Harry P.

I think that the aftermarket will lead the way. And when the kit makers see how well the stuff sells, they'll jump on the bandwagon. There's no way they would sit back and watch as others profit with the new technology.

Well, how accurate these parts and kits will be will depend on how accurately the 3-D modeling is created... just as the accuracy of today's kits depends on how accurate the tooling is. Accuracy is one thing, the actual technology of printing in 3-D is another. You're right, though... we'll have to wait and see just how well these new 3-D items will be done. I have no doubt there will be sub-standard products coming from some sources, along with highly-accurate items from other sources... just as the quality and accuracy of today's kits varies all over the place.

The 3-D printing thing isn't quite ready for mass-market use... but it's very close, and all of those kinks will be worked out in time. My guess, a couple of years, max.

I don't think you'll need to know much about 3-D software. Pretty sure these things will be available with very intuitive, user-friendly software that doesn't require a nuclear physicist to figure out. Actually, the way I see it (no, I'm not a psychic, just seems like a logical inference)... is that people will buy these printers to use at home, but they will buy the things they want to output from suppliers, not create it themselves. Say a model company adopts this technology. The way I see it working is that they would sell the consumer models (or parts or whatever) in the form of a digital download... like we download music. You buy whatever item you want from the manufacturer, and you download an electronic file that you then run through your own 3-D printer to create that item. For example, instead of going online and ordering a set of aftermarket wheels from Pegasus that they had to first manufacture, and package, and warehouse, and ultimately ship to you... you would buy the wheels in the form of a downloadable digital file and "create" the wheels at home on your own printer.

Got mine yesterday. Minimal damage (bent, dog-eared, but not ripped).

Wow! Cool stuff, Chuck!

If you're looking for the best Beetle kit regardless of scale, I agree on this one. I have it; it's very detailed.

Pat, I don't get why you feel like you're somehow being attacked. We all have our own opinions. You, me, everyone. And we're all free to post our opinions. As far as 3-D printing goes, yes, you and I disagree. But we can disagree without feeling like we're attacking each other, right? The whole point of a forum is expressing our views. We're never going to all agree on anything. There are just way too many members here to think that we could all ever agree on anything. But disagreements and opposing viewpoints don't mean that the people who disagree are enemies. I have my opinion on 3-D printing... and you have yours. Time will tell which of us was right.

Don't feel bad. It's nostalgia. We all have it, no matter how old we are. It's just human nature to look back at the "good old days" (whenever those days might have been, depending on how old you are) and wish things were still the same now as they were then.

Nicely done!

Dang! How do you paint those tiny guys so well? And wow! That is one old bottle of paint in your photo! 15¢!!!

I don't know how many of you guys watch "This Old House," but a couple of seasons ago they featured an architectural firm that prints out their models on a 3-D printer. The models come out of the printer completely detailed inside and out... roof shingles, doors and windows, even interior wall and floor finishes...in full 3-D and in full color... right out of the printer! And this was a couple of years ago! Can there be any doubt that this technology is right around the corner for all of us?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see any way that this technology won't be a big part of our hobby in just a few years. Will it replace traditional kits? No, not right away. Just like digital cameras didn't replace film cameras right away. And flat screen TVs didn't replace CRT TVs right away. And digital downloads didn't replace CDs right away. But when was the last time a new technology this different and this unique and this innovative didn't make it to the mainstream? Pat, I'm not attacking you. I'm just saying that it's unrealistic (in my opinion) to think that this technology is going to fizzle out and go away when it already exists and is this close to being a mainstream product at mainstream prices. You personally may not like it or have any interest in it, but it's coming, and I'd be willing to bet that it's going to fundamentally change the hobby.

To Cadillac Pat: To put it simply, you're wrong. 3-D printing technology is here, it works... but it's not quite as sophisticated or mainstream as it will inevitably be. The technology is progressing rapidly. Very soon it will be a mainstream product, guaranteed. This technology is going to take over not only the model hobby, but all sorts of other areas. Today, many architectural firms are using the technology to print out their models... already colored and detailed inside and out, straight from the computer screen. No more foam-core models. This technology is too big to ignore or wish away. It's going to be big in many ways. You can close your shutters and pretend it's not coming, but you'll be like the blacksmith who stood at his door watching all the cars drive by and wondering where his business went. The only constant in life is change. And as we get more and more technologically advanced, the change is only going to come at us faster and faster. Think about how different your life was just 25 years ago. No cell phones. No home computers. No internet. No flat-screen TVs. No Kindles or iPads or tablets. No online model forums. Get used to change. It's going to keep right on coming.

PM sent.

Um... what?

You remember how the dinosaurs couldn't adapt to change and they all died out? You don't want to be one of them...

Very nice. I was thinking of getting this kit myself... now maybe I will!

That's exactly where I see this going. There will be a whole new crop of model kit "manufacturers" that will sell you a kit in printable form... all you do is buy the "kit" and print it out. No more injection molding machines, no more tooling, no more factories, no more packaging and distribution. The music industry is almost there. It went from a physical product (first records, then tapes, then CDs) that had to be manufactured and packaged and shipped and warehoused and sold in brick and mortar stores, to where we are now... downloadable electronic files. Every year, CD sales are falling and music downloads are growing. Soon CDs will be relics of the past. I've read that auto manufacturers are already phasing out in-dash CD players. The newspaper industry is going the same way. Every day, a newspaper goes out of business. Why bother with giant printing plants and huge rolls of paper and hundreds of trucks delivering the paper to hundreds of locations when you can do it all online a lot easier and a lot faster, and save a ton of money, too? It's a no-brainer. I see the model car business going exactly the same way. Why bother with machines and factories and packaging and shipping and inventory when you can do it all electronically and eliminate all of that stuff? It's inevitable. The only question is how soon will it happen.

There will no doubt be all sorts of easy "do it yourself" 3D software coming, maybe even in a package with the printers.

That's their loss, isn't it?

Were backup lights optional back then? I see some photos with the center taillight white, some photos with it red.

Don't have any, no need (thank God!)

I get the Transformers reference, but to me the production version looks more like a transformer/video game car than the concept does.

Must be why me likey!