanesh SGT or something

I cant afford any fancy 3d rendering software so for now i am using autodesk 123D design which is free software specifically meant for 3d printer work. Its VERY limited in what it can do but the price is right.

Right now I don't have any printed out yet. My friend is gonna order the first set on monday and then i will see how long they take to make and ship out. Hes gonna give me lots of pictures of everything so as soon as i get the pics I will post them here for all to see.

Also I have been getting a lot of interest in doing a USMC EGA on a shoulder pad now so I am looking at licensing it from the USMC so I can sell it. The license cost 25-50$ though depending on how much I will make in a year from it so I want to make sure I have enough people on board before I look at buying the license. That and the license is only good for 1 year at a time.

Thanks, yeah in the long run I could save money using shapeways to create masters for molds but right now I just dont have the time to put into the labor or a place to store the materials. With them handling so much of it, it works great for a starting point though. One thing I don't even know is how much of the money made even comes back to me. All the prices are automatically generated by the volume of plastic needed cm3 so i dont even know what portion will even come back to me as a profit. Once my friend buys the first set of jaguar pads I will see what % is my cut though.

Price point wise the single orders are not affective but the bulk order of 22 pads came out cheaper then resin cast companies selling theirs company. So as long as I am smart with my designs and space usage there are certain items that will have price appeal and certain items that wont.

I can probably give it a go, is this the pad you are talking about?

http://megabitzshop.com/bilder/produkte/gross/Warhammer-40k-Bitz-Space-Marine-Command-Squad-Shoulder-Pad-E-Company-Champion.jpg

Well I haven't quite worked out the price for doing commissioned designs yet. I have been discussing that a lot with the group I game with and others outside who do any time of job that pays by commission. So far I know that what I charge will not be based off time spent in labor but based on complexity of the design and how many revisions will be made to the design from feedback.

I did however decide on a price point that seems fair and competitive but is still a good value to anyone buying it. $1 per shoulder pad with shoulder pads being old in groups of 20 or 22 if it includes a SGT upgraded shoulder.

For instance instead of offering the pedobear pad as a single pad to then offering it in a bulk print of 20, it cut the price from 5$ to 1$ a shoulder pad.

Now to start taking request for designs to be sold. My next one I will be working on will be the masonic symbology. Just waiting on my friend to provide me with an image of what he wants done.

http://shpws.me/pbYy




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Started work tonight on a new design request. Friend wanted me to come up with a shoulder pad with the masonic lodge symbol on it.

For those not familiar with it.


I got my rough mock up done tonight and just waiting on feedback now from him to see what he likes and doesn't like. Also need to see if there is room for more detail or if he wants to keep it simple.

Started work on building out my Rhino templates today. Got the masters all setup in 3D now but I couldn't find a rhino rear door in my bits box to go off of so that one is still on the to do list.


Now that the templates are done, I started work on getting the Jaguar head moved over and scaled up to fit the doors. Now I am in the process of googling Aztec art and patterns to decorate borders and what not.

Thanks for the look. I think I am going to do stand alone icons for the panther head as well but for right now I plan on doing a highly detailed rhino kit. I plan on doing front armor plate, side doors, rear door, top, and extra armor enhancements all in one kit. I wont have a clue how much it will cost though until I finish modeling it all out and get a final volume total of materials used.

I started work on the razor back hatch last night and the front armor plate. Wanted to do a more modern looking view port for the front and something more customized then what GW currently uses with the 2 existing view ports. Also decided that making a single view port off to one side will allow for much large custom details to be added to the other side of the front armor.

Just took a look at those rainbow warrior links. I like the shoulder pads and some of the other custom art they have done. Pretty cool stuff.

Right now I am at a bit of a creative block. Can't figure out how what else to do with this to do with this rhino kit to add flavor and detail to it. I look at it and it doesn't quite feel done. If anyone has any ideas I'll try anything and see how it looks.

Ah adding rivets seemed to do the trick. It really helped get rid of that feeling that something was missing. Now I am starting work on the Rhino rear door now and once I have that finished I will be able to upload it to shapeways for printing. I already have another designed up a group wants me to work on. A wolfs head with flames behind it.

Finished and uploaded the rhino upgrade kit for the Aztec space marines. Took a bit of work to get some last minute stuff done. Came out a little too expensive to print in high detail but I was able to get the price down on standard white plastic by hollowing out a lot of the thicker areas from the back. Now that i have a template for the rhino upgrade parts setup I am gonna work on some ultra marine doors now.

Started work on the next rhino/razorback set. Wanted to try something easy that I could turn out quick. I really like how it turned out but it still feels a little short on something. Can't figure out what to add to make them feel complete.

