On french forum, in 2018 It was hot, so I surfed, typing random stuff that popped into my head, waiting out the storm. I found some computer-assisted/pre-prep industrial concepts that could be applied to painting miniatures or scenery. Or at least to make pre-painted stuff in mass. Careful, put Westworld or I Robot on in the background. Drawing robot A mini robot, capable of using a pen/ felt-tip pen to draw, I think that with an acrylic marker, by modifying the direction of the machine, with more advanced volume interpretation software, we could paint or color simple flat scenery, or perhaps with an ultra-thin marker paint a figurine. For the moment, the best processed volume I've seen is a ball. Hydrographic printing A method of gluing a decal automatically, in an industrial way, here they do it on a cat statue, imagine Customeeple doing it on its flat mdf decors, one day it will be done on 32mm minis. Thermoforming A method for creating a pre-painted scenery in 2s using a plastic derivative and heat, but it's likely to look like a low-tech/wargame scenery. Phew, no? You go from a flat thing to a 3d shape. Edit: In 2020, there was the project (partielly in partnariat with infinity), but it failed. Colorization of stainless steel using femtosecond lasers Basically, we use a laser to change the properties (color) of the metal. Where the laser strikes, the atomic structure changes and this changes the color, with the color becoming more contrasted according to the number of strikes. My guess is that one day, it'll be used in figs or decors, but in terms of textures (pigments, gloss varnish, etc.) it's limited, so there'll be some reworking to do. Edit: after research, it also works with plastic. Scientific source ENG : https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms16095 Scientific source FR : http://mavoiescientifique.onisep.fr/des-metaux-colores-par-impulsions-laser/ 3d printing with stereolithography colorization I'd seen this before, but I thought the colorization was done on the image or afterwards, in fast wash mode, but no. 3D printing technology that also handles colorization. Apart from dusting, there's nothing to do. https://3faktur.com/en/3d-printing-...ll-color-plaster/#1486464083768-fd5616c7-78f2 Then in 2020, heroforge began producing 25-32mm pre-painted 3D-printed figures, with a full customization tool. GW can go back to the drawing board with its Contrast "revolution". On the other hand, it's quite expensive at the moment (still in the early days of technology), $40 a figurine (well, that's the same price as the unpainted Mephiston space marine ^^ it's relative). https://www.beastsofwar.com/news/heroforge-2-0-makes-a-splash-with-a-colorful-launch/ Spoiler: + Finally, in 2024, in Poland, Primacast has launched a full-color, laser-printed scenery technology, and who says Poland says Corvus Belli might one day place an order, for her scenery. https://archon-studio.com/blog/prismacast-a-revelation-in-rpg-terrain-market I guess in the future, it will avoid going through this, when starting painting, I guess
Archon Studios is constantly improving their operation, doing real nice ABS plastic minis on sprues for a great value. They do Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Youtube every couple of weeks, so I've asked them before about doing some stuff for CB. It's not as cheap as PVC/ Boardgame quality (made in china), but much higher quality. Understandably, CB does as much in house as they can, which is admirable, but I'm still not sold on siocast. Terrain wise, the prepainted plastic terrain is more than the printed cardboard stuff for their intro boxes, and I'm not sure it'd make sense to switch. But yeah, the PrismaCast stuff looks like a big leap forward for automated painting, though they're just doing the terrain for now. Not sure actual models would work as well since assembly would leave flaws.
New video of coloring metal by laser with today's technology, which now seems to be accessible to the general public. All that's left is some wargame nerd to make the machine capable of coloring a miniature in 3d. [G-WEIKE] Can stainless steel be laser-colored? I've tried it
