Raving Toy Maniac

Wow, I have to say that's one of the most impressive things I've seen come out of a 3D printer. Is this something you're planning to produce for sale?

Emerje

Thanks a lot!
For the time being this is just a proof of concept. With 3D printing I can for the first time come up with the actual engineering of my figures as well as the design. I just wanted to see how far my skills would go. I might put the 3D file on a 3D printing site like shapeways but with their prices it would probably be very expensive.

Hauke, even after all these years of watching your work, you never cease to amaze me.

C.

Thanks a lot Casimir! It is so cool to see what technology enables us to do these days. When I started sculpting figures all those years back I would never have imagined that one day there would be a devise that could manufacture articulated figures right from my desk. We really live in amazing times.

Simply astounding!

Made my day. Thanks.

Just curious but what was the cost to produce this figure?

That's fantastic! What software did you use to develop the figure?

Also, what printer did you use?

The figure was printed on a Mojo printer from Stratasys. I used Softimage for modeling the figure itself and all the joints. I then used a program called netfabb for preparing the file for printing and for creating the holes for the joints. I have not checked how much printing material the figure needed in the end but I would estimated the material cost for the figure is at least three times the price for a regular figure of similar size and articulation.

I have updated my 3D printed action figure. I thought the design of the first version was a little bit plain. Now the figure wears a more interesting armor and also has a second helmeted head. This also makes him look more futuristic then the previous version. Since the first figure was never able to hold his rifle too well I gave the new version two small guns instead. Those fit pretty well and allow a lot of poses. They also fit into the new backpack.

Here is the updated construction rendering of the 3D printed action figure. It can now move the head up and down as well as to the sides. The abs can move right and left now in addition to being able to tilt to the side. The feet can also tilt to the sides now allowing for some nicer poses. The new joints bring the total points of articulation to 34. I did not do any sanding on the joints this time. Therefore this figure has much tighter joints. It can even balance on one leg.

I did not want the parts of the old figure go to waste. So I made a new head for the old body to make a new character. Now Dan Generiko has somebody to fight with. I made one new accessory for this figure: A hand holding the ripped off head of a cyborg drone. This adds a sci-fi element to the character and also shows that he is an evil guy.

Here are the two 3D printed action figures in action. Once they were brothers in arms but when Spike-Head turned evil and started enslaving helpless dwellers of the wasteland Dan Generiko had to stop him. They still wear partial outfits of the unit they served in together. At least that is my cheap explanation why the use a lot of the same parts.

- Hauke

Many people wanted to see what a painted figure looks like. So I went ahead and painted one. Unfortunately once painted the build lines are much more visible on the figure. I had to put on quite a thick layer of paint to get rid of them. I may print the figure on a better printer one day and give it another paint job. The joints all still work as does the storage of the weapons. Although there is some paint scrapping once you remove the weapons a couple of times.

Those are the exact same words that popped into my mind as I was looking at Hauke post Casimir.

Thanks! I hope I will continue in the future to show you some cool stuff.

Very cool!! I wonder if this has a "Napster" like feel to the toy companies in the way that with a CAD program and a 3D printer, a person can now create an action figures of ANY character and add all the articulation they want. Of course this is still in its beginning phases but technology tends to move very fast once the groundwork has been laid.

Could you image in 10 years what internet toy boards would look like as a result? Toy forums would almost be empty of complaints.

Great work...thanks for sharing!

Chris L

This is my latest attempt at a female action figure body.This female android was actually my first idea for a super articulated figure. But after some thinking I decided to start with a more muscular male character first since it would be easier to put the joints into a body that would not be so thin. I turned out to be right. The female figure works nice as well but is a lot less sturdy then the male figure. I actually had to glue some parts together to ensure stability while the male buck simply snaps together without any gluing. I also gave her less articulation in the hands since the joints would have turned out too small and fragile. However I gave her enhanced neck articulation and an additional joint in the ABS. She can now tilt her head to the side and can tilt the torso to the side even more. I since then made those additional joints for the male buck as well.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing man!

Thanks for checking it out.

