From: Steven Pollack (StevenP@DigitalJeweler.NET)
Date: Tue Oct 08 2002 - 21:07:47 EEST
>> At those prices I can find you craftsmen to hand carve, paint, and package
the dolls.
"And yet, besides Nieman Marcus, every major toy company (Mattel, McFarlane, Hasbro, Jakks, Toy Biz, etc.) goes to Gentle Giant to get rp output. I'll bet for the price Annie Liebowitz charges for a portrait photo, you could find thousands of "craftsmen" willing to scratch out a likeness with colored pencils."
First of all I doubt Mattel, Mcfarlane, Hasbro, etc. go to Gentle Giant for $7,500 prototypes so there is a big disconnect between my comment and your response. You are making the case for RP in general when my comment was regarding the price tag. Then you go on to compare the "craftsmen" willing to knock off the Annie Liebowitz portrait.
I guess if you compare Neiman Marcus to Annie Liebowitz you are saying that Neiman Marcus promoting this service adds the same kind of value that an artist adds to an original work. Maybe so in certain circles. Besides putting it in their catalog what value do they add? Do they have an exclusive arrangement whereby FAO Schwartz could not do the same thing for $1,000?
I am not knocking them, or you, doing this. I am just saying that at that price there is not much competitive advantage to the technology approach over the handmade.
I can see if this system was automated and local the price coming down to $500. Have a scanner in a local mall, have the packaging premade and the cardboard inkjetted. Just prototype the head and snap it on to the appropriate body.
Steven
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://rapid.lpt.fi/rp-ml/
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