FAQs

Shapeways handles everything from pricing, order management, 3D printing, shipping, taxes, and billing. This site simply acts as a more powerful and attractive catalog to the the RAF products on Shapeways.

Full Color Nylon 12 (MJF) makes a less expensive alternative, with a rougher, matte surface and less deep blacks. The detail and separation of the colors is excellent.

High-Definition Full Color (HDFC) has a smoother, satiny surface and deeper colors, especially black. “Matte HDFC” choice means the prints are sprayed with a matte coating in the factory, and the difference with the coating is subtle.

Both materials form a stiff plastic model with just a little give. Neither material is brittle and the models are quite robust, though I wouldn’t go dropping them from a great height.

You can find unofficial plane cards on the pages here or on the Wings of Linen WIKI. There are stands, pegs, and various mounting systems available from third-party vendors. For instance, check out Rival Sky Games for custom, laser-etched bases. Maneuver cards remain a copyrighted property of Ares Games, but there are friendly people on the Wings of War Aerodrome who can get you print-it-yourself card decks in various formats.

If a model arrives broken, take a picture of it and send the picture and order details to support@shapeways.com. Shapeways is very good about getting reprints out to customers.

As for slight warping, sometimes the models will arrive with some bending of the parts. For instance, a wing that is supposed to be straight will be bent somewhat downward. This may be an artifact of the printing process, but more frequently the models have been packed too tightly for shipping.

First take a picture of the model so that — should the following process fail — you have something you can send to Shapeways.

Slight warping can usually be fixed by heating up the model in hot water or with a blow dryer. (Sometimes even hot tap water will do the job!) Of course, please take precautions such as wearing gloves and using tools when attempting this. I would guess you are aiming for something between 50°C/120°F and 60°C/140°F. Start with cooler water and heat it further if the model is not pliable enough. Be sure not to exceed the actual melting point of the plastic, which is 80°C/176°F for Versatile Plastic. (I don’t know the melting point of full-color plastic.) You can heat up water in a microwave or oven or on the stove and use a candy or meat thermometer to measure its temperature.

Sometimes the plane will straighten out on its own once it is heated; sometimes you need to apply some gentle pressure. (Again, please use precautions to avoid burns such as using tweezers, oven mitts, or gloves.)

Full-color miniatures from Reduced Aircraft Factory (RAF) come with a built-in mounting peg compatible with Wings of Glory stands. The peg is designed for a fairly tight fit; you can file it down slightly if you prefer a looser fit. If you have your own mounting system, you can cut off that peg with a hobby razor saw.

RAF also offers paintable, single-color plastic miniatures on Shapeways. Paintable miniatures from RAF do not come with a peg, though sets of pegs are available from the RAF store on Shapeways. You can even download the peg design and print them yourself if you have access to a 3D printer.

Wings of Glory is the most popular WWI aero game currently, but these miniatures have also been used with Blue Max/Canvas Eagles, Aerodrome, and others.

It varies from Aeronaut books, Windsock Datafiles, Wingnut Wings instructions, Osprey Aircraft of the Aces series, Osprey Aviation Elite Unit series, Flying Machines Press books, internet sources, and others. Color-matching is done using the Methuen Handbook of Color and a Nix bluetooth color sensor.

While I realize the second-hand prices of some of the out-of-print Ares models is sky-high, it is RAF policy to avoid repeating a model that is already in the Ares catalog. After all, it was Nexus and then Ares that did all the work to bring Wings of Glory to our hobby shops and gaming tables. Perhaps that will change someday if Ares drops the line altogether.

Alas, my hands are full with World War I! There are several WWI planes I’d still like to cover as paintable models, and there’s a much longer list of paint schemes and planes to cover as full-color models. Covering WWII would also mean buying another small library of reference books.