Whew!

Read 20 Comments

 Trader Sam  |  June 2, 2009

Castle Parts

Whew! After over 100 hours, the model has been modeled and unfolded. So far, there is a total of 549 pieces, but after the parts gets chopped up to fit onto printable pages, there is likely to be more.

Instead of using Flash to arrange and render the pieces, I’m going to try using Adobe Illustrator. I’m not too familiar with the program, mainly because I’ve been purposely avoiding it. But, I think it will save me some time, and I’ve been looking into buying a Craft ROBO this month. There is a plugin for Illustrator, which will make cutting paper models a lot faster . . . hopefully.


There are 20 comments.

  • jay:

    i dont mean to put presure on u trader but why not after this model make more disneyland paris attractions like the queeen of hearts castle or the paris version of space mountain.

    • Trader Sam:

      The Paris version of Space Mountain is one that I’ve always wanted to do.

  • Lili:

    Sam,

    Can’t wait to see your finished Sleeping Beauty Castle. The Crickut Expression would definitely NOT be the machine for you, because you can’t hook it up to any computer and download any files nor, can you print anything off from a computer with that machine. It is a strickly self standing machine that works with cartrideges only.
    The Craft Robo is a pretty cool machine, as you can use exsisting files in your computer, and it does print out detail, cleanly. My friend uses one, but not for the type of stuff you do. He uses it for his t-shirt designs, and creates logos that are printed on, and then ironed onto the shirts. Please let us know if you do decide to purchase the Craft Robo how it works.
    Also, Sam when oh when are you gonna make a paper model for Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin Ride? Or one of Roger Rabbit in Benny the Cab? I know you CAN do this for sure!!! P-p-please?

    • Trader Sam:

      Well, I did buy the Craft ROBO the other day when I saw that the Amazon price had dropped ($199.95). I don’t think the seller is too far away, so I should get it within a few days. I think I’ll try cutting out some selected pieces from my Holiday Carousel Card. That should provide a good test.

  • Robert:

    Hi Sam,

    i was wondering how the progress is going with the scale model of Sleeping Beauty Castle. I have started with the Californian scale model, it´s coming on very nicely.
    But some parts are a bit tricky.

    Greetings

    Robert the netherlands

    • Trader Sam:

      Yes, some parts are a bit tricky, but well worth the time and effort.

      The castle is coming along. I have a much better understanding of how Illustrator works, and I’m flying along without any trouble. I hope to start the page layouts by next week so that I can Photoshop the details in.

  • Kurt Young:

    Trader,

    This isn’t for the pop up card, is it? There already is a cinderella castle…

    • Trader Sam:

      If it is, that’s one heck of a complicated pop-up card! ;)

  • Friend of the Mouse:

    Sam, I so want to hear what you think of the Craft ROBO. I have been looking at them for a couple of years now and I have been scary of the plunge. If you can make it work for you to your exacting standards that will be good enough for me. Any who let us all know what you think about the Craft ROBO.

    • Trader Sam:

      Yes, I do have exacting standards. So much so that I’ve been dubious about buying something of which I haven’t seen a live demonstration. I know it can cut intricate designs, but just how intricate? Hmmm . . .

      • Will:

        There are videos on youtube that can show you

      • Trader Sam:

        I’ve seen some of those videos, but nothing that really shows any close-up views. I’m also curious about how well it can do delicate, lacy cuts.

      • Friend of the Mouse:

        My wife has a Crickutt (sp). I think this is pretty much the same technology but with cartridges. So it will not let you do what he Craft ROBO does. But I have seen it do some pretty detailed stuff. Anyway, there used to be a distributor of the CraftROBO in the Chicago area but was only open Mon-Fri and I live about 3 and a half to 4 hours from the place. I do not have enough vacation days to go and see the thing demo’d. Is there a place near you that is a distributor?

      • Trader Sam:

        There are no stores that distribute it, but there are some people who sell them from their homes. Going to someone’s home for a demonstration is kinda creepy, if you ask me. Buying from a person’s home-run Web store is pretty much the main way to buy them since the company doesn’t sell the machines directly. At least, I don’t think they do.

        The best price I’ve found is on Amazon by the seller Out Of Control RC Racing. It’s about $100+ less than most folks sell them for. I’ve also been to the seller’s website where the machine can be bought for $10 more, but they include ten feet of vinyl, a library of cut files, and a 1-year warranty. I didn’t see that offer on Amazon, though it’s sold by the same seller. I’ll have to look at both a little more closely before I decide which way to order. I’m leaning toward buying through the seller’s website via PayPal.

      • GraphicsKat:

        I owned a CraftRobo but had trouble with it reading the registration marks, which was necessary to cut out anything pre-printed. I bought a QuickKutz Silhouette to take its place, and it turns out to be the *exact* same machine! I can’t tell you why, though, but the Silhouette reads the reg marks like a dream and cuts anything I give it. If you have any more questions about it, I’ll be glad to answer them.

      • Trader Sam:

        Yes, they are the same machine, both made by Graphtech. Maybe you just got a faulty machine; this is the first I’ve heard of that problem.

        Here’s an official explanation of the machines’ differences. It’s a couple of years old, but it’s a good explanation:

        Graphtec Corporation in Japan have licensed the Craft Robo to Quickutz under what we call an OEM agreement. This means that Quickutz are free to do as they wish with the machine and are responsible for all of their own marketing and technical support. The machine has been bundled with Robo Master software, which is virtually identical to the Robo Master supplied with your Craft Robos. It does however have an added button that takes you to the Quickutz website to purchase additional templates.

        I do not know if the software not being able to save designs was deliberate or not, however it looks like it will soon be rectified.

        The software should open any GSD files from any RoboMaster software. As far as I know though the downloaded templates are encrypted and can not be shared.

        We at Graphtec GB are an independant company and the Silhouette is competition to us. However we have no objection to having the Silhouette discussed on this forum as I feel that competition is a good thing and the customer will benefit in the long term.

        There are several differences between the Craft Robo and the Silhouette, the main one being support. […] We guarantee the Craft Robo for a full 12 months, I understand that Quickutz only offer a 90 day warranty also, our telephone support is second to none.

        […]

        However I do think it is unfair that Silhouette users can download software from our website, so we will shortly change it so that the user must enter the serial number before downloading I am sorry if this inconveniences genuine Craft Robo customers.

        As I said earlier, competition is a good thing. For instance, we never [realized] how important it was for CraftRobo users to have access to good quality templates. I have commissioned some of the industries best designers to produce some beautiful templates that we will make available on a regular basis from our website. These downloads will be free of charge to Craft Robo users as is our policy. We are also setting up a dedicated Craft Robo site that will offer many benefits to our customers, keep on checking our site for details.

        […]

        Best regards

        Phil Kneale
        Sales & Marketing Director
        Graphtec GB Limited

        So, the major factor is the warranty.

      • Trader Sam:

        By the way, the Amazon price for the Craft ROBO that I mentioned earlier has dropped by $50-60. I don’t exactly remember the original price.

  • jay:

    ohhh…. i wonder what the model will look like when its finished

  • jay:

    are theese parts for the model?

    • Trader Sam:

      Yes, these are all of the parts.

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