Would you buy Elite Ship Revell Model Kits?

Alien

Alien
popuptoaster said:
You're not going to get any of the bigger companies making the kits for something as low demand as Elite, you MIGHT get a smaller company that release limited numbers of resin kits to cooperate and help out but i doubt it (and those kits require a lot more finishing work than a standard model kit does in case you've never built one).

What is much easier to arrange though is a release of the 3D models which can then be 3D printed, requires little to no investment from FD or a partner company and gives customers the option to print at home if they own a 3D printer or use one of the specialist companies that let you email the files in and then print and send the finished item to you.
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How about a middle-ground solution?

Someone with CAD skills makes 3D printing files of the parts necessary to make the ships out of kits, including bulkheads for internal support. They then make those files available to the community so that someone could use a 3D printing site like Shapeways to print the parts and have them sent out.

Then you could have your kit-built ships without needing Revell, Airfix or Tamiya.
 
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popuptoaster

P
Alien said:
How about a middle-ground solution?

Someone with CAD skills makes 3D printing files of the parts necessary to make the ships out of kits, including bulkheads for internal support. They then make those files available to the community so that someone could use a 3D printing site like Shapeways to print the parts and have them sent out.

Then you could have your kit-built ships without needing Revell, Airfix or Tamiya.
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That would work, there are 3D print designs that work as kits, this video demonstrates some of the basic principles and problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0U6LgmB0j4

Personally i would prefer it if FD released the designs rather than have them copied and made by an individual, they could charge a small fee in the shop and we would be supporting FD by buying them. I realise those files would get copied and spread round the net, but we would at least have the choice of supporting them or not that way.
 

Iain M Norman

Iain M Norman
They'd be cool to make and paint.

Mr Michael Evans likes to paint, he's printed and painted some 3d models of ED ships IIRC.

Aren't the initial costs of injection moulding runs quite high though? I wonder how many units you'd have to shift to make it profitable?
 
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Webferret

Webferret
I would be like "Gota collect'em all!!!"

Wife would kill me, but I am positive I would have the lot of them instantly they went on sale!
 

Ceekay

Ceekay
I've got years of CAD experience but I'd doubt if FD would release the files and AFAIK they're in a non standard file format that typical CAD systems wouldn't recognise, most 3D printers I've used need an STL format file which is easy enough to generate from a CAD model but it'd have to be scaled prior to STL file generation.

I find it hard to believe FD aren't considering a range of scaled ship models (pre-built and kits), the demand is there as this isn't the first model kit thread that's on the forum.
 

Zeeman

Zeeman
popuptoaster said:
That would work, there are 3D print designs that work as kits, this video demonstrates some of the basic principles and problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0U6LgmB0j4

Personally i would prefer it if FD released the designs rather than have them copied and made by an individual, they could charge a small fee in the shop and we would be supporting FD by buying them. I realise those files would get copied and spread round the net, but we would at least have the choice of supporting them or not that way.
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I'd pay for that...

It'd encourage me to buy a 3d printer, an dget back into practice with the ol' airbrush...

Z...
 

popuptoaster

P
Ceekay said:
I find it hard to believe FD aren't considering a range of scaled ship models (pre-built and kits), the demand is there as this isn't the first model kit thread that's on the forum.
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I doubt the few of us on here asking for models would cover the costs of getting them made, you need economies of scale to make these things cheap and if FD released kits at £50 or £100 each the demand would evaporate from most people, short, low volume runs of niche models are expensive if you want to cover the costs of tooling up for the run.
 

baja2215

B
Khavi said:
I have been wanting this since I first heard that Frontier was going to make Elite: Dangerous - the ability to buy a nice model kit from the model maker Revell. Is there any chance that David could make a deal with Revell to have ship models produced by Revell that we could by from the game store? Would you buy one?
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What a silly question!! :) Of course many commanders would - c'mon Frontier - make this happen!
 

Poseidal

Poseidal
Iain M Norman said:
They'd be cool to make and paint.

Mr Michael Evans likes to paint, he's printed and painted some 3d models of ED ships IIRC.

Aren't the initial costs of injection moulding runs quite high though? I wonder how many units you'd have to shift to make it profitable?
Click to expand...

Yeah, IP kits are pricier. For something with smaller production runs, resin is usually better, and can be reasonably made multipart. With a 3D model, get a prototype with a high-end/resolution 3D printer (which you probably go to a specialist for), then use that to make moulds for resin, which is cheaper for small production than injection plastic.

So I think resin is a more realistic avenue, as it is often used for 'specialist' kits which don't shift massive numbers.
 

Commander Dave

Commander Dave
SUATMM.jpg
 

Macros Black

Macros Black
I'll take all of them

I'll take (metal models):
  • 2 Anaconda's, 1 std. and 1 gold
  • 2 Python's, 1 red pirate, and 1 chrome
  • 1 Eagle
  • 1 Imperial Eagle
  • 1 Imperial Clipper
  • 1 T-9 Transporter
  • 1...well, never mind, 1 of each of the rest of ships

Where's the PayPal button?
 

DragonIV

DragonIV
I would, but then have one of you build them for me, because my fine motor control absolutely bleeping bleeps. They'd make a nice addition to my work desk, next to my (you guessed it) Todd McFarlane Dragons and some other hockey paraphernalia.
 
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Metalstardust

M
I think FD are missing a gold mine here. How about one of those magazine subscriptions. "Build your own model Anaconda" Part one only £0.99 (Followed by 51 weekly magazines at £5.99ea)
 
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