Don't Roll a One

Shapeways’ bankruptcy feels like the end of an era for me. I’ve had a shop open on their site since 2010, and although the proceeds barely ever amounted to more than a free pizza every month or two, it was a convenient, hands-off, long-tail way to make a little cash from models I was going to make anyway.

I started with Earthling and Martian fleets inspired by the old TSR Buck Rogers XXVc game (the game was sadly AD&D in space but the setting was much harder sci-fi than you’d expect – think The Expanse with tail fins).

My tiny spaceships found an audience once I determined nobody was making Blake’s 7 or Andromeda-inspired models.

Then Mass Effect was blowing up, Infinity minis were taking the skirmish world by storm, and my brother started a Mass Effect game in Mutants & Masterminds. Some head swaps and full-on “Fauxgan” were clearly needed.

Fury Road came out, I discovered the Forza Horizon games, everything became about cars (and kind of still is). Even industrial printers struggled with axles and moving parts, so instead of trying to make Hot Wheels I settled on slot car bodies as my offering to the V8 gods.

It’s All Right, It’s Okay, It Was Gonna Happen Anyway

It’s not terribly surprising Shapeways went under. They were pioneers in a niche field that was gradually and endlessly democratized. I could try to find another printing service to sell models through, and while that might work okay in the interim, it’s kind of making the same mistake twice.

I could potentially sell the STLs instead – there are plenty of sites that do that, but IMO it’s only worth it if you generate enough fresh STLs to warrant a subscription service like Patreon. Your new content is the driving force, not one-off models preying on nostalgia for old sci-fi shows.

I think this is the universe telling me it’s finally time to get a resin printer and the various accoutrements that make it work without poisoning you. It’s too soon to tell whether that plan comes with an Etsy store or what, but I’m still making cars. When I look back, I’ve got almost 15 years experience making printable models (with some really stringent restrictions in those early days). That’s what happens when you’re willing to do anything in order to avoid UV mapping.