I know I've been completely neglecting this board, but I figured I should share... It's been a long road to get here, but my Microman-scale Diaclone Powered Suit bootleg is now available to the general public! I won't be making too many of these because they simply take SO much time to produce a single figure (thus making the price pretty tough for a lot of folks)...but I've got some closely-related projects in the works that will be a lot kinder on the wallet (and won't drive me nuts to make!).
Hmmm...that sounds like a cool idea! Maybe I should do a blog post detailing the whole process from start to finish. That could be really fun! Anyway, a bunch of the suits sold, so if anyone around here threw down for one, THANK YOU!!
Very cool toy. Reminds of toys I had as a kid but doesn't really mimic anything at all. I would like to see the process as well and maybe shows of articulation if it has any?
Sanjeev's blog is very informative. This project and the people surrounding it seem to have real Bio suit vibes Check it out
Haha...alas, I haven't had a sweet Microman hairdo in ages, Daniel. My aging face seems to be scaring away my hairline! LOL Anyway, yeah, my blog isn't particularly organized, but there are good snippets of info spread throughout (same with my instagram feed). But just a quick summary: the Powered Bio Suit actually does "mimic" the Diaclone Powered Suit that Takara released a year or two into their Diaclone line (circa '82). I loved those cheap, crappy things! So with a little gentle encouragement from the locals, I decided to bootleg the design...but scale it up to Microman-size. In doing so, I could add articulation (in the arms anyway), accessories, and other cool features. To design and manufacture a toy from the ground up--in one's own apartment--is an amazing experience! Throughout the course of this project, I've learned so much about 3D printing in general, my particular machine, and the specific idiosyncrasies that go with designing-for-3D-printing (just like you want to avoid deep undercuts that could lead to torn vinyl pulls in the sofubi world, there are a myriad of design considerations when trying to 3D-print a finished product). And of course, it's also nice to know that some folks out there are really feeling the design. The suits are almost sold out now...and while I'm not expecting something this niche to blow up in the custom toy world, I'm just gratified that I've been able to make a few people smile with this thing I've made! The communities have been real good to me...so I'm just happy to be able to use my creativity (and CAD skills!) to give back in this small way.
Nicely done! I love the Diaclone Powered Suits and was able to pick some up around 10 years ago when it was doable. This is great tribute work to an awesome design.
Thanks, Andy! Heh...you hit the nail on the head: "...when it was doable". Took me a while to complete the vintage suits (well...the three types in red and in super-dark blue/black...though there's some controversy now over whether there were *actual* black ones that are now being confused with the blue ones that have presumably darkened over time). Either way, I've seen boxed specimens of these things--still with the ¥350 price tag, mind you!--go for well into the hundreds. Pretty crazy!
Oh man...totally forgot to post the "sequel" to the Powered Bio Suits here... I present the MicroClone! And a metric fuckton of information about these guys (including more pics) here, on my blog. Thanks!
^^That might be the best thing I've ever heard!! You've made my month. More are definitely on the way. I'm actually starting up another round of design work right now for another upgrade pack. I teased about the first upgrade a week or so back on my instagram: Once the next set is ready, I'm going into hardware mode so I can cook up another (BIGGER) batch of MicroClones and at least a trio of Powered Bio Suits!
