I
’m now fully convinced that 3d printing is the way of the future in our little hobby after reviewing and sampling some breathtaking examples of the 3d printed form. I know a lot of guys have embraced 3d printing with a passion and I can see why. The photos you see here are from a very talented Japanese modeler, Jumpei Temma. He has designed and offered some of them to anyone who has a 3d printer to download for free. Jumpei’s files are located at:
www.facebook.com/ groups/3D48th
Now here’s the rub. I don’t own a 3d printer but given the results I have seen, I have been thinking about purchasing one. Here is an interview that I recently conducted with Jumpei-san:
Luke: Good to have you with Jun. Can you tell us a little of your background what led you into our little hobby in the first place?
Jumpei:
I am a modeller living in Kobe Japan with 50 years of modelling experience. Aircraft are my main interest, about 10 years ago, I expanded my interests into 1:48 armour. I started 3d printing in 2018. It all started with Airfix - an English Phantom - and as I couldn't scratch build small slits by myself, out of necessity I learned 3d CAD and bought a 3d printer. This was the beginning. Please take a look at my site if your readers are interested. http://soyuyo. main.jp/index.html All my 3d files, including those not uploaded to 3D48th, can be downloaded from there.
Luke: Looking at your website, you have a remarkable talent for getting things correct in my opinion, not only with armor but aircraft as well.
Jumpei:
Thank you Luke
Luke: I can see a future where a company like Tamiya might re-brand a top end printer and offer the files to download for price for example to modify their existing kits. What are your thoughts on that?