How "miniature lovers" use full-color 3D printers, Willing to sell its own 360-degree scanner
Miniature Image Inc. is a start-up company founded in Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture in 2022. As a company specializing in miniature production, this company has introduced Mimaki's 3D printer, the 3DUJ-2207, to achieve full-color printing in 10 million colors. The company is attracting attention for its unprecedentedly reasonable prices and its dedication to product creation.
In addition, with their knowledge of sensing technology, they have created their own "360-degree camera," which is necessary for creating 3D printing data, and is considering commercializing and selling this product.
We asked President Michiko Mino about the company's efforts, which are full of fun surprises.
Michiko Mino, President of Miniature Image Inc.
How did you start the company?
I have always loved miniatures, and as an extension of that love, I started working in the miniature-making business.
My love for miniatures began with the Sylvanian Families that were released when I was in elementary school. I was impressed by the elaborateness and was fascinated by the world of miniatures. My father also liked N-gauge model trains, and I was influenced by him.
In the end, they did not buy me a Sylvanian Families house, but I was attracted to the idea of "creating miniatures" because my father made miniature models that looked just like them.
President Mino's miniature collection. The collection is displayed in the building adjacent to the office.
Even today, the entire first and second floors of the building adjacent to my home and office are filled with collection of miniatures.
The miniature business began when I started putting my miniature collection on flea market and auction sites to sell a few items that I no longer had any use for.
My interest in 3D printing began when I realized that I have many dollhouses for displaying miniature dolls, but I can't always keep them all on display, so I wondered if I could scan them and display them in a smaller size.
Some miniature houses are large, and there is a demand to reduce the size by 3D printer.
Birthday gift grows into a business
When I sell items on flea market sites or auction sites, buyers may ask, "Do you have any miniatures like this?" "Do you have this miniature furniture in another size?" It would be nice if I had exactly what they wanted in stock, but when I don't, I want to meet their needs, and that is why I felt the need for a 3D printer.
I introduced the first "3DUJ-2207" in Japan in 2021, not for business at first, but as a gift from my husband on my birthday.
Before "3DUJ-2207," I had been making miniatures with a plain 3D printer, but the accuracy was not good enough for the time it took, and I could not make the product as I wanted. In addition, with plain prints, I had to color them afterward, which takes effort and time and it was very difficult because the color was different from the image.
For this reason, I had been looking for a full-color 3D printer for some time, but felt that we could not afford it because of its high price (several tens of millions of yen), poor color reproduction with plaster material, and fragility.
That's when Mimaki's 3DUJ-2207 appeared.
The price was about 4.5 million yen, and it can print more than 10 million colors in full color using resin, which I thought this is what I was looking for. When I saw the product and told Mimaki that I want to introduce the machine as soon as it became available for delivery, we became the first company to introduce 3DUJ-2207 in Japan.
Introducing Mimaki's 3DUJ-2207, with over 10 million full-color prints to satisfy even miniature lovers.
More elaborate than expected!
When I actually printed the product, the product turned out to be of better quality than I had expected.
When I sold these on a flea market site, people commented that they looked like handmade miniatures and thought they were elaborate and hand-colored.
The figure that made enthusiasts impressed and say, "It looks handmade".
After the introduction of the system, the more I used it, the more I saw how easy it is to use.
For example, size development. The N-gauge is 1/150th the size, and the Sylvanian Families are 1/18th the size. With a 3D printer, you can make them in any size you want. As long as the original data is solid, enlargement and reduction can be done at will, and this is the beauty of digital printing.
For example, it is easy to reproduce the three different variations of a tangerine: before peeling, during peeling, and after peeling. These small items are very popular, but until now, it was not easy to add variations because they were made by hand, and there was a large variation in the finished look.
The "3DUJ-2207" solved all these problems.
Tangerines can also be made from small quantities "with peel", "just peeled", and "after peeled"
Expanding Applications
The actual products vary, and other than miniature accessories, the main order is on figure creation.
Families that want to be photographed in 3D, as in commemorative photos are increasing. I also have customers who say, "I want to make 3D prints of my children". If they are the same scale size and arranged by age, it will be a very easy-to-understand record of their growth.
And pets. Dogs and cats are family members who live together, but since they grow up quickly and have a shorter lifespan than humans, many customers want to preserve their pets' appearance. Unlike photographs, 3D-created pets can be viewed 360 degrees, from above and below, and can even be touched, making them feel closer to their beloved families and pets than photographs.
Others scan children's toys and dolls before disposing of them, or use drones to scan and 3D print houses and stores before they are demolished.
I believe that there is also demand for idol figures, and I am making various samples using a character called JOY, created by an overseas CG creator, as our mascot. As long as they are on data, I can dress them in various clothes, put them in swimsuits, and pose them in any way we like.
The character JOY, created by an overseas CG creator, is used as a mascot to explain the mechanism of 3D printing with a figure.
The scanning fee is 11,000 yen, and I can provide, for example, a human being at the smallest size for about 3,000 yen. This is probably the lowest price in the industry.
The reason I kept it inexpensive was so that as many people as possible could enjoy this wonderful thing called 3D printing.
Scanner self-made and inexpensive service!
The reason why I can make a 3D miniature cheaply is because we built the scanner by ourselves.
Until then, small objects were photographed using a tabletop scanner, and big objects such as humans were created using a handheld scanner. Handheld scanners, however, were very time-consuming and inaccurate because the photographer had to hold the scanner in his or her hand and scan devided several parts. On the other hand, commercially available scanners can cost tens of millions of yen for the most expensive ones. I did not want to purchase these, because I would have to set the price of the product higher in order to get the full benefit of the purchase.
So I asked my husband (Mr.Kenji Mino), an IT engineer, if he could somehow build it himself. After researching the necessary components and settings, my husband completed the scanner that is now installed in about six months.
Accuracy in scanning is important for 3D data, but since good cameras and sensors are used and accurate data can be captured in only 0.5 seconds, editing can be done with ease.
The company developed a 360-degree scanner that takes a picture in 0.5 seconds.
I am currently working on a sales plan for this scanner.
One of the reasons for this is that we have completed a good product, we would like it to be used not only by our company but also by people who want to try 3D printing.
The another is to increase the number of places where scans can be done throughout Japan, and to spread the culture of preserving memories and precious objects in miniature using 3D. Unfortunately, the general public still does not know how to use 3D printers and printing technology, or where to go to use them. By expanding sales of our scanners, I hope to simultaneously boost 3D printing in various places and make the general public aware of the technology.
The price is planned to be about 3 million yen, and I hope to lower the hurdle for introduction and allow many people to experience this wonderful world of miniatures.
President Mino with her husband, Kenji Mino, who is in charge of technology.
User profile
- NameMiniature Image Inc.
- IndustryProduction and sales of miniature accessories, figures, dioramas, house models, etc. using full-color 3D printers and 3D scanners
- Address3-1-2 Myodo-cho, Tokushima-shi, Tokushima, Japan
- Phone number+81-90-7787-8771
- URLhttps://mini-image.jp