Bring Your Avatar Into RL with a 3-D Printer

Read an interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal about a company using three-dimensional printers to create personal figurines of World of Warcraft avatars. 3D printers have been around a while, but were prohibitively expensive. Article author Robert Guth notes that some models are going for as little as $5,000, though good ones will run 10 times that. They work by spraying a polymer in patterns that harden. Thus, users can “print” three dimensional models rather than the usual 2D arrangements on paper.

FigurePrints, LLC is opening shop this week, with an exclusive arrangement tied to Blizzard’s World of Warcraft franchise. It is expected that players can place orders to have their toons printed as figurines in the $100 range. WoW avatars are highly customizable, with thousands of options in clothing and accessories. Many players obsess over the look of their characters, and it is expected the novelty of creating a figurine based on a player’s personal character may well prove lucrative. The possibilities for other uses seem unlimited as well. FigurePrints was started by former Microsoft exec Ed Fries, and the company uses printers made by Z Corp.

References:
Guth, R. A. (2007, December 12). How 3-d printing figures to turn web worlds real. The Wall Street Journal, p.B1.