Really, just a test

Exported using Mineways, this one's priced at $25 for the white, strong, and flexible material; the cheaper $5 version is on the right. A model by me, using the program Binvox to voxelize the famous Utah teapot. This building houses the Museum of the Stuff, one of each type of block is kept within. Built by hand in the Minecraft world Vokselia, then exported using the free Mineways program.

Quaxalot's compass tower from Vokselia, see http://vokselia.com. That little orange dot on the rim is a pumpkin. This model had a few bugs due to some early manifold correction code that was more aggressive than need be, but it was my first color model, so I leave it up here.

Built in the Minecraft world Vokselia by Mauricio Vives, then exported using the free Mineways program. See his site for more information, and see the video of its unveiling here. Mineways can now print with full textures applied to the model, but this is a nice print because of its simple solid colors. If you want textured versions, see the following here and here.

A model by fustyWumpus, built in the Minecraft world Vokselia, then exported using the free Mineways program.

Morgan's Manor in Vokselia, with cutaways on two sides. See http://vokselia.com

Cutaway of the Museum of the Stuff, suitable for color printing. A model by me, using the program binvox to voxelize the famous Utah teapot. This building houses the Museum of the Stuff, one of each type of block is kept within. Built by hand in the Minecraft world Vokselia, then exported using the free Mineways program.

Proof that it's easy to make fabulously expensive models easily with Mineways: size matters. This one's scaled to print out in color, so really adds up in cost, even with the base being hollow. That said, I didn't spend time making sure all the rooms inside the castle were filled in, so that they could be hollowed out later - I didn't think anyone would actually print this model out! Sarconix did, as a surprise. I suspect I could have saved maybe $20 by placing torches at room doorways and then using the "seal off entrances" option to fill the rooms (which would then get hollowed). Model built by Sarconix in Vokselia, vokselia.com

The little glass cubes on the arms are to ensure that the cacti this cactus is made from do not grow higher than two blocks.

I had to do it, take the 3D printer made in Minecraft, shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldiISyKkGl8, and export it as a printable 3D model. Can you get more meta? That said, if you actually printed this thing out you'd be $419.34 poorer and end up with 66 separate parts: a lot of the bits are not physically connected to the main assembly, even after doing "weld" and "corner tip" tests in Mineways. Still, fun to show here.

A slice of the spawn area of our world, Vokselia, http://vokselia.com, this time without the deep underground train station. For stability, I made this slice two blocks thick, at 2 mm a block, so the "supported wall thickness" should be 4 mm - plenty. This is a very long model, almost at the limits of what the printer can do.

A slice of the spawn area of our world, Vokselia, http://vokselia.com, including the deep underground area. For stability, I made this slice two blocks thick, at 2 mm a block, so the "supported wall thickness" should be 4 mm - plenty. This is a very long model, almost at the limits of what the printer can do.

The joke goes, "Darn contractors! Can't follow the plans!" I built this one in binvox in Vokselia. Meant to be printed in color.

My secret laboratory in Vokselia, this is a cutaway view exposing many of its mysteries.

Adobe Abode from Vokselia, by Sarconix for Lovely Shiv. The tree on top came off (trees are tough to safely print), and Shapeways was super-nice about this problem.

A 2-block-wide slice of regloh's amazing glass sphere project (which would be too heavy and way too expensive to print). I had it printed, but it indeed broke along the thin connectors between the dome and base. Shapeways was very nice about it, offering to glue it up as possible or a store credit - I went for the "glue it up" option.

Morgan's Lost Empires area, with the top of the hill cut off. From Vokselia, exported with Mineways, rendered with G3D.

Heaven's Teardrop, semi-affordable. I worry about the "drop" itself in the middle snapping off.

Seaside bungalow made by Morgan, exported using Mineways, http://mineways.com Just a little test, to see how cheap a color model could be and still be somewhat interesting.

The 2 mm/block safe-to-print size, but obviously pricier. I have a 1 mm/block size, too.

My first attempt to make a 1mm/block model. I think it should print fine... And it did. This is Inky from Quaxalot's Isthmus of Blissness. Note that this model indeed has indentations and so on - it's from our world, there's a whirlpool in the water and some raised sand in the corner. It's not meant to be perfect (at least that's my excuse).

Where people come to donate a block of diamond or lapis and in return receive a bone (bone is non-existent in our peaceful world, hence the intervention of the gods). Exported with Mineways, http://mineways.com, as usual.

Almost assuredly unprintable.