"ADB Opens a Store on Shapeways " Topic

Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc. is pleased to announce a new way to acquire the ships that you love. We have opened a new store on Shapeways which you can find here: shapeways.com/shops/amarillo-design-bureau-inc

We have ships in three scales:

3788 Scale (1/3788) is the classic scale that makes the Federation heavy cruiser three inches long. Ships in this scale should look at home next to your Starline 2400 miniatures.

3125 Scale (1/3125) provides larger ships that some gamers prefer, especially for tabletop games or display. Ships in this scale should look at home next to your Starline 2500 miniatures.

Omni Scale is a range of miniatures that cannot be done in either of the above scales because they would be too big (a starbase would be bigger than a dinner plate) or too small (fighters would be smaller than the head of a pin). Some "General" cargo ships are done in Omni Scale to reduce cost as cargo ships are really big compared to warships.

For our opening we have the iconic Constitution-class heavy cruiser from the Federation and its opponent, the Klingon D7B battlecruiser. There are other ships from the Romulan and Klingon empires.

We also chose ships from empires that are a bit different (the Seltorians who are foes of the Tholians) or from the minds of simulator programmers (the Frax, used to train officers of the Klingon Deep Space Fleet to handle unexpected enemies). We will be adding ships from the Omega Octant in the near future.

What is an empire without its logistical fleet (sometimes called "targets")? We have started adding freighters and the never-seen-before skid utility ships.

If you have an account on Shapeways, don't forget to follow us (adbinc) to get all the announcements.

We hope to see you there!

I'm glad that ADB is keeping the 1/3125 scale an option. As unpopular as I heard they were, I liked the larger ships. I am a little concerned about the material quality. My experiences with Shapeways have been hit-and-miss.

I have not had very good experiences with Shapeways.

It's good to see something moving about the miniatures. Several races need to be filled out ASAP. Personally I liked the 2500… it's just that whomever cast the resins didn't do a good job and the metal casting looked a little rough around the edges and in other areas had great detail.

Anyways, good luck and hope to see the Lyrans and Hydrans done soon.

Yes, Lyrans and Hydrans would be nice. I love the challenge playing gives.

For materials, if you want very good detail, we suggest the Frosted Ultra Detail. In the last couple of weeks, Shapeways cut the price dramatically, making it quite affordable.

It will be Very interesting to see how this 'pans out'.

3125 Scale (1/3125) provides larger ships that some gamers prefer, this scale should look at home next to your Starline 2500 miniatures.

That always confused me.First thought was "2500" was the Scale, not. Very curious to see some of the "Omni" scale.

Mutant Q
My experiences with Shapeways have been hit-and-miss.

Darkrazor
I have not had very good experiences with Shapeways.

Im very hesitant when it comes to the WSF. That "grainy feel" makes me very uneasy how the minis will turn out.
Have any of you bought any ST in WSF material & if so what were your impressions of the results.

But the Best of luck to ADB

@ Part Time Gamer

I have bought many Star Trek minis from Shapeways, the majority in FUD but a few in WSF. For me WSF just doesn't cut it. Not only do you have the texture problem which creates issues with both drybrushing and washes, but the detail level is not sufficient for my tastes. FUD on the other hand results in extremely crisp models. Now that Shapeways has introduced a new price model, the majority of the models that I look at have dropped in price by about 40%. I don't want to derail the thread but if you want a listing of Star Trek models that I have collated that work well in FUD, let me know.

Especially for spaceships or other smooth/high-detail items, FUD is the minimum I'd recommend.

Good to hear that FUD prices have finally dropped, now I should be able to get another set or three of the Blade Runner parking meters for my Infinity table…

Thanks for the good wishes!

I think of the various color smooth flexible as being excellent for folks who don't want to paint a ship, but want to have a fleet of white Federation ships, green Seltorian or Romulan ships, or blue Hydran ships (coming later). The transparent acrylic makes an excellent cloaked ship, too!

