Have you ever wanted to look over an entire city from the comfort of your own desk? Do you have a sentimental relationship with the city of Tokyo? If you answered "yes" to these questions, iJet Inc, a 3D print solutions company, along with DMM.com Ltd, have launched a Kickstarter that might be for you.
One Hundred Tokyo is a project aiming to reproduce Tokyo’s urban landscape in the form of one hundred ten by ten centimeter 3D printed models. All of the data and equipment needed to gather visual information of the city has been provided by ZENRIN Co Ltd, who traveled around the landscape in specialized vehicles. The 3D models created by this process are then printed on 3DSystems printers, using gypsum powder that is coated in a special resin in order to harden, and then coated once again in resin paint to achieve the full-color skyline.
The tiny models, at an estimated scale of 1:12500, can be placed together as a set of one hundred, displaying all the quarters of Japan’s capital city, or bought separately if you have a soft spot for a specific district. Backing the Kickstarter with any amount above $85 will guarantee you a miniature model to place upon your desk--or to stick to your refrigerator, as the backs of the models are magnetic.
iJet Inc., based in Minato-ku, Tokyo, is aiming to make 3D printing more accessible to the general public, using their experience with 3D printing, scanning and data processing. One Hundred Tokyo is the materialization of their expertise, projecting their local architectural environment to a global scale – in miniature.