Genocide Free Millennium Items - Tumblr Posts
Painting up some millennium items~
EDIT: Head over here to get some for yourself~
They may or may not also come in doll size.
Painting up some millennium items~
3D Printed Millennium Items & How to get one
Okay, so I’ll fess up- my first attempt at a Millennium Ring ended up with it disintegrating in the parking lot of the con and starting what would probably be called “The Mystery of the Golden Chili Peppers”.
So I decided to put my engineering education to good use and make a 3D model! And I took forever at doing this because every detail needed to be exactly perfect and identical to canon. One prototype later and I have my final Millennium Ring model ready to go~!
Pictures and 3D-printed Millennium Item Buying Guide under the cut!
Anyways, where can you buy these suckers?
Right here!
Unfortunately these will not be gold and shiny and ready to wear. They’ll arrive in white plastic after about 2-3 weeks, and you can then paint them with metallic gold spray paint at your leisure.
(Pro tip: internet research indicates that the shiniest shine can be achieved by priming with plastic primer, coating in glossy black paint, and then spraying the gold on top. For the smaller, doll-size versions, too many layers of paint will obscure the details, so just a coat of gold may be better.)
Buying Guide
Shapeways is the 3D printing service where you can get these models. This service is slow, but cheap. Shipping is a flat rate of $6.50 in the U.S., so it’s better to order together with friends to save on shipping since shipping, for example, a doll-size Rod and 3 full-size Rods would be the same.
If you need the prop fast, I can get one to you faster by using a different service. Next day delivery is actually possible. Email me at vaguelygenius (at) live (dot) com and we can work out the details. Be aware that it’s going to cost more, and in some cases, way more.
Inspect the prop from every angle once it arrives. If the prop arrives broken, immediately email Shapeways customer support and they’ll ship a replacement to you.
If I have never bought the model for myself, I cannot be 100% sure it won’t have any issues. Each product description will say whether or not I have actually gotten the model. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do if the prop arrives correctly printed but there was a flaw in the actual file.
Millennium Ring: First model I made! Version 2.0 is ready to go and can be bought here. A hollowed out version that is a little cheaper can be found here. It shouldn’t be significantly weaker because only the strong middle piece is hollow- the pointers and parts the pointers hang off of are not. A cute, doll-size/pendant-size version can be bought here. Fair warning: the small version is very fragile, particularly at the pointer loops.
Millennium Eye: This Eye is the same size as a human eyeball (~1 inch in diameter), so it’s smaller than the anime version because I figured it might look a little silly to hold a baseball-sized Eye up to your face and claim it fits in your eye socket. I will probably make a wearable version later on.
Millennium Puzzle: At this point, every size version of the Puzzle has printed successfully, including a small, charm/doll-sized version! There are two differently-sized models for this one, one that will be proportional to a human being of average size as it it to Yugi (aka. huge) and one that is actually life-size. The proportional model is huge, which is why it’s expensive: try holding up a ruler to your chest and measuring out 15cm/5.9 inches. That’s the width of one side of the puzzle!
Millennium Rod: This full-size Millennium Rod is perfect for cosplay! You'll only need some super glue and spray paint to be ready to mind control!
Due to size limitations, you’ll need just two easy applications of super glue. Yes, it includes the hidden blade, though the axe-like bits seem more dangerous to me!
Millennium Necklace: Ready to see the future? Get yourself a Millennium Necklace here! There are four rings on the back that can be used to attach the string/chain to hold it around your neck!
Millennium Keys: You can get the Millennium Key here if you’re ready to check out people’s soul rooms! The Key is surprisingly huge, so a little bit of superglue is required.
Millennium Scales: The Scales are available here~! These Scales can actually function as scales, and swing freely! The ridiculous size of them means that these are the most expensive and require the most assembly. )8
I’m still trying to figure out the best way to hang the plates, since 3D-printing the wires would increase the size and would make it too big to be polished. If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears!
A miniature desktop version of the Millennium Scales is also available!
Marik Ishtar Earrings/Ishizu Ishtar pendants: I’ve printed these babies out in both plastic and stainless steel plated with gold. The gold plating looks really nice, though be warned that getting it in “glossy” will unfortunately not prevent the print lines from showing, so it won’t be ultra-shiny and perfect (though it will be pretty damn shiny). To get the perfect golden shine, you’d probably have to buy them in gold-plated brass, which is going to be significantly more expensive. Note that Ishizu wears four of these, two on her collar and two around her waist.
Painting Guide: Available here!
If you want a variation of any of these models, contact me at vaguelygenius (at) live (dot) com.
Different sizes are easy to arrange, but even more complex changes are possible!
