We collaborate with Fepshop, a Groningen based company that specialize in 3D-printers and FEP film. They make sure we get to use the latest 3D and resin printers and in return we post about the items we create with their machines. Check this page regularly for updates. You are welcome to try out the machines during the open walk-in hours at Fablab Groningen, located at our HQ.

Fepshop and Prototopia – powered by Fablab combine forces. Show us your secret power and win your own personalised action figure!

• Design your own action figure;
• Make a detailed drawing. Think of props, hairdo, costumes etc.;
• Come up with a name for your character;
• Write a short description of your character’s secret power.

E-mail us a clear drawing of your design (paper or digital) and include the above items. Add your name and telephone number so we can reach out to you. The selected winner may bring their costume and other props to our HQ, or we can design the necessary bits and bobs digitally. We’ll make a 3D-scan of you and prepare the 3D-print. The action figure of approximately 20 cm will be printed and painted to match your design. We look forward to seeing your original action figures!

Three expert judges will look at all the entries, each from their own  perspective. You can read their bios below.

Please email your entries to this address ?????? November 7:  actionfigurecontest@fepshop.com

Use the hashtag #actionfigurecontest2022 while tagging Fepshop and Indietopia on your social media stories to show the world your designs!

Don’t hesitate, your city needs you!

Marc Paulusma

Marc (studiomarc.org) is a designer and lab manager at Fablab:

“As a designer I’ve been able to use 3D-scanning and resin printing to create great looking models of my projects. These allow me to quickly try things out with cardboard and foam, while the exact measurements are make the design easier in the production phase. As a test I made a 6cm replica of myself that I now often use as a scale model to accompany the main model, as you can see here. I’m curious to see what designs the participants will come up with, as you can see there are lots of opportunities to use your model in fun ways.”

PS: the mock-up shows Marc’s super power of grinding coffee beans

Rolf Meijer

Rolf is CEO of Citoforma, the mother company of FEPshop. Since its foundation in 2017, Citoforma has received orders from jewelers, dentists, European research institutes and even NASA and Disney.

“In 2010 I started experimenting with 3D-printing technology. At the end of 2016, a contact in Asia asked if we wanted to test a new generation of 3D-printers. I soon discovered the advantages of these machines.

The Netherlands can play a pioneering role in 3D techniques for production companies . I invite Dutch students, educators and governments to respond to this together with us. Hence, why I am excited to see what creativity and passion our applicants put into their entries.”

Harry Arling

Harry is known for his Kosmotroniks, objects assembled from plastic waste. He never uses drawings or plans beforehand, instead the objects evolve during the construction phase. His creativity is celebrated and rewarded worldwide. One of his biggest achievements was winning the ‘Outstanding Artist Award‘ at the Tokyo International Art Fair 2019.

With a creative eye and an interest in 3D-printing, Harry is the right man for the judge job. Introduced to superheroes through his brother’s American Comic books, his favourites were Judge Dreed and Frank Miller. Kosmotroniks and superheroes have in common that they go on great adventures but still get blamed if things go wrong.

We whipped up these designs in Canva, easy peasy! If you’re not good at drawing or Photoshop, Canva is a good alternative. It offers plenty of characters, design elements and other fun bits to create your own Action Figure design. As long as your idea comes across, all types of media are allowed!

How to: set up and calibrate a 3D-printer

Fepshop provided us with several machines for our testing ground Prototopia – powered by Fablab Groningen. To show what these machines are capable of, we asked students of NHL Stenden Leeuwarden to make several instruction videos. This first episode helps you setting up and calibrating a 3D-printer after purchase.

How to: safety measures and cleaning

After watching this second episode of three instruction videos, you’ll know how to take care of yourself and the printer throughout the process. The video was made by a student team of NHL Stenden Leeuwarden.

Phrozen Sonic 4K: printing and aftercare

After calibrating your 3D-printer and following necessary safety measures, it is time for the fun part: printing! In this third and final video, the NHL Stenden students guide you through the process. To get an idea of what items can be made with a 3D-printer, check out this page regularly.

Aloy’s Focus

In the machine room of Prototopia – powered by Fablab we made a 3D-print of an item that players of Horizon Zero Dawn will instantly recognize. The game’s main character Aloy finds this augmented reality device in a ruin site.

Responsive to the user’s gestures and voice, the Focus serves as a multipurpose sensory interface. It allowes Aloy to learn about machines, track movement and patrol routes, and detect important objects. The Focus was on display in our exhibit Arranged Realism – Art in Games at Museum Belvédère, together with artefacts from other games.

US Robotics Router

Based on Simon Stålenhag‘s book Things from the Flood, we 3D printed and painted this retro US Robotics Router for the Arranged Realism exhibit. For the accompanying book, Simon also agreed to do an interview with us and he was great to talk to! We recommend getting your hands on his books for their images and stories depicting sci-fi phenomena in Scandinavian and American landscapes. In 2020, his book Tales from the Loop was adapted into a television series for Amazon Prime.

Although our exhibit focused on art in games, we really wanted to include some of the great artworks of Stålenhag. This item was a great addition to a display cabinet with game artefacts, such as a Pip-Boy from Fallout and a skull based on Cyberpunk 2077.