March 12

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Get Your Very Own 3D Selfie

Posted by on March 12, 2016 in Awesome Stuff To Do, Made In Japan | 6 Comments

3DfigureFeat

The idea of being able to get a Barbie-sized clone of yourself has been an internet tease for so long that I almost walked past the studio displaying these super lifelike figures that had obviously been modeled on real people.

Surely there would be the usual fine print: “GET A PERFECT PINT-SIZED REPLICA OF YOURSELF (for only $100,000,000,000)” or “NOW ANYONE CAN IMMORTALIZE THEIR AWESOMENESS (as long as they’re related to the inventor and willing to wait six months for it to be handpainted by magical elves)”

But WHOA when I stepped up to the counter and asked, it turns out this is a genuine get-scanned-in-five-minutes shop that will deliver a photographically detailed figure within three weeks, for a sum that isn’t usually associated with buying a house!

All you have to do is make an appointment at the Loft store in Shibuya and…

You stand on the X in the middle of a shitload of digital cameras, all precisely angled to capture the polygons needed to build a 3D model.

…stand on the X in the middle of a crankload of digital cameras (102, to be exact), all precisely angled to capture the nooks and crannies needed to build a 3D model.

Everything fires a couple of times, and is whisked to a couple of hella fast desktops for compiling.

Shutters click and lights fire a couple of times, then your bits and pieces are whisked away to a couple of hella fast desktops for compiling.

It takes about 20 minutes for all the bits to assemble, but you can watch as you become more and more detailed on the screen.

It takes about 20 minutes for all the scraps to assemble, but you can watch with Wonka-esque fascination as your figure becomes more and more detailed on the screen.

The artist can rotate you around and zoom in at any time to fix glitches. Regrettably, he could not give me the nose job of my dreams or fix my bad hair day, but surely 3D photoshopping can't be far behind, can it?

The artist can rotate you around and zoom in at any time to fix glitches. (Regrettably, he couldn’t give me the nose job of my dreams or fix my bad hair day, but I guess the whole point of this is that we don’t all end up looking like identical members of idol bands.)

Wow, looking really detailed, about 15 minutes in!

Wow, looking pretty detailed, about 15 minutes in!

And voila! Me and my umbrella!

And voila! Me and my cheapo umbrella!

Now all that's left is to decide how big I want to be...

Now all that’s left is to decide whether I want to be Minifig size or Gundam Perfect Grade…

Okay, I realize you may be one of those rare people who don’t have a burning desire to see yourself immortalized in eternal  plastic, but what about…

Fido!

Fido!

And isn't this better than a baby picture?

Or the cutest baby in the whole world?

Or yourself, dressed as your favorite video game avatar?

Or your Significant Other, dressed as his favorite video game avatar?

Check this out - these things are seriously detailed, and the color is integral to the plastic, not painted on

Check this out – these things are seriously detailed, and the color is integral to the plastic, not painted on

So finally, let’s go bottom line – it’s still not cheap. But which would you rather have – sixty skinny soy lattes or a Mini Me who can battle your 1/25 scale Megatron on a level playing field?

Figure about 100 yen to the dollar (stick in a decimal point two places to the left) and you'll see that you can walk away with a 4" figure for about $300.

Figure about 100 yen to the dollar (stick in a decimal point two places to the left) and you’ll see that you can be the proud owner of a 4″ figure for about $300.

 

Now the only things that stand between you and being the first one on your block to be enshrined in carbonite are a phone call to Shibuya Loft (03-3462-3863) to make an appointment, five minutes in a scanning session, and 2-3 weeks for them to make and ship the figure (and yes, they’ll ship international). More details & pix are on their website.

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Jonelle Patrick writes mysteries set in Tokyo.

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