Nintendo! (Now 1:5 SCALE) Miniature Consoles

Daniel Nelms

Sr Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Nov 13, 2014

• #21

You should build a mini that's an actual functioning unit

I did a Nintoaster that I'm thinking about producing as a kit which would include 3d printed parts.

 

DaddyfromNaboo

Master Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Nov 13, 2014

• #22

I recommend printing the model at 1:6th scale, it would cater to the fans of GI Joe, Big Jim, Action Man, Hot Toys, SIdeshow etc.

 

W

Wes R

Legendary Member

• Nov 13, 2014

• #23

Not to mention they'd make nice display pieces. I have some of the japanese systems in roughly 1:6 scale that were released in japan as well as an snes keychain but it's kind of big.

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 17, 2014

• #24

I'll have to see what the price difference is like between the 1:5 and 1:6 scale models to see if it's worth it, price-wise. Regardless, it's easy enough to rescale the model for printing larger so the option is and always will be there.

And here's the newest model (took a bit longer than the others), N64!



This one was challenging, with all it's angles, slopes and curves - but that's what I liked about it, the challege. I do CAD modelling for my job and I learned a new program earlier this year so I'm perfecting my chops so the job will be easier and projects will get done sooner, so I'll have more time for this stuff! It's a give-a-little, get-a-little scenario.

Once again, details (including text) are raised for painting ease. But aside from those differences, the model is perfectly accurate and to scale within 1/20 of a mm (1/2mm on the actual sized system).

And yeah, I'm banging out the Nintendo systems first, then I'll get to the others, don't worry!

 

Last edited: Dec 31, 2014

kruleworld

Well-Known Member

• Nov 19, 2014

• #25

Doctor Octoroc said:

I'll have to see what the price difference is like between the 1:5 and 1:6 scale models to see if it's worth it, price-wise.

Once again, details (including text) are raised for painting ease. But aside from those differences, the model is perfectly accurate and to scale within 1/20 of a mm (1/2mm on the actual sized system).

Click to expand...

Wouldn't 1/6 actually be smaller? (smaller = cheaper)

would text be better done as a decal rather than raised letters?

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 19, 2014

• #26

kruleworld said:

Wouldn't 1/6 actually be smaller? (smaller = cheaper)

would text be better done as a decal rather than raised letters?

Click to expand...

Ah, right you are! In that case, I need to see how the 1:5 scale prints turn out first. If details don't turn out well at that scale, they'll be less discernible at the smaller scale and it would be better off to remove the smaller details for that use. I mainly built them in 1:5 scale because it's easier to calculate dimensions on the fly when I'm building them in Solidworks but the goal is to put as much detail into them as I can so the miniatures look more like the real deal, and 1:5 seemed like the best step up from 1:10 since the new material has about twice the required tolerances, physically speaking.

I thought about decals for some uses (if I decide to do mini cartridges, this will be a must). Unfortunately, this print material is grainy (it's built up layer by layer by fusing plastic powder together) so decals wouldn't stick to the surface. After some paint and lacquer, they look smooth enough, but even if one were to create decals at such a small scale, they wouldn't be compatible with these 3d prints. The best bet would be to print items requiring decals from the frosted detail plastic since it's built from a wax like substance that is smoother and could work with decals.

Also, here are the Game Cube, Wii and Wii U.

 

Last edited: Dec 2, 2014

renaissance_man

Master Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Nov 20, 2014

• #27

Cool idea!
If they are 1:6 scale you could use them for the Avengers Hot Toys figures, maybe after saving New York and eating Schwarma they went back to Stark Tower and played a few tournament races on Mario Kart to wind down!

 

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Wes R

Legendary Member

• Nov 20, 2014

• #28

renaissance_man said:

Cool idea!
If they are 1:6 scale you could use them for the Avengers Hot Toys figures, maybe after saving New York and eating Schwarma they went back to Stark Tower and played a few tournament races on Mario Kart to wind down!

Click to expand...

Or they could play Avengers on the NES lol

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 21, 2014

• #29

Exciting news! I received the 3d print for the NES yesterday, painted, assembled and varnished it. I think it turned out fantastic! I'm going to order the rest of the Nintendo consoles I modeled and finish them the same way I did with this one. I'm also almost done modeling the Atari 2600.





What are your thoughts?

 

W

Wes R

Legendary Member

• Nov 21, 2014

• #30

Looks amazing. Way better than the little japanese systems i've been buying and I don't think anyone's made minis of the US NES or SNES so you're in new territory.

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 22, 2014

• #31

Two more new models - I'm going back to the first/second generation now.

Atari 2600 and Magnavox Odyssey!