Enjoying an impromptu day off, started drafting up a USMC EGA shoulder pad and if there is enough interest in this when im done ill pay for the hobby sellers license from the USMC and put it up for sale.

After a small hiatus from working on 3d models to dabble in some other projects i decided to clean up the USMC EAG i drafted up a bit ago. Just need to figure out how to get the rope modeled and then order a test print. I might be to small to get the level of detail in i would be happy with.

 Master Azalle wrote:
How are the designs coming along?

Slowly but surely. Lots of distractions of course.

I tried to get the rope to work on the anchor this weekend but it was sad sad failure. It didnt look good on the screen and then it crashed the computer too. I'm gonna try a different method for modeling the rope on this week and hopefully it will look better but its going to be much more time consuming since i will have to make it from scratch in the 3d software instead of importing a line template and making that fit to the pad.

Not super happy with out the rope turned out but since the rope is being a serious ass hat right now I'm gonna call it done and upload it for printing. Hopefully next pay day i will be able to order a test print and it should arrive in 2-3 weeks. Then i will know for sure what the limit of the printers really are. The fine detail on the rope and small raised edge of the continents may or may not survive.

Yeah i dont even check the blocks for the other materials, ultra fine detail is the only one ill offer just to avoid the obvious disapointment people will get. at least with ultra fine frosted detail there is a good chance it will be pretty close.

I have them uploaded to my shapeways store now but I have no clue how much detail will show up in the final print until i can order a test run for myself.

****WARNING**** they are for sale now, but quality of detail is not guaranteed until i get an order in for myself to check them out.
https://www.shapeways.com/model/1503751/shoulder-pad-hawk-over-earth.html?li=aeTabs

One of the customers I was working with ordered a test set for me and I will have pictures as soon as the arrive. if all is well I will remove the disclaimer and start work on the next set

Some ideas I have for shoulder pads:
1st infantry (big red one)
1st cav
2nd armored div (hell on wheels)
82nd airborne
101st airborne

Got some custom requests too for a wolf head straight on and a bear paw.

 Master Azalle wrote:
I'm still looking for pads and doors for Angels of Vengeance. I have a company I need to kit out haha

HAHA man you gotta keep on me, i forget about these things when i get caught up in my millions of side projects

Well great news, my tester got the shoulder pad order in for the EGA today.
Working on the Q&A right now on what we can improve and what we like and don't like but overall i am very happy with the level of detail the printer pulled off. Just need to add caveats now to all orders about prep work and cleaning once they get the items in.

My tester was able to provide me pictures of a painted shoulder pad now Very happy with how they have come out now.
Just going to make a few tweaks but soon I will start work on the rhino, landraider, and hopefully terminator kits.

Small progress updated. Based off feedback from the test run I have now rounded the eagle out and raised both the eagle and continents a bit to make for better painting.

I started drafting up all the USMC ranks as well.

Morning all, I have talked it over with the wife and have decided that in January I will register Redstone Miniatures as a business officially and get cracking on making custom bases that will be available for purchase from my website store once it is all setup. In the mean time all my custom shoulderpads and tank kits will be available through shapeways.

https://www.facebook.com/redstoneminiatures

I am busy researching different resin mixes and silicon molds to find something that gives the best results. Fully open to any suggestions anyone has about resin and what brands to look out for when buying.

Thanks, I am looking forward to doing some new and more original designs after i finish the rest of the parts for this USMC kit.

Took a bit of a break off from things during the holidays but now im back into working on these.

http://shpws.me/pOWi

I got the fixed shoulder pads up now and I am working on the ranks, then the rhino kits before starting the next designs.

Got a bit more work done on the shoulder pads today. Finished the enlisted rank shoulder pads up to match the USMC eagle shoulder pads now.

Link to my shapeways store.
http://shpws.me/qnjv


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 UselesswizarD wrote:
I know that I would pay good money for RT era beakie compatible bits. Especially for wargear that wasn't avalible in the days of Rogue Trader.

Unfortunately I have no point of reference for making rogue trader stuff but if I could get my hand on one of the old sprues I could probably knock something out. The only problem with that is the sprues are INSANELY expensive on ebay right now. I would love to make modern weapons for a rogue trader army though

 UselesswizarD wrote:
I have at least two boxes of the original plastics still on sprue. I would happly send you an example of each sprue for reference.

Sure thing, I sent you PM with some info if you can mail those to me I can start working on prototypes of the gear. I was looking online and I don't see anything that had shoulderpads separate back then. Everything looks like shoulder pads were molded with the arms.

