Malden Man Innovates With 3D Bean's Replica Figures

Image: 3D Bean Kickstarter video

Not one to let an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign hold him back, Malden’s Yifei Zhang told the Boston Globe that he plans to start operating a 3D Bean studio in the South End. Such a move would provide the district with easier access to his hyper-realistic, 3D-printed figurines.

The 28-year-old Northeastern grad spent much of 2014 perfecting the art of creating miniature sandstone replicas of human and animal subjects. This 3D printing process requires the use of 90 cameras, says the Globe.

Zhang guesses these small statues - ranging in price from $319 to $1,299 - may appeal to customers hoping to immortalize a sentimental moment with something more unique than a photograph.

“This product is very similar to a photo. It saves a moment in time and that is its value,” Zhang told the source.

Malden Mayor Gary Christenson counts himself among 3D Bean’s happy customers. He told the Globe that he gave his mother and sister miniature replicas of himself as holiday gifts.

“As mayor, I don’t see my family as much as I would like,” he said, in an apparently tongue-in-cheek manner. “So I presented the gifts as a way for them to never lose touch with me.”

Read the original article by Mark Micheli here.