AU Steampunk design? Millennium Eye that you can put an LED in? Items whose “eyes” can be shifted around will via magnet? Any other variation off the model? Contact me. It may be easier to arrange than you might think.
If you have any questions, please ask! I’m happy to help~!
For updates, track “#genocide free millennium items” and go to http://vaguelygenius.tumblr.com/tagged/genocide-free-millennium-items to see all my posts on the matter~
If you don't mind me asking, for your version of the items did you choose the polished or unpolished plastic? I'm just not sure which would work better, so I thought I'd ask.
Good question, I should have mentioned that! I actually got polished plastic for all of the models I bought myself, though I think with the doll-size/pendant models it might actually be a good idea to try unpolished plastic to avoid some of the frailty. Maybe next time I get a batch of models I’ll buy both versions and compare, though my wallet situation is not so super right now. ):
I know, it really blows. It's hollowed out as much as possible without risking structural weakness, it's just hella, hella big. Seriously, hold up a ruler to your chest and measure out 15 cm/5.9 inches. That's one side of the puzzle, and the top is square.
Okay, so I’ll fess up- my first attempt at a Millennium Ring ended up with it disintegrating in the parking lot of the con and starting what would probably be called “The Mystery of the Golden Chili Peppers”.
So I decided to put my engineering education to good use and make a…
If you order today, the site says it should arrive by January 31st, so if you order soon, one will definitely arrive. I recommend the extra time in the rare occasion that it arrives broken, as an additional safety measure. It would mega suck to be waiting for a prop on which your whole cosplay depends and it arrives broken. Though since it's made of plastic, you can superglue any pieces together while you wait on the replacement.
Painting up some millennium items~
Okay, so I’ll fess up- my first attempt at a Millennium Ring ended up with it disintegrating in the parking lot of the con and starting what would probably be called “The Mystery of the Golden Chili Peppers”.
So I decided to put my engineering education to good use and make a 3D model! And I took…
Premiered my Millennium Ring at #animatemiami ! Get your own Millennium Item by checking out my post: http://vaguelygenius.tumblr.com/post/73164866113/3d-printed-millennium-items-how-to-get-one
Ah, thank you so much! <3 Don't worry about asking me questions, I love answering them~
As for how to design a 3D model, it really depends on what you're trying to print! I'm a mechanical engineer by training, so I've been taught to use SolidWorks. This program is oriented towards making models of machines and complex assemblies with very precise measurements for stress analysis, rapid-prototyping and eventual mass-production.
Solidworks is probably the most user-friendly software of its kind. It is very good at allowing me to make accurately sized props, and the Millennium Items are geometric enough that it isn't much trouble to model them on the software at all.
The most challenging parts of the model are actually the curvy bits that go around the iris on each model! That's because SolidWorks isn't good at working with organic, flowy and curvy shapes since it's typically used for production rather than art pieces.
This means that if you're thinking of making character models or swoopy, curled art pieces, then you're much better off using a different program. At this point, I can't be of too much service, since this isn't my area of expertise, but I have heard good things about Blender, a free, open-source 3D-modelling and sculpting program.
The biggest downside to SolidWorks, besides its trouble handling very organic geometries, is its pricetag. It costs $90 a year for a limited student license, which doesn't have all the features of a full version of the software.
Being an engineering student gives me access to the software through my university, but if engineering is not your major, you might have to look into alternative (preferably free/open-source) software. Whichever software you choose, there are probably a ton of free tutorials online to get you started modelling right away~
I hope this was helpful!
How to paint your 3D-printed Millennium Items (and maybe non-3D printed ones if you like)
This is a little (hopefully) informative post about how I painted my 3D-printed Millennium Items~!
I did a little research beforehand and what I found most commonly recommended was to do a coat of plastic primer, then glossy black (the chemicals that make the paint glossy force the paint to make a nice smooth surface, which is what is critical for getting a metallic gold look rather than a sparkly gold look), and then the metallic gold.
The Ring looks pretty sick in black too though, tbh.
There's no appreciable difference between the one that had the primer and the one that didn't, so I wouldn't bother. Note that these models are the White, Flexible and Strong Polished kind, I don't know how well this process would work on an unpolished piece.
Notice that these seem more glittery than actually metallic. They just have a coat of metallic gold. I didn't want to risk giving them too many coats of paint and accidentally filling in the tiny details.
I tried sealing one of my Millennium Eyes with glossy sealant, and it really dulled the paint, so I ended up painting over it. Some people swear by epoxy glaze, though I didn't have the budget to give it a try (plus I didn't want to risk getting the Ring's pointers stuck).