This is the painted version of the 3D printed female android figure. As with the previous action hero, the rough surface does not allow a super smooth paintjob. Still she looks kinda cool. I actually prefer the creepy human head with the painted version since it adds a little bit of bright colors to the figure.

While this is totally cool, the figure looks a bit disproportioned (eg head too big, body not long enough) is this an artifact of the design or the printer? Ever try anything in a smaller scale, say 1:18 scale ?

No, a smaller scale would make the joints not sturdy enough.

This is a project I did for a client. He wanted a proof of concept for an articulated male action figure body type that can be used for customizing. The figure is 8 inch tall and it is the first figure I did that uses ball joints for the head, ankles and wrists. The pins to hold the elbows and knees together are also a first. Because of them I do not need to separate the forearms and lower legs which left very visible seams on my previous figures. It is also the first time I did articulated toes.

Here is my latest 3D print. With my previous figures I wanted to see how far I could go with articulation. With this one I wanted to try out adding some functionality to a figure. So I made a figure that works both as a two-legged and a four-legged character. It can also open two panels on the back to reveal additional missile launchers and thrusters.

Wow! The level of engineering and creativity is outstanding, sir!

C.

Thanks Casimir! As always I am happy you like it.

- Hauke

Here is another concept figure. It has fever joints then the others but is actually the most fun to pose. It is the first time I used a double jointed knee. I always thought double jointed knees and elbows looked weird but it does allow for a nice range of movement. I also gave this figure a split torso so the head, shoulder and pelvis joints are actually held in place by the two torso halfes rather then just being plugged into the torso. A split torso with seams was another thing I thought might not look good but the seams can be hidden quite nicely. All in all I think this figure has the best ratio of articulation and sturdiness.

Here is a painted version of the alien cyborg. I am really happy how he turned out. The roughness of the print works quite well for the worn down bionics and the alien skin. The paintjob also does not get in the way of posing him. I hope to make more figures like him in the future.

I also set up a website for my 3D printed action figures you can see here: http://www.hauke-scheer.de/

Hauke, it's another thing of beauty!

C.

Thanks Casimir!
He is definitely my favorite so far. Now I have to make him some evil guys to fight...

What program did you use to design these figures?

I use Softimage for modeling, Zbrush for converting into 3D printable STL format and Nettfabb for optimizing the model.

My first figure based on the Alien Cyborg template. He is called Alien Enforcer. He is a combination of all new parts like the head and redecorated parts like for example the legs. All in all I am quite happy with him.

This is the Alien Assassin, my second figure based on the Alien Cyborg template. As with the Alien Enforcer he is a combination of new parts and redecorated parts.

I always loved human-tank-cyborgs like the Mandroid from the movie Eliminators or the Beast Machines from Power Lords. This is my own version of the human-tank concept. He also uses the Alien Cyborg body as a template but in this case a lot of new parts had to be made.

Since all the figures based on the Alien Cyborg body use the same joints as template it is possible to swap parts. For example you can use an alien body on the tank part of the Human Tank character.

I painted the figures and put them into a diorama. You can see the surface of the figures is still rough due to the printing but I think the look nice once printed.

Here is something a little differently from my ususal work. Me as an action figure. I did this figure as an exercise. I wanted to make a figure that has a less bulky physique compared to the muscle bound 80s style figures I usually do. I also wanted to make a figure that uses ball joints. Personally I am not a big fan of those but I had many commissions where clients wanted to have them in their figures. So this guy serves as a proof of concept that ball joints can be done. I still think they are a little bit less predictable and sturdy then other joints though. On the other hand they do allow for a great range of motion. This is certainly my most flexible figure yet. I also had a lot of requests for heads based on a real person's face. So I gave this figure my own face to show what can be done. The figure has over 35 points of articulation and is about 18 cm (7 inch) high. The figure was painted by me. I have to admit he is a lot slimmer and flexible then I am.

Hey!
I am new to this forum and I saw this post with the 3D action figures.
These are awesome!
3D technology will certainly transform our world in the near future.
By next year we will have a 3D printed car which we can buy... wow!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/11/07/3-d-printed-car/1863...
Benzy

post. Thanks for sharing this post.
3D printing is a manufacturing process through which three-dimensional (3D) solid objects are created. 3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing.