"Could 3D Bring 25mm Back as 28mm?" Topic

There are some wonderful 25mm figures from yesteryear that are not compatible with today's larger figures.

With 3D technology advancing, it seems like it will soon be possible for a manufacturer to 3D scan a 25mm master, enlarge it, 3D print a master figure, and create a new 28mm figure.

What do you think?

Let's go the other way. I would love some of the 28mm colonials that would fit with my true 25mm RalPartha.

This is a very attractive idea.

I don't know if modern 3D scanners have the resolution to accurately scan so tiny an object. Years ago when I was involved, they couldn't have done it.

I hope we hear from those who have recent experience with cutting edge 3D scanners.

I'm with the other Vince.

Scan. Offer in various sizes and print to order.

25mm? 26? 27.4? 28?

You betcha

Before we get all dewey eyed nostalgic about the beloved "true 25mm" figures from days of yore, let's not forget that the historicals had one pose.
Also, the manufacturer RETAINS COPYRIGHT.
I see no real reason for whoever holds rights to Ral Partha colonials to jack them up to heroic 28mm scale.
Frontier is another different story. The molds are simply lost in estate limbo. That makes their resurrection and ballooning up even more unlikely. What do I need 28mm Bombay Sappers and Miners for when I can't get them in True 25mm?

As above, I would much prefer shrinking huge heroic 28mm (or 33mm as they really are) to true 25mm. I don't think the market is there, to be frank. That train has left the station. It's a scale for sentimental Old Farts, and most of us have moved on.

I wonder who retains copyrights to them? The sculptor or the manufacturer.
Once more, TMP seeks free legal advice!
I bet dollars to donuts it's a thorny issue.

The scanning won't be a problem. The resolution of the printers are more problematical. But, if you're just making a master and then a mold, you could make it work.

I think you are missing the point about this technology and the market. Needed economies of scale can be ignored. People can make a one off if they want or they can use it to create new molds and go into production and make thousands. If something is out of production and I make a copy of one I own for personal use, no damages can be shown by anybody in any court. In either case, when this is done in China on a large scale, and someone sues it will be too late as a thousands will already have been created. Technology is WAY ahead of copyright. Good luck trying to stop it. Unless you are a multi billion dollar corporation, the authorities do not care.

So you are saying that although it may be immoral and illegal and cheats the copyright holder of his fair income, it's ok because you won't get caught, or it's too expensive to fight for your rights.

Both~! Being in denial of reality is no way to solve the issue at hand. Although if something is NOT in production and no one is losing money, I fail to see what the possible damages can be. My point is that copyright law is very far behind the times and needs to be updated in some way. People here seem to forget that copyright and patents were created in order to support markets and benefit society, when that ceases to be the case then it is broken. Clearly it is broken if figure "owners" are not selling something and buyers cannot buy something they want to buy when the means to do so are at hand. It belies comprehension how anybody is served in this situation.

Ah! The "But I WANT it! Waaaaahhhhh!" justification.
I hope there are still some people left who do not knowingly buy stolen goods.

Let me give an example I used above. Frontier figures were nice true 25mm figures, made back in the 1980s. The molds are still around, but I am hazy about the details. Somebody has them. I think.
I WANT! a unit of 20 of their Bombay Sappers. The mold holders show no inclination to make them.
Are you saying that anybody with that figure can make a 3D copy of it if they possess a scanner and printer?
Are you saying that they can sell me them? Can they give me them no charge?

I say it's immoral and illegal. You seem to be saying that it's ok, because they will never get caught or prosecuted.
The point is that copyright laws give one "person" the right to make copies. Not any Tom Dick or Harry who has the skill and equipment.

Nobody here can successfully advocate that copying is a fair thing. It's against the rules.

I also believe that copyright rules should be followed. However, I agree that they are indeed in a serious need of being updated. Much of the reason that they exist to the degree that they do is because of large corporations.

If you own a 3D printer and do such a thing certainly don't discuss it here. You'll be in big trouble.

Thanks.

I don't think it is feasible with current scanners.

I don't have first hand experience but I have seen the output of a scanned 54mm figure done with a $2,000 USD scanner as an experiment. Only a very rough shape is captured, no detail. But with an industrial quality scanner, who knows?

Well. If a $2,000 USD scanner is not capable of recreating my true 25mm Bombay Sappers, and we need a far more expensive "industrial" one, I guess the copyright is safe.
I am probably the only cudtomer in the world for them.

People here seem to forget that copyright and patents were created in order to support markets and benefit society, when that ceases to be the case then it is broken

No, copyrights were created to protect those who create the objects and to allow them a way to profit off of their creations. Should someone decide not to produce as many copies as others may want them to in no way allows people to "copy" those objects simply because they want one.

Ah! The "But I WANT it! Waaaaahhhhh!" justification.
I hope there are still some people left who do not knowingly buy stolen goods.

Let me give an example I used above. Frontier figures were nice true 25mm figures, made back in the 1980s. The molds are still around, but I am hazy about the details. Somebody has them. I think.
I WANT! a unit of 20 of their Bombay Sappers. The mold holders show no inclination to make them.
Are you saying that anybody with that figure can make a 3D copy of it if they possess a scanner and printer?
Are you saying that they can sell me them? Can they give me them no charge?

I say it's immoral and illegal. You seem to be saying that it's ok, because they will never get caught or prosecuted.
The point is that copyright laws give one "person" the right to make copies. Not any Tom Dick or Harry who has the skill and equipment

This.

You cannot force someone to produce something for you just because you want it, or you want it cheaper, or in a different size or material or format. A book is out of print, that doesn't give me the right to scan it and start selling my own copies. And if you go with the "wild west" version, that "society's needs" outweigh someone's right to produce what they want, when they want, then pretty soon there is no reason for the person to write that book or record that piece of music or make that miniature. In re a current poll, sure, I would love to see a quality line of minis based on the HBO series "Game of Thrones". Sure Dark Sword does a line but they are based on GRRM's own imaginings of the characters so Tyrion doesn't look like Peter Dinklage and Sansa doesn't resemble Sophie Turner but just because I want it doesn't mean that someone can make it against GRRM's, HBO's and the actor's rights to their own images and work. They are allowed to profit from their works and investments however they see fit, not based on society's demands.