Kampfflieger models 1/144 (mostly)

[Jamo]

3D printed "white strong & flexible, white nylon plastic with a matte finish and slight grainy feel"

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/kampfflieger

1/288 Fokker Dr.I (x6)


1/144 Sopwith Camel (x4)


1/144 Pfalz D.XII (early)


1/144 Sopwith Triplane (x4)


1/144 Siemens-Schuckert D.III (x4)


1/144 Fokker Dr.I


1/144 Fokker D.VII


1/144 Sopwith Triplane


1/144 Handley Page O/400


1/144 Short Bomber


1/144 AEG G.IV


1/144 Halberstadt Cl.IV


1/144 Short 184


1/144 Caudron G.3


1/144 Vickers Vimy


1/144 Airco D.H.4


1/144 RAF R.E.7


1/144 Breguet 5


1/144 Bristol F2B


1/144 Albatros D.II




These next ones are by Reduced Aircraft Factory:
1/144 WWI Observers with Lewis Guns [×30]


1/144 WWI Pilots [×72]


1/144 Vickers F.B.5 "Gunbus"

[PrzemoL]

Thanks for these, Jamo.

But, is it just me or are there others among us here who see these as modellers' nightmare? It seems that in a short time the models will just be printed. And will there be a space for proper model building, detailing, scratch? 

[Ian from Doncaster]

Not yet...

Not until 3-d printers are cheap enough to buy and use at home (I mean around €100 or less) and accurate enough to make the detailed parts we want.

I can see kit makers using 3-d printers first, due to economy of scale making their use affordable.  But not until the printing quality is as good as or better than molded plastic or resin.  How many years, who knows?

As for the models pictured here, I can see a market perhaps as gaming pieces or for large area but small scale dioramas?

[PrzemoL]

At the end of 19th century a famous Polish mechanician wrote a paper that flight of a body heavier than air was impossible...
In early 1970. another famous professor asked about perspectives for the Finite Element Method said, that the method led to large sets of equations which were intreatable. So the method would not be useful. Since 1990 with the exponential grow of computational powers of computers the FEM became the main numerical method in mechanics.
When I first get in touch with Spectrum PC with 48kB memory back in late 1980. I would never imagine that in a couple of years I would deal with documents of hundreds of kB and in a next couple of years a mere .jpg file from my digital camera will have 5-7MB and I would owe a rather small portable disk of 500GB...

Well, Ian, I am afraid it is indeed a question of short time... In my opinion the main point is, how we modellers take these news. Will we still be decided to build models from real parts or rather design them in virtual reality and then, print them... Or even not so! Will it not be like with photos? There were times were photos were hardware, I mean - prints in albums. Now the majority of people I speak to about it do not order prints from the files. They are satisfied with presentation in the screen. Me, I still order prints, a few days ago I put into album over 700 prints from my recent travelling.

But how will it be with models???

[Ian from Doncaster]

Good points well made..

I believe that 3-d printing may well be used for kit part manufacture, or even print your own at home.  But at say 1:32 with the level of details we get from WNW I think the printed components will be just that - components that still need assembly.

Indeed 3-d printing at home will possibly help the scratchbuilder?

[uncletony]

It is going to change everything, there is no question whatsoever. It already is changing everything. Does it mean it will ruin everything? I think not.

[Beto]

Maybe in a few years we will have a 3D desktop printer giving us parts with a level of detail similar to a WNW kit. But modelling these parts in 3D requires a lot of knowledge and information, so only some of the rules of the game will change IMHO. People will buy digital files to print the parts at home and then assemble, paint and add decals just like any other plastic kit.

But think about the good part: you can have a stash of hundreds of unbuilt D.VIIs printed from a single file you downloaded! 

[uncletony]

..but modelling these parts in 3D requires a lot of knowledge and information, so only some of the rules of the game will change IMHO.

yes true, but 3D modelling software will evolve too once there is a mainstream need. It's the "killer app" syndrome. There are already hundreds of thousands if not millions of people out there skilled in the current crop of not-that-easy-to-use software; Affordable 3D scanners are evolving too, basically to the point of taking a series of pictures of an object...

The modding community that forms around virtually every popular 3D video game shows that there are plenty of talented enthusiast modellers ready to plug away; 3D game assets are not that different from solid models for 3D printing (I've done both...)