So, these are the paints I used: Rust-oleum Metallic Finish Spray (in Gold) Rust-oleum Ultra Cover x2 Glossy Black (it might be either the Painter's Touch brand or the American Accents brand, but definitely has to have the Ultra Cover x2 Glossy bit)
I got them at the local Walmart Supercenter. If there aren't any Walmart Supercenters in your area, Home Depot and other hardware/home repair and painting stores should have it. If you can't find these particular brands, then try looking under the Krylon brand, those were also highly recommended. I bought a can of the Krylon gold with the Rustoleum, though I forgot to do a comparison painting. Either should do the trick though!
Once you have your paint, give the item a coat of primer (if you want to), then a coat of the glossy black paint, then two coats of the metallic gold. Before painting, check the can to see how much time you'll need to wait between coatings, and follow it religiously! The best thing would be to only give it a coat of paint per day, to make sure everything is 100% dry.
If you're painting a tiny, doll-sized item and you're sure you can give it very thin coats, then try a coat of glossy black and one of gold. If you're not that confident or it has moving parts, like the Ring, one coat of gold should be fine, though you'll get the more of the glittery look.
Protips: The Eye is best painted by slipping a thin stick through the pupil so it is suspended like a lollipop. Hang the Ring on a line so you can spray from every angle- air movement should keep the pointers from sticking together, and if it doesn't, jingle the line a little periodically.
If you're a total newbie to spray-painting (like me), here are some helpful tips and a pair of tutorials~!
Hopefully, this is helpful, though I'm curious: do any cosplay veterans know of better ways to get a nice metallic sheen onto a prop?
If the Millennium Puzzle grants the insane amount of good luck necessary to draw precisely the right card needed at the exact moment of dramatic climax where it will be most effective, how much good luck should a life-size replica grant me when fighting the odds while playing the lottery? And will it grant me more luck once painted? Stay tuned for a full report on the luck-generating properties of 3D-printed Millennium Items!
I recently finished 3D-modeling all of the Millennium Items, so I celebrated by making a nice render!
To get your own IRL Millennium Item (3D-printed and ultra-accurate) for cosplay or for your Yu-gi-oh! collection, check out this post~!
I haven't quite gathered all seven Millennium Items yet, but I've got five down, one in the mail, and one in the works!
These are all 3D-printed models of my own design, and they're actually all available for sale at my Shapeways shop!
Check out all the details and how to get a nice gold shine on them at my Millennium Items page~
BONUS: The Millennium Items page includes a fully rotatable 3D model viewer, so you can see before you buy AND you can draw the Millennium Items from any crazy angle you desire! (Plus they're really glittery and shiny and I am very pleased by the effect, oooooh)
I 3D-printed the first prototype of the Millennium Ring back in early 2013, so collecting the Items has taken me around two years. Not bad at all!
Find out more at my Millennium Items page, where you can see cool rotatable 3D models and find out how to paint your own Items!
You can always buy your own Millennium Items at my Shapeways shop, and they'll ship it to you even if you live in Antartica! (8
Ahhh, they look gorgeous! You did a great job painting the Rings! I’m glad you like them! (8
Painting the Millennium items
Last week I got my order from Shapeways. I started painting the items a day later. Here are some phot’s of how they were when I got them, how I painted them and the finished results.
I haven’t made photo’s of the mini millennium puzzles yet, I’ll get to that later on this week. Overal I’m happy with how everything turned out, and am glad I choose to handpaint them.
For anyone who’s interested, I got these lovely items from Shapeways, from a seller named vaguelygenius. Who took the time to model the items in a 3d program and let them be printed. How cool is that?
I'm a little late, but it's still technically Valentine's Day for a few more minutes! I hope you had a great one!
Check out all of my 3D-printed Millennium Items here~
I made a nice render of the Millennium Items available on my Redbubble shop, so that means you can have Millennium Items on your t-shirt, leggings, pillows, phone, etc!
And of course, you can always get physical Millennium Items by getting 3D prints at my Shapeways Shop~!
Or you can learn more about them first by checking out my Tumblr post~
Oh my various heathen gods. Your Millennium Items. :O Can I just trade a kidney for a set? XD. Seriously, incredible work. You really brought them to life, without murdering 99 people in a black magic ritual and melting their bodies into gold.
Ahh, thank you, Anon! Unfortunately, I cannot currently accept organs as payment. ):
I work hard to make only certified cruelty-free 3D-printed props and I’m glad you appreciate my efforts!
#genocide free millennium items because you shouldn’t have to slaughter a village for some nice bling.
That’s not an Easter egg!
*acts like an innocent bunny*