3D printing and 'Scape?

[LanAkou]

I typed out a long, well written introduction, but I think I'll delete that and cut to the chase.

What do you lot think of 3D printed Heroscape figures? Some figures, like the elementals, wouldn't look quite right. Others, like the chinamen, have weapons that would break fairly easily. Still, printing out a squad of Deathreavers or a decent replacement for that 4th Grut Orc you lost might not be out of the question. You'd still have to paint them, but you wouldn't have to pay shipping!

Has this been covered somewhere already? 3D is too short to search and printing didn't turn up anything. Is this idea somewhat feasible? 3D printing stands to get a lot cheaper from here on out, and the idea of printing out that third Gladiatron squad you can't find anywhere for your friend who just learned to play sounds pretty appealing.

[Chachi]

I have access to 3D scanner and printers but there is that legal thing. We've also wanted to simply do resin casting but the cost and time involved is ridiculous.

We are, however, going to start vacuum forming terrain like glacier and trees because that is cheap and easy.

3D printing is still a new tech and the legalities surrounding it are in such a gray area that it can be a bit scary.

[Chachi]

I think there is also worry because there have been people caught in the past selling copies of figures as originals.

[LanAkou]

I would hope that if someone planned on trading copied pieces, they would have the decency to tell a person first. Selling them sounds illegal.

Back in 2009, I wanted to play Pokemon Gold. I owned the cart, but it didn't work. I called Nintendo and eventually got transferred to their legal department. They told me as long as I owned the cart it was legal, and that if I didn't own the cart they wouldn't prosecute for games they no longer manufacture or sell.

I would imagine that Wizards of the Coast would operate similarly for Heroscape figures and 3D printing... but I think I'll give them a call just in case. I hadn't considered the legal repercussions.

Vacuum forming trees and Glaciers? (And rocks, walls, ruins?) Would the line be crossed at the Marro Hive, since it is a figure? Either way, that sounds really cool

How do they look compared to the original scape? Do you just... sit them on ice/darkness tiles, or do you somehow make your own base-hex?

[Umbra Atlas]

Originally Posted by LanAkou

I would imagine that Wizards of the Coast would operate similarly for Heroscape figures and 3D printing... but I think I'll give them a call just in case. I hadn't considered the legal repercussions.

I am certain WotC won't sue for someone copying figures or hexs for personal use, as they no longer manufacture or sell them. It may be different, however, if you attempt to sell the copied pieces. But I am no law scholar, and I do not expect my word to be taken as fact.

[SuperflyTNT]

Originally Posted by Chachi

I have access to 3D scanner and printers but there is that legal thing. We've also wanted to simply do resin casting but the cost and time involved is ridiculous.

We are, however, going to start vacuum forming terrain like glacier and trees because that is cheap and easy.

3D printing is still a new tech and the legalities surrounding it are in such a gray area that it can be a bit scary.

You have to be doing it wrong. I've been doing casting in resin for years and it's really quite cheap, relatively quick, and easy.

Smoothcast 300 is 20$ a quart from MisterArt.com and mold making material can be anything from cheap latex pours or expensive Dow Corning Silastic.

Making a mold takes 10 minutes (plus time if you count waiting 3 days for it to cure...just in case) and casting it takes 5 minutes.

[LanAkou]

Originally Posted by SuperflyTNT

Smoothcast 300 is 20$ a quart from MisterArt.com and mold making material can be anything from cheap latex pours or expensive Dow Corning Silastic.

Making a mold takes 10 minutes (plus time if you count waiting 3 days for it to cure...just in case) and casting it takes 5 minutes.

You don't need a 3D printer for this, right? This is something anyone could do provided they already owned the pieces they wanted to copy. And it's not skill intensive? (Aside form painting)

[El T]

I've read through the discussion above, and I'm still a little unclear.

My bottom line question for anybody who is fairly knowledgeable about the legal technicalities of this venture is: Is it possible that, in the present or the near future, either 3D printing or casting will increase the availability/ease of production of classic 'scape figures, and thus reduce the cost of buying them and/or making them yourself?

As an extension, would making them yourself as you need them even be possible/legal, given you own all the necessary material?

Thanks.

EDIT: Just to clarify, in my 'extension' I refer to making them yourself as opposed to a licensed business or whatever. Kind of like moonshine.

[flameslayer93]

Originally Posted by El T

I've read through the discussion above, and I'm still a little unclear.

My bottom line question for anybody who is fairly knowledgeable about the legal technicalities of this venture is: Is it possible that, in the present or the near future, either 3D printing or casting will increase the availability/ease of production of classic 'scape figures, and thus reduce the cost of buying them and/or making them yourself?

As an extension, would making them yourself as you need them even be possible/legal, given you own all the necessary material?

Thanks.

EDIT: Just to clarify, in my 'extension' I refer to making them yourself as opposed to a licensed business or whatever. Kind of like moonshine.

Well, as long as you don't go around trying to make a profit from the stuff, I'm fairly certain that Hasbro doesn't give a darn. I could be wrong though.

[LanAkou]

I can't imagine how they could even begin to regulate that. I'm also not sure what rule you would break.

After asking around (nobody at WotC could help me out), it sounds like making them for your own use is ok, except when you:

1) Distribute them. Trading them, selling them, even giving them away will get you into trouble. Making it for yourself is your own thing, but once you start making them for other people you can get into all this red tape.

2) Manufacture them. If you make 1, it's art. If you make 2, it's manufacturing. Depending on who I talked to (tech majors, sales majors, law majors, my dad who owns a printer company, etc) the definition of manufacturing changed. Some said even more than one of a crude replica or knock off counted as manufacturing, regardless of how you made it. Some said making a mold didn't count, some said it did. Some said it only counts if it's a manufacturing device, but weren't clear on what those were. Some said it's only manufacturing if you distribute them, some said in certain scenarios making multiples for yourself could violate the law.

3) Some said that if you were to go out today and buy a 3D scanner, scan your figures and send them to other people, that was ok, and some said it was not. Some said it was ok as long as you didn't charge for it.

Of course, all of this is only relevant if you're caught, and you can't get caught if no one is trying to catch you. It doesn't sound like WotC very much cares about suing Heroscapers for use of 3D printing. I'd wager you could even distribute them with minimal risk, as long as it wasn't for profit. (something like "I'll give you 30 bucks to pay for the resin and shipping if you send me some knights and gladiotrons" might even fly).

All I've done though is collect opinions from people who are semi-qualified at best. If anyone here could confirm or deny any parts of this post, I'd appreciate it

[El T]

Thanks guys for the help.

I probably don't have the means to do it myself at present, but if at some point us Heroscapers organized some kind of market for printed figures on the cheap, I'd be pleased as punch.

I mean mostly, I don't want to shell out hundreds of bucks on eBay and Amazon whenever I want some new stuff. Money doesn't grow on trees

[Evar-Scarcarver]

Originally Posted by El T

Thanks guys for the help.

I probably don't have the means to do it myself at present, but if at some point us Heroscapers organized some kind of market for printed figures on the cheap, I'd be pleased as punch.

I mean mostly, I don't want to shell out hundreds of bucks on eBay and Amazon whenever I want some new stuff. Money doesn't grow on trees

And sadly, neither does `scape.