14 DAY TRIAL // 3D printing services already allow you to order a miniature figurine of yourself if you provide a 3D scan, or visit their shop and position yourself on their on-site 3D scanner. Few, though, are the places where you can get a full-size model of yourself. The Wondercity Mall in Nanjing, China, is now one such place.
Pinla3D has opened a shop there, one where you can get your whole figure scanned in 3 or 5 minutes, after which you can choose one of fifteen different statuette sizes, one of them being the normal scale.
The company says their process has “portrait precision” and the results do seem to support that claim.
It makes me wonder if wax sculptures will survive as a business into the new age. I suppose celebrities will stay keen on that badge of honor, having a statue at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, but I can already see 3D printed statues eroding their foothold.
Alas, if you do want to behold yourself in full size, you will need to part with $28,555 / €20,537.
Even the smallest version, just a few inches tall, sells for $162 / €116.
Now that the Chinese have done this, the rest of the world is bound to follow suit, not to be outdone. Exhibitions will probably follow.