I was one of those kids that loved playing with action figures. To be honest, sitting here in my office, I just have to look at two shelves to see a Figma Black Rock Shooter and a Soul of Chogokin Evangelion-01. Some habits die hard.
I recall my frustration as a child buying a die-cast vehicle and being angry because the figures inside were glued in, with no hope of removing them. It made no sense to me why figures would be included without being playable.
Fast forward to now, and I’ve come across an amazing Kickstarter campaign for a company called Hero Forge.
This company is currently aimed at the tabletop RPG gamers. They have created a web based system where a person can select from a variety of pre-programmed races, poses, armor sets, and weapons, to create a custom minifigure. This figure is then printed using a 3D printer and shipped to the customer who can leave it plain, or go about painting it.
I’m not a tabletop gamer, but the idea that a custom figure could be produced for a relatively low cost (they figure $12-$15) is very exciting. Imagine the possibilities for an indie author. Writing a story with a striking character, you could hire someone to do the 3D model then have it printed. The printer allows for more detail and less cost than the traditional mode of injection mold and sculpting. They also say since it’s all based on a 3D render, the size of the figure can be changed without issue.
This could lead to exciting possibilities for promotions, or just to fill my shelf with my own original characters 😉
As of this morning the campaign is fully funded (but there’s still 32 days to go if you want to contribute). Watch this company, I think they’re going to do some very exciting things!