Has anyone used ‘Shapeways 3D printing service’, if so can you attest to its quality? There’s a lot of stuff on there that piquets my interest, some of it very expensive. But it’s like leaping into the dark, hoping the quality is ok.

Mark.

I bought a set of 54mm 18th century heads:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/CYKVUNL6B/heads-awi-54-mm-scale?optionId=56211260&li=marketplace

They look exactly like the photo at that link. As the description notes, they have a slightly grainy finish, but a little sanding cleaned that up.

Many pieces are offered in two levels of quality. The higher quality version of this set of heads, for example, would have a smoother finish, and I believe, be cast in a better-quality resin.

I've seen other items purchased through Shapeways. One of the guys in our club, for example, buys dinosaur figures. They are in small scale, and they look as good as the high-quality, high-priced solid resin kits that are available. And I have seen ship modelers use detail sets-AA guns in 1/700 or 1/350 scale, for example-that are available through Shapeways.

You can upload your own 3D sculpt, too, and have them produce it for you. I'm experimenting now, myself, with a 3D sculpting program, to produce some diorama items that are not currently available.

That's my experience, in any case.

Prost!
Brad