3D printing. Don't wait for Geobra to make your dream parts!

[cheng]

You didn't send me this one, Cheng. But thanks, I will correct the curve and I was wondering about the handle as well. How about the total length of the weapon? Almost 10 cm seems huge.
A.

it doesnt have to be much longer for the visual effect comes from the handle which can be almost half as long as the blade
and for a samurai klicky, worn (like a ninja) behind his back, the whole handle should be above his shoulder (I dont think its possible for him to be able to draw a very long sword from this position) ...if you have time, I'll measure against a klicky's arm's length and body length tonight and email or post here (I dont think you'll like the tip of his blade lower than his bum 

our klicky samurai will hold the double-handed katana with his right hand very near to the collar leaving the rest of the handle free for his left grip when he's expecting contact
(dont copy the tip of this blade in this photo..it looks wrong)

[cowabounga]

Hey! I changed a few things:



I made the blade shorter, the handle longer and the hand guard smaller. How do you like it now?

[cheng]

ooh visually perfect already (too curved and it wont come out of its sheath )
but for actual measurement/scale,
a few parameters to check against;
handle say 3x width of klicky hand,
blade say = torso length
blade:handle ratio at least 2x,
if they conflict then adjust the variables to best meet all 3 criterias,
you might find you need to lengthen the handle a bit more or shorten the blade...I cant be sure without a klicky in my hand...
tonight, tonight 

[cowabounga]

The lenght of the torso for the blade would make it shorter than the Katana…

[tahra]

Do you know if I can send a file that is free to use (both personally and commercially) to have printed?

I'd REALLY like to see if this is usable - how it turns out... Too expensive to do a lot of them, but probably would do for half a dozen special items...

[cheng]

while waiting for Arnaud's reply to Tahra,

The lenght of the torso for the blade would make it shorter than the Katana…

done my measurements,
make the handle 2 cm (just about enough for 3 fat klicky hands....big bands and big heads....we can't apply the same ratio from a klicky's height )
and leave the blade as long as the katana ie 4cm(I know you're tempted to make the blade longer than the katana to differentiate them which makes playmo-sense ) I suppose its ok when worn slightly tilted to the right shoulder....but he'll have to have very long arms to perform the "turning cut"

[PlaymoMan]

Wow, these look awesome! Superb customs!!!

[WarriorOfToys]

If I may interject something about the making of the new katana blade. I think it is important you make the handle round so that it fits into a klicky's hand. (I am not sure if you have already done this, I just wanted to be sure.) That is one of my biggest issues with the Playmobil katanas, after a while of playing they tend to pop out of a klicky's hand.
Also, I tend to look at the katana produced by Playmobil as an early period tachi rather than the late period katana. The blade is too long in proportion to the figure to be a katana, and the handle is too short since (as Cheng already pointed out) the handle should be nearly half the length of the sword if it were a proper katana. Maybe instead of creating a longer sword, you could try and create a more realistic katana? Or maybe that is another project?
I enjoy your work Arnaud! I cannot wait to see more!

[cowabounga]

Hey WoT. I'm afraid I can't make anything better than this. The software I use has limits, and so do I. 
BUT (that's some big but), I made the handle thicker than the PM one. I wanted it flat on the front and back edges, so it's more realistic. Even more for this sword that has such a long handle it will be almost entirely seen.
So, nobody likes my gladiator helmets? 

[Rasputin]

So I found some 3D printer services in our area. Any chance you would want to share the files to see if I could talk some of these other companies to print out your great designs? I am not able to get any quotes with our the files and I am very curious how much this technology costs to produce.

PS: all your designs look great to me.... helmets and all