I just think it's so cool that anyone can just make custom toys now and sell them.
Yes a lot of stalls just sell the same thing, but yesterday I went to a fair and the 3 big stalls were so unique.
1st stall was all about high precision toys. Like I can't explain how smooth the toys were. Talking to him he was all about making them as dialed in as possible with these tiny super delicate gears and moving wings on toys, or puzzles that glide like they are oiled off each other. I'm too lazy to go find the thing I bought as I was walking around the house playing with it.
2nd stall was all about large cartoony ones using a printer that can do up to 5 colors! I ended up getting a little dino!
Then the last one was a guy who only printed things he personally designed! With all his pieces being toys that are giant version of lego things like his giant lego light sabers that are straight out of lego star wars
(off his website as I didn't buy anything from him)
It's just so cool that these people can build their own little toy factories and make a variety of toys either in special ways, or make their own unique toys. I know it's not star treck replicators, but it's still just exciting to me.
I actually owned 3d printers in the past, but the effort to dial them in just wasn't super worth it to me, since it felt like an all day activity to get my cheap printer to print my little $2 toy. Would much rather spend $5 to get a much better version off of someone else who spends all day working to make the print quality ace and put their own spin on the toys.
That is so freaking cool!
Like I'm trying to fathom how I would make an "accurate" one without a 3d printer as a teen and I just don't see it. Paper machete was the popular choice, but those wouldn't be accurate, they would be considered decoration. If your parents were master wood workers maybe they could do it that way? But those sound out rageously expensive and if one breaks you're SOOO sol. Whereas with this once she got all the files she can get a new one made for a trip to the library or $20 order.
And now instead of a picture with notes or dried flowers they have such wonderful props! Very much the type of thing I'm loving 3d printers for.
Generally for really lifelike models it was glass. Sad that those techniques have largely been lost, but it is cool that now anyone with a printer can make a flower!
Oh dang! Yeah something tells me a teenager was not going to be able to get those.