At this point, I'm just modeling as many different consoles as I can. If people seem interested, I may start an INT thread to gauge feasibility of production. I've done runs for 3d printed models in the past that were popular but that's cause it was Doctor Who related. We'll see.

 

Last edited: Dec 31, 2014

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 23, 2014

• #32

New model finished - Coleco Vision! This was my very first system as a kid so it holds a special place in my heart for me.

 

Ruddigger

Sr Member

• Nov 24, 2014

• #33

It's a shame about the print quality, but at that scale there's not much you can do about it.

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 25, 2014

• #34

Ruddigger said:

It's a shame about the print quality, but at that scale there's not much you can do about it.

Click to expand...

They do have materials with a bit of a better print quality but the difference in price doesn't justify it much at this scale.

New model - Mattel Intellivision!

This one will have "decals" to be applied to the parts shown as textures in the render. They work with this (and the Coleco Vision) due to the fact that the "decals" on the actual system aren't actually decals, but metal plates that are glued into recesses on the body of the system. Because of this, the accuracy of the system itself can be maintained and the decals printed on any kind of paper or card stock and applied to the surface with adhesive.

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 27, 2014

• #35

New model finished - moving on to the Sega line, it's the Master System!

Much like the Intellivision and Coleco Vision, this one had recesses for "decals" to be applied - the main red square on front and below that, the black decal outlining the card input on the bottom of the top face. This one was a lot of fun to model - working on the Genesis now!

 

Last edited: Nov 30, 2014

gooses2

Active Member

• Nov 27, 2014

• #36

This is so cool, shame about the graininess but it still looks great. Really interesting though.

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 28, 2014

• #37

gooses said:

This is so cool, shame about the graininess but it still looks great. Really interesting though.

Click to expand...

Honestly, the graininess isn't a problem, it just adds an extra step in finishing 3d printed models. Sure, it would be nice if they were smooth like injection molded plastics, but that process makes designing them accurately at this scale impossible due to the nature of injected plastics needing a full-face extraction from the mold. It will generally leave flashing around the edges and the tolerances for smaller details are larger than for 3d printed models in most cases.

There are a lot of cool techniques out there for smoothing the surfaces of polyamide plastics, I was just too anxious to finish this first model that I didn't attempt any of them for the first print at this scale, but it is possible with some care to get a smooth surface even at this scale. I'm going to use some techniques on the next set of printed consoles I paint and assemble.

One technique I've really wanted to try is mixing super glue and acetone together and submerging the print in the mixture. The print is then removed and left to dry so that the acetone evaporates and the super glue levels out on the surface for a smooth finish than can be sanded down. At this scale, however, this process will eliminate smaller details, and with a coat of paint and multiple coats of varnish or lacquer, a semi-smooth texture is still achieved. For a good example of this done right, here's a macro lens shot of the emitter bullet on one of my sonic screwdriver props I made awhile back:

The grainy texture is still there, but the surface itself is quite smooth considering how it started out.

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 29, 2014

• #38

Sega Genesis is finished. I finished the Sega CD as well but I'm waiting until I'm done the Sega Genesis Model 02 before I post pics so you can see them together, as they should be!

 

W

Wes R

Legendary Member

• Nov 29, 2014

• #39

Looking amazing. Are you going to do both models of the sega CD? You're making me wish these were in my collection (mind you i own nearly all the real life ones) lol. I was mounting my japanese mini consoles onto displays and realized that they even had labels on the bottoms like the real thing. They're 1/6 supposedly, i can get pics of them next to quarters for reff if you are interested.

 

Doctor Octoroc

Sr Member

• Nov 30, 2014

• #40

Wes R said:

Looking amazing. Are you going to do both models of the sega CD? You're making me wish these were in my collection (mind you i own nearly all the real life ones) lol. I was mounting my japanese mini consoles onto displays and realized that they even had labels on the bottoms like the real thing. They're 1/6 supposedly, i can get pics of them next to quarters for reff if you are interested.

Click to expand...

No plans for both models of Sega CD yet. I may do it down the line but I'm sticking with Model 02 for now. I didn't think ahead to making the Genesis 01 compatible with a future CD 01 so I'd have to make a new version of the Genesis 01 for that to work with it. I'm sure I'll come back to it eventually.

However, I did do the Genesis Model 02, with removable cover, so it can go with the CD Model 02. Here's a render of each and a render of them together. They fit perfectly!





The only thing I left out of either model is the metal plate that attaches to the underside of the Genesis to secure it to the CD.

And here's them together.



I'll probably do the Saturn next but I'm entertaining the idea of doing a 32X with a modified "cart insert" that can fit nicely on top of either Genesis Model. I'd love to see the three of them all together haha.

 

Last edited: Dec 31, 2014