Do we need another Warren Buffett Figurine?
I found the below selection of Warren Buffett collectibles were available in the market (circa Oct 2023).
When I saw that, I was convinced that I could create a more fun, stylised, unique Buffett figurine and make it educational by bringing to life his ‘Big Fat Pitch’ philosophy.
I started this project in October 2023. Little did I know how hard it is to create something from scratch!
3D Modelling
I am not an artist, hence I couldn’t draw anything out. I hired an artist who had a challenging task of converting my words and my imagination into a 3D model. We needed multiple iterations and experimentation, but the artist did a phenomenal job of converting my imagination into a 3D drawing.
3D Printing
I hired a 3D printing expert to help me with the technical aspects of 3D printing. I quickly found out that this is a super technical space. 3D printing is not as easy as ‘printing’ sounds. This was a whole new world for me to navigate. In particular we faced the following challenges:
- Mesh density was too high
- The glasses and bat broke after it was printed. We had to remove the glasses and strengthen the walls of the bat
- This came as a surprise, but most 3D models are hand-painted, since full color 3D printing is extremely expensive and hence not commonly used
- We had to re-configure our 3D model to reduce printing costs
Prototyping
Finding a print supplier was challenging too, since very few suppliers have full color printing capabilities. Coloring by hand is still the dominant way of making full color figurines. We made 10+ prototypes using different materials, suppliers and colours.
Packaging
This might sound like a trivial item, but I was a obsessed about having the best packaging. I wanted the collectible to be packaged in a premium way, so that it feels precious. I found that a box with a magnetic lid and custom made foam inserts were the perfect way to pack this collectible.