I hear ya, Yeah the prints from shapeways are decent enough to get buy. They make a really good starting point though. With the (FUD) Frosted Ultra Detail it can pull off the thickness or thinness i desire but the texture still comes out a tad grainy and you can still see the fine lines of the printer doing one layer at a time over curves. If anything required fine details I would stick with FUD for sure as a printing material but for simple things like doors, hatches, and bases I am going to give the standard white hard plastic a try and see how well that holds up.

Currently I am waiting on my order of smooth-on silicon and plastic resin mix to come in so I can start casting. I plan on just using shapeways for parts that I can't easily cast myself and for my masters. Once I am done cleaning up a master and making it mold ready then I will start casting and selling resin cast parts in my web store.

There are certain things that I am content with just for FUD so far. I was actually surprised how much detail survived from design to print with the Marine shoulder pads.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 kezef wrote:
I too am looking for some custom shoulders as well as other bits that I can use to help make my army be more cohesive in terms of looking like they are a chapter. I am horrible with water-slide transfers and while I am average at painting minis, Free-handing squad markings and chapter heraldry is a bit beyond my current skill level. I have a quite a few ideas I would love to see made. I do have a little conundrum however, My already assembled and painted minis would need some form of bits I could glue on, but looking at the images you have put up, I do not know if that would be possible considering the size and thickness they would most likely need to be.


I am building Guardians of the Covenant (DA successors) for reference.

I have thought about doing something like that where the icons will fit onto shoulder pads and thinness is a small problem but the bigger problem would be getting them to fit the curve exactly. My shoulder pads are close to GW but they are a slightly different shape then theirs just because it is so hard to match precisely even with measurements down to the milometer. This is why i make sure to try and offer all my shoulder pads in pairs so then you get an even appearance on the model and not a situation where one pad is noticeably higher or farther out then the other because they are from 2 different sources.

 kezef wrote:

I hear you about the separate icons to fit onto shoulders it is what I expected, iI was just hoping someone out there might have a solution other than buying new boxes of miniatures, still plan to outfit my guys using the printed stuff if i can get a designer that is willing to work with me to come up with some cool and unique items, shoulders, doors hatches, icons for vehicles, banners that sort of thing. variations of the Dark angels Iconographic style that they but more fitting to the successor chapter that has its own heraldry.

Well some of that I can do. I can do rhino kits as of right now or flat icons to put on tanks or other flat surfaces. I need to create a generic banner first so I can add that to the list of things to put icons on.

Is there a picture somewhere out there of the 2nd founding chapter your doing or is it something you came up with?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Malika2 wrote:
By the way, here's a list of printing services which might interest you for those parts you want to cast: (list taken from Resin Addicts)

3D Printing Services
Lightbeam 3D
-Scott works with super-detailed Perfactory® technology, liquid resins and very accurate lenses.
-High quality finished product with almost no surface issues, higher priced.
VisionProto
-Paul also uses the Perfactory® systems and liquid resins.
-High quality, higher priced. Very customer friendly.
Moddler
-Almost considered the standard, in terms of balance between cost and quality
-Very popular for printing hard surface models like vehicles and robots
Ninja Magic
-Uses Solidscape prototyping technology.
-Todd also does investment casting from 3D prints, results in a metal master, usually brass.
Sculpteo
-Offers a decent range of materials and prices.
-Uses a few different printing technologies to offer variety.
Black Dragon Castings
Micro-RP

Thanks for the great list, I am gonna start sorting through this and see what my budget allows for making really good masters now.

I haven't been on much lately as I have been working on some of my painting projects and getting a vampire counts army basecoated for their first time in a tourney. (learned how not to play them game 1 and 2, game 3 was a draw as i was finally getting the hang of what best matches against what in charges.)

All my resin casting supplies arrived today. Silicone for molds, resin for models, mold release, clay, wood for framing molds. This next week should make for some very exciting and fun times as i experiment with casting my own base and shoulder pad designs. So now that the mold making stuff is here I am going to try and get some more work done on the 3d model side of things.

Thanks much, It is hard to make time for a side job/hobby like this after I get home from work between family and painting my armies right now but it is fun and interesting to do in its own way.

 Malika2 wrote:
Hmm, if you are going to cast them, I would recommend getting them printed elsewhere than Shapeways. Get a single good print of each component and then cast it. Of course, you might want to practise with some cheap bits and what not to see how the casting process goes. Would be a shame to waste a lot of money on good bits that get damaged during the casting process.

exactly what i'm thinking too. i might just print out some stuff in hard white plastic first. it wont look good but if i can get a mold made and then cast the junk so it looks 1 to 1 then i can work up from there.

I want to make sure i get the casting process down before i start ordering my masters. need to work out the best way for model placement, resin pouring, and air pocket paths.