The making of a McFarlane Halo figure makes us feel old
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Video games are great and all, but most of us at Joystiq HQ still harbor a penchant for action figures, born from youthful days and being forced to play outside now and again. As we've matured, however, so has the toy industry, and action figures these days are way more awesome than the stuff we had growing up.
Kids these days don't know how good they have it, either. The above video, for instance, showcases the state-of-the-art rapid prototyping technologies used by McFarlane Toys to create their hyper-detailed Halo figures. Back in our day, action figures took months to prototype, and we were happy about it!
And another thing! Back in our day, the words "3D" and "printer" would never share space in the same sentence, let alone be used in conjunction with one another to describe an actual thing. Get off our lawn!
Reader Comments (14)
Posted: Sep 4th 2011 3:45PM arucious said
You can play outside?
Posted: Sep 4th 2011 3:50PM Shadowbender said
The 3D printer thing is bustin'a move. It's very exciting to see a device like that come to life.
Posted: Sep 4th 2011 4:06PM HighFiveJesus said
I miss the old days when Mcfarlane figurines were revered as some of the best, most creative, and must have. Now its all dragons, military and sports.
Still got NECA though!
Still got NECA though!
Posted: Sep 4th 2011 4:14PM Drakkenfyre said
I would like to have one of the clear ones from the rapid prototyper. I mean, hell, Japan makes and releases clear versions of it's figures all the time, and makes them limited editions.
And people today don't have to worry about the sculpter totally screwing up some details on their figure. If only you saw what we had to put up with in the old days. You might get a figure which didn't even resemble the character it was supposed to be.
See this:
http://www.puzzlezoo.com/assets/photos/JURP00316f.jpg
That was supposed to be Nedry. You know, this guy.
http://www.socialtechpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dennis.jpg
But I guess in that case they figured "fat, nerdy guy" didn't translate too well to an action figure for boys.
And people today don't have to worry about the sculpter totally screwing up some details on their figure. If only you saw what we had to put up with in the old days. You might get a figure which didn't even resemble the character it was supposed to be.
See this:
http://www.puzzlezoo.com/assets/photos/JURP00316f.jpg
That was supposed to be Nedry. You know, this guy.
http://www.socialtechpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dennis.jpg
But I guess in that case they figured "fat, nerdy guy" didn't translate too well to an action figure for boys.
Posted: Sep 4th 2011 5:36PM LittleMofreaky said
"Happy Birrrrrrrrrrthdaaaaaay!... MIS-TER. Master Chiiiiieee- heeeef!" -Mega64
Posted: Sep 4th 2011 5:51PM Dick Socrates said
Where's the love when it's all done on computer? :(
Posted: Sep 4th 2011 6:22PM Cavall said
Anyone else notice that Todds like "I just want to make cool figures" but he isnt involved in a single step of the process?
Posted: Sep 4th 2011 9:06PM Purgingomen said
But I like your lawn! It's so fluffy and pretty- please don't shoot me with your colt 45!
Posted: Sep 5th 2011 8:06AM DrBarber101 said
3-D... Like the game Q*bert? Or these rad awesome Blue and Red glasses?! Can you show me how to make my Fax Machine 3-D??
Posted: Sep 5th 2011 10:34PM No Fear Man said
I used to live less than 2 miles from the place that creates the figures. I actually got a tour of the place a few years ago and got some free figures and a bunch of Spawn comics.
Posted: Sep 6th 2011 5:20PM 3DPrinters said
Got to tell you guys – even though this model in the video is based on an Objet 3D printed ‘rapid prototyped’ mold – you can very easily produce the entire Halo figure from start to finish on the Objet Connex multi-material 3D printer. We’ve printed the original Halo figure, complete with up to 14 different material shades and textures in a single print run – no gluing, no painting and all produced automatically in under a couple of hours. Check out the photo at the bottom of the page under ‘Model Images’: http://www.objet.com/Objet%20Connex350/





