Reissuing Old Kits Through 3D Tech, Is It Possible?

[Force]

15 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

We can look at the possibility of 3-D printing replacing injection molding from a couple of different angles.

As a number of people have said, producing mass produced kits through 3-D printing may not be much of a threat to injection molding currently, and it may never replace it in terms of the ability to produce the numbers that injection molding can in a short period of time, but if you look at it from the perspective that there is a pretty good possibility that the designs for thousands of different intricately detailed kits might become available for a few dollars, or even free, to anybody that wants them, and then couple that with the possibility that any enterprising person could begin taking those designs and printing them quickly and cheaply with 3-D printing advancements and offering them for sale to the public, I think there's a strong possibility that the aftermarket could overwhelm the injection molding market.

In other words, if an individual can take advantage of those cheap available designs, and offer a printing service to print them economically, with better detail, more variety, and in the same neighborhood, or even cheaper as far as price goes, it's going to put a lot of stress on the injection molded model kit business.

If I can go online and find an aftermarket entity that can offer nearly any car model that I desire, and can compete in price with Round-2 or Revell, what's to keep me buying from the injection molding manufacturers.

I can easily see how in the not too distant future that I might be able to decide that I want a 1957 Buick Caballero station wagon, go online, and order it from a reputable aftermarket provider, much as I would from Fireball Modelworks today, for the same price, or possibly even cheaper than the $35.00 that I would spend on an injection molded kit from Revell.

I think it's obvious what that would mean for traditional model kit makers.

 

 

 

Steve

I can agree with you in some of your reasoning Steve.
The 3D printing is mostly better than the injection molded stuff when it comes to small details and lots of 3D prints are really very good, but I see the resin casters on the aftermarket will suffer of this a lot more than the model companies will and that's sad in my opinion because they do fill a void.
So 3D printing will most likely kill the resin businesses long before they will ever touch the model companies.
I find it hard to believe that 3D printing will be cheaper than injection molding when it comes to complete kits, one of the largest 3D priniting companies Shapeways who had state of the art machines went bankrupt recently...so I'm not so sure if I believe it ever will.
The design stage in a CAD program takes the same time for 3D printed part as it does for a part in a tool for injection molding so that's a fact, and time is not free if you are going to earn any money, and therefore the designs will not be free either, so printing out a detailed part will allways cost money if you count everything in, just look at what the 3D printed stuff costs today where a 3D printed individual part costs 1-10  bucks and a complete engine almost costs like an injection molded kit, not far from it anyway.
I don't think 3D printing will be much cheaper and faster in a forseeable future but it's for sure a good source for our hobby, and if you can do everything yourself, both the CAD design and the printing, it's a win as it only costs time and material...and of course the computer, the CAD program and 3D printer but that's a one time cost.

Edited April 6 by Force

[StevenGuthmiller]

6 hours ago, Force said:

I can agree with you in some of your reasoning Steve.
The 3D printing is mostly better than the injection molded stuff when it comes to small details and lots of 3D prints are really very good, but I see the resin casters on the aftermarket will suffer of this a lot more than the model companies will and that's sad in my opinion because they do fill a void.
So 3D printing will most likely kill the resin businesses long before they will ever touch the model companies.
I find it hard to believe that 3D printing will be cheaper than injection molding when it comes to complete kits, one of the largest 3D priniting companies Shapeways who had state of the art machines went bankrupt recently...so I'm not so sure if I believe it ever will.
The design stage in a CAD program takes the same time for 3D printed part as it does for a part in a tool for injection molding so that's a fact, and time is not free if you are going to earn any money, and therefore the designs will not be free either, so printing out a detailed part will allways cost money if you count everything in, just look at what the 3D printed stuff costs today where a 3D printed individual part costs 1-10  bucks and a complete engine almost costs like an injection molded kit, not far from it anyway.
I don't think 3D printing will be much cheaper and faster in a forseeable future but it's for sure a good source for our hobby, and if you can do everything yourself, both the CAD design and the printing, it's a win as it only costs time and material...and of course the computer, the CAD program and 3D printer but that's a one time cost.

All true.......right now.

But as with every other technology, things progress, and sometimes very quickly.

Often far beyond what we can currently imagine.

 

I remember spending over $700.00 on my first VCR.

Now you couldn't give one away.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited April 6 by StevenGuthmiller

[Falcon Ranchero]

Be cool if someone 3D printed a '70 Marquis 2-door hardtop body compatable with AMT's '70 Galaxie chassis. Just a thought; I'd be first in line to order one.

[stitchdup]

1 hour ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Be cool if someone 3D printed a '70 Marquis 2-door hardtop body compatable with AMT's '70 Galaxie chassis. Just a thought; I'd be first in line to order one.

theres a couple wagons on cults. could be worth asking the designers to do a hardtop

[sfhess]

5 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Be cool if someone 3D printed a '70 Marquis 2-door hardtop body compatable with AMT's '70 Galaxie chassis. Just a thought; I'd be first in line to order one.

Maybe.  Pretty sure the Mercury has a longer wheelbase.

 

[Beans]

On 4/5/2025 at 1:20 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

If I can go online and find an aftermarket entity that can offer nearly any car model that I desire, and can compete in price with Round-2 or Revell, what's to keep me buying from the injection molding manufacturers.

I can easily see how in the not too distant future that I might be able to decide that I want a 1957 Buick Caballero station wagon, go online, and order it from a reputable aftermarket provider, much as I would from Fireball Modelworks today, for the same price, or possibly even cheaper than the $35.00 that I would spend on an injection molded kit from Revell.

Price is key.  Some 3D printers offer full kits from time to time in limited runs.  None are anywhere near the injected model price point.  It is going to take someone actually offering 3D printed full kits at much much less to create the competition.

Right now they can charge full kit price for components and people are buying like crazy.  It will take a shift in that for someone to want to produce full kits offered at a lower price than they can sell an engine for.  Especially when you can print more than one engine at a time but a full kit will require multiple prints just to complete a single full kit. 

Definitely a possibility in the future but will the market support it vs cranking out components for the kits somebody else is making.