For people who want to paint their ships, I'd suggest Frosted Ultra Detail or Hi-Def Black Acrylate. ADB gets about the same profit (which isn't much after paying the sculptors and Paramount) from any of the materials, so pick whatever makes you happy and suits your budget. :)

Jean

As someone who has bought numerous Shapeways FUD models, let me relate my experiences.

I would like to mention to those who are considering the FUD material that there can be issues with it. The waxy support material Shapeways uses on the FUD models is very hard to remove. I had little luck getting it off without damaging the models, and so just washed the models in warm soapy water. I then primed and painted with Krylon White satin enamel. Now the bad part: EVERY Shapeways model so processed is yellowing badly. I have used the same primer and paint combination on numerous Federation Starline 2500 miniatures and have had zero issues as long as it was one of the pewter minis.

I can only guess that the waxy material is the culprit. Some folk have said that acetone will remove the wax – it will, but it also damages the models, leaving a very rough fluffy surface. Some say "Bestine" will work, but it's expensive and I haven't tried it.

I also have some FUD minis primed with a grey primer and dark colors, and the yellowing is not evident.

I am not posting this to discourage anyone from buying, but just be aware of the possibility of trouble.

Battlespace Publishing
I have bought many Star Trek minis from Shapeways… For me WSF just doesn't cut it. ..the texture problem.. creates issues with both drybrushing and washes,..
FUD.. results in extremely crisp models.

Lion in the Stars
Especially for spaceships or other smooth/high-detail items, FUD is the minimum I'd recommend.
Good to hear that FUD prices have finally dropped,.

@B P
Thats my main concern, 'texture' of the miniature. A cpl pics Ive seen after being primed, only made them look worse.
My impression was something done in a light color, i.e. ST 'white' or BSG light grey, would only stand out that much more.

@Lion
Very good to hear. FUD was always the one I thought best, but it was that price 'jump' thats kept me clear of them. I maybe able to reconsider that now.

@billclo
Very sorry to hear that. Ive heard simular problems w/ WTJ Rapid Prototype models. Regarding the mold release (waxy residue). But as they use as different mold material, Ive never heard that WTJ had any 'yellowing' issues.

Thanks to all of you. "Knowledge is Power" and I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience's.

Personal Thought: I love ADB mini's, but wish they did 1/2 size i.e. 1/7000 (that seems 'very' popular on Shapeways) or even 1/5000. Why?
The smaller the mini (w/in reason) 'the more Toys on Table!".

Second Wave of Ships Released!

On July 11, 2017, Amarillo Design Bureau released its second wave of ships in its store on Shapeways.

The Klingons get some love with the D6S, a heavy scout cruiser and a G1 gunboat flotilla, including the leader and scout gunboats.

The Tholians show up with a web tender, their iconic patrol corvette, and a flotilla of Arachnid gunboats.

The Hydrans have a strong opening with a Lancer destroyer, Ranger cruiser, Mongol medium cruiser, and Stingers for you to add to the ships.

The Seltorians have a light cruiser and frigate added to the destroyer and heavy cruiser.

The Frax get a frigate and war cruiser to add to their war destroyer and heavy cruiser.

What are they going to fight? Well, there's Igneous, a monster that is available in three sizes.

So you need to expand your freighter collection? We've added a harbor tug, a salvage tug, and the traditional large freighter.

Spread your wings and try the Omega Octant! We chose two traditional foes to open with: the Maesron Alliance and Trobrin Empire. The Maesrons get a destroyer and heavy cruiser; the Trobrins get their heavy cruiser and frigate.

Check all these out here: link

Third Wave of Ships Released!

On August 1, 2017, Amarillo Design Bureau released its third wave of ships (55 in all, for over 100 available ships) in its store on Shapeways.

(And we listened to you all here: see below for Lyrans and Hydrans!)

The Federation gets the gunboat they would have built, but never did, the Thunderbolt.

The Klingons get some love with the C8B dreadnought and the fancier C8K refitted dreadnought.

The Romulans get their Condor dreadnought.

