Don't know if this has been posted already, but I found it and I thought it might be interesting for people here to read. Apologies if this has already been covered and if I posted it in the wrong area:

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/23026 ... U.facebook

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http://thorvirshobbydumpster.blogspot.com/

Tau Empire, Mymeara Eldar, Tallarn Desert Raiders

Anyone got pictures of the items in question? all the blog spam fluff about it just seems to have generic images.

Edit, seems to be these: http://blog.makezine.com/2011/11/30/swe ... ing-minis/

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AFK with real life, still checking PMs

interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years as 3D printers become more affordable and/ or more accurate. Given that they were not precise copies and weren't for sale, the creator should avoid any problems, but those files aren't going to stay hidden, no matter how many take down notices GW issues.
As long as creators avoid any obvious GW iconography (blood angels tear drop, Imperial aquila) they should be fine. Most creators on here are already going to great lengths to avoid any discussion of monetary transactions in their threads too

I have not said this recently ... So FRAKK GW, FW and SG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Here's a question, an honest one. What would happen to Games Workshop if every time they design a new model it got copied and posted on the Internet with the logos removed?

There are two ways to approach what comes next:

a) Why should I pay lots of money for something I could download off the Internet and print it out cheaper?

b) Why should games workshop bother developing new designs, fictions and rules if at best they have to sell them at a pittance to stay in line with cheaper alternatives or at worst they get nothing as the designs are pirated.

This got me thinking, whet effect do you think 3D printing will have, not on the 'Indy' designers but the big players like GW?

Could 3D printing spell the end for retail miniatures? I was comparing it in my head to the computer games industry. The rise digital distribution and of 69p apps has meant that companies are having to rethink what they can sell their games for. Why buy a 3DS game for £25 when you can get a very similar iPad game for £1.99? Thing there is the drop in price allows more and more games to sell, so there is still money to fund development. A boon to the gaming industry, especially small developers and the market grows (although towards angry birds and not zelda). In theory, if we all have a 3D printer GW could go down the digital distribution route. Cheap miniatures where they design them and give you a drm'd file and you print, paint and play.

Unfortunately I don't think the war games market is quite so scalable. If GW take up 3D printing and are able to drop their prices. Roxio can make millions selling angry birds to core gamers, grannies and 8 year old girls, but I can't see GW flogging my Nan or the 7 year olds in my class a hell hound flame tanks. Even if they are only 69p. I think the war games market will hit saturation pretty quick. Cut prices and I still won't buy many more miniatures, I'm running out of cupboards as it is.

Digital distribution with its low costs seems to be encouraging quick little games, not high budget blockbusters. I like my high budget glossy Games Workshop Productions! I think it will be a sad day when GW closes down, or just becomes computer game ip.

That is not to say I don't want to see good competitors as well. If some of the talented guys around here could design me a mini and then I could pay pal them and print it I'd be laughing (especially in epic which GW seem to have abandoned). I'm just worried the wargaming industry could not survive a 'rush to the bottom' like other entertainment industries have.

Just some thoughts anyway. Apologies for rambling.

3D Printing like a lot of new tech will be the way of the future ... Why buy something from GW or any other firm when you can do it better yourself ...

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

The 3d printing is nothing new in terms of it allowing people to copy GW minis. It will still be faster and cheaper to cast them than print them, printing just means that people with no craft skills can do it.

Why pay more? Moral scruples aside: because you won't get anywhere near the quality on a home printer for years. The people on the blogs acting all surprised that home printers are good enough to print GW-like figures have clearly not looked at the pictures. Those are nice minis done with new tech, but not GW quality. To keep people paying aside from that (and aside from DRM and litigation threats) GW would need to become a friendly awesome community player, with a great rep and brand loyalty, be seen as great guys to support … except, the 13 year-olds who make up their target demographic won't care and will pirate indiscriminately given the chance, whereas the older gamers with a better attitude towards supporting a company have already endured too much.

I don't think GW will successfully adapt here, it will just become more litigious. Look at how long they have taken to make a digital codex, and even then it is barely 'interactive', why it does not generate lists is baffling. It will be a long, slow, painful death, the company will become smaller, charge even more for its minis as the core customer base shrinks while licensing its IP out to a wider market.

On the app thing, why even pay that much for the apps? You can just pirate the nintendo DS games or jailbrake the apple iphone. But these are niche activities, the general consumer will still pay.

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AFK with real life, still checking PMs

That's what worries me.

Resin was supposed to be a cheap alternative to metal to keep costs down... but they used finecast to boost prices just because it's 'new'. Digital versions of texts are supposed to be cheaper, but they are charging £5 more for the digital version of codex SM.

Eventually (and i mean eventually) digital printing should become cheap and common enough for us who don't have the design talents to make our own could print out some GW designs. I have a horrible feeling that even though GW would save all the production costs, they will tell everyone how convenient and easier it would be and put the prices up.

Yet for all their down sides I still like GW :-(

There are companies down there as good at making miniatures as GW (and lots that are worse). There are companies that write as good rules (and some better). There are some companies that write as good fiction. I like it all coming from the same people I like GW because the one coming makes everything and keeps it consistent. I wish we could have Games Workshop from the 90s back, in the years around necromunda they were pretty perfect.

One option could be to offer crazy customisation and create-a-fig options where you have the buy the file for each part separately – an app store but for components. Every part from every range is digitised and made somewhat compatible, new parts are release ad the time. You buy IG glove variant 5 for 50p, combine it with xyz etc. Released via heavy DRM system, like apple's, you might be able to make money here, still not as much though.

And then 'full' colour home 3d printers – print the figures pre painted and pay GW for special skin packs to print them in different colours.

GW writing rules and fluff makes things consistent?! Seems to be full of plot holes, inconsistencies and retconning . But ye, whatever i think of them they do make some very nice stuff – stuff i can't afford, but nice nonetheless.

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AFK with real life, still checking PMs

Or, GW sell the printers themselves. They make a miniature specialised printer for the consumer market, styled like a marine drop pod and sell all the consumables and files for it as a heavily locked down system both in terms of hardware and software, eg apple .

Yea right

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AFK with real life, still checking PMs

Implying that apple are a 'nice' company? Like GW, apple make a nice product back by a strong brand/IP, but then charge insane markups on it just because they can. Like GW, they have a loyal bubble of fanbois who buy their stuff regardless or cheaper options elsewhere, though in apple's case they are supported by a crowd of people who just think an i*summin* must be neat.

I probably dislike apple more than GW, which is saying something.

*written from my macbook pro whilst sitting next to a pile of GW paints.

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AFK with real life, still checking PMs

Last lot of mac compatible ram i purchased would have cost me ~£320 if i'd got it from apple … vs. ~£34 from crucial. £320 vs. £34. I see no way this can be described other than as price gouging at the customer's expense they might be consistant with their own prices, but are vastly at odds with everyone else. And in the same way GW would try to pretend that you cannot use other products with their merchandise, apple seem to try to project a similar bubble. The HDD is not a user changeable part and must only be changed at an apple store with apple supported drives? o'rly? Personally, I own a screwdriver and know what a sata port looks like. Don't get me started on Lion's distribution method.

but i digress …

I think GW might be viewable as friendly from outside, certainly if you walk into a store and look a bit lost the staff always seem friendly and welcoming. It gets the sales of-course, but still projects a positive image.

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AFK with real life, still checking PMs