The Tholians greatly expand their fleet with their destroyer, heavy cruiser, war cruiser, and police cutter. The very first carrier with the fighters molded into the miniature is the one-piece Black Widow. They also get a cargo patrol corvette with an attached pod. Do you want to show the Spider fighters flying away from the Black Widow? There's a comb of them, waiting for you. And the Tholians get the first empire-specific freighter.

The Hydrans add to their fleet with the Dragoon cruiser, Knight destroyer, and Hunter frigate.

The Seltorians add a dreadnought to command their fleet. They also get a flotilla of Avenger gunboats.

The Frax get a dreadnought to lead their fleet to success.

The Maesron add a frigate to their fleet.

The Trobrins add their dreadnought, torpedo cruiser, and the frigate leader to their fleet.

And we introduce some new empires, too!

The Kzinti, large tiger-like felines, have their powerful dreadnought.

The Lyrans and their wayward county of the Lyran Democratic Republic get their heavy cruiser, war cruiser, scout, destroyer, and frigate.

The WYN Star Cluster has a ragtag fleet that can only win because every ship that comes through the radiation barrier is badly degraded. Their auxiliary battlecruiser and auxiliary cruiser are based on freighter hulls.

The Koligahr are part of the Omega Octant and the spherical hull sections of their ships are built underwater, and then launched into space to be assembled in orbit. Check out their heavy cruiser and destroyer.

Two new freighters show up hauling short pods: the large and small freighters with short pods.

Check all these out here: shapeways.com/shops/amarillo-design-bureau-inc

@Sisyphus, @Crow Bait: You'll be pleased to see Lyrans and Hydrans in this month's release.

Speaking as the sculptor for the Lyrans, I have to say they've been quite the pleasure to build. I've learned a lot about digital sculpting these past couple of months and we're off to a good start on getting the fleet out there. So far we've got five ships up – a frigate, a destroyer, a scout, a heavy cruiser, and the trimaran "war cruiser" – and more yet to come.

I've sculpted for Shapeways printing before, so I understand the limitations of the WSF print process. It's really easy to get caught up in the amount of detail you can cram into a sculpt without realizing that it's just not going to be visible at all once it's printed. (When you're zoomed in tight, 2 millimeters can seem like a football field…)

It takes some work to make a sculpt that will look great in Detail materials and still come out nice in the cheap prints. I'd like to think I've done that, and I've got a set of WSF test prints on their way to me – I should be able to post photos next week.

In addition, Shapeways is still experimenting with the "HP Strong & Flexible" material, a new print process that may see its way into general release in the next few months as various designers work with it. I've run off a few items in this material and I have to say it's very nice. Still not as crisp as FUD – you tend to get some rounded edges – but a lot of the graininess-factor is gone. I think between this and the new price scheme on Frosted Detail, there will be a lot of choice for buyers to assemble a good fleet on a fair budget.

We're excited to announce a special Star Fleet Universe on Call tonight at 9:30 EDT! Paul Franz will be hosting the show with the focus being our starships being sold on Shapeways. Some of our sculptors will be there, along with Steve Cole. Call in, ask questions, and learn more inside information!

If this turns into a really popular topic, maybe we can look at another round in September.

(URL: talkshoe.com/tc/17702)

If you want to call in, just call 724-444-7444 and enter the Talkshoe ID: 17702.

If you have problem with the Talk Shoe website go to:

talkshoe.com

and if there is still a problem refresh. Then do a search for call 17702

I have a question on the Lyrans and LDR, are there differences in the miniatures themselves or are they the same miniature?

The LDR ships have less aztecing than the Lyrans -- that is the biggest difference. This is partly because the Lyran Democratic Republic is not nearly as wealthy as the Lyran Star Empire and has no use for ostentatious displays.

billclo, sorry to hear about your issues with FUD. I have a few models myself from Shapeways, and while most are large enough to be practical and pretty good in WSF, the smaller FUD ones do as you say have great detail.

Never had a problem with this waxy thing ( You are the second person this week to mention it though), but then I rinse all FUD models in Green Cross 70% ethanol for a few minutes. Seems to work, and certainly doesn't distort the model.