Imagine putting together your very own HO scale plastic model of the Mad Tea Party attraction or Sleeping Beauty Castle, complete with surrounding foliage. Sounds pretty sweet, huh? Granted, not everyone enjoys or even has the patience to assemble and paint a plastic model. But, boy, wouldn’t it be neat to start building your own Disneyland or Magic Kingdom right at home? And, that’s only one version of the model kits.

Aside from the basic kit, there would be an Imagineering edition that included lights, motorized movement, and/or sound. Have I piqued your interest yet? So, now you have a Mad Tea Party that spins and lights up! There would even be a certificate of authentication (signed by Tony Baxter?) certifying that details are accurate and conform to Disney standards.

Production of the models would have been handled by Faller, a German company that has been producing high-quality scale models (yes, even with lights, sound, and animation) for decades. They even have a car system where motorized vehicles follow underground wires. Imagine having Main Street vehicles driving themselves around!

Sadly, the deal never went through for whatever reason. Maybe the economy? These wouldn’t have been cheap kits.

Designed by award-winning designer Karim Rashid, the Slice cutter is sleek and stylish; it’s a simple design for a simple tool. It feels good in the hand, and has a weighted end both for balance and for adding some substance to an otherwise light-as-a-feather tool.

The ceramic blade is no thicker than a regular X-acto blade, and cuts almost as well. It’s designed for cutting thin media like printing paper and thin cardstock. Regular craft blades can cut much thicker materials (they have longer blades). The cuts, compared to metal blades, are identical. They cut through cleanly. But, because of the lack of a razor-sharp blade, the Slice is not as fast to cut with. It also makes a decent scoring tool if you use very little pressure. I personally use my X-acto blade to score (saves time).

Cutting accurately is an issue. Because the blade is so short, the holder obscures the cutting path. I found myself cocking my head to be able to see where the blade is in order to control it. The unnatural viewing angle slowed cutting time even further. It also seemed to pull to the right a tad, but I don’t know if that’s due the blade or my odd viewing angle.

“Safer than craft knives.” Yes, very true! But, the tip is still pretty sharp. It’s not a toy, but it’s safe for kids. The package recommends kids six years and older.

“Stays sharp, never rusts.” I don’t know about staying sharp (time will tell), but it can break if you apply excessive pressure and are using a hard cutting surface. I used a self-healing cutting mat, as I always use. And, it definitely will not rust since it is ceramic.

“Ideal for intricate shapes.” Not really. I found myself applying a little more pressure to cut all of the way through printing paper versus using a metal blade. The force of the ceramic blade pulling on the paper tends to tear apart intricate shapes. Stick to a sharp, new metal blade for that.

One nice thing that I discovered is located on the back of the box: “A portion of your purchase price is donated to fund Autism research.” It’s nice to know that I’m helping out a worthy cause. Sadly, this text is in very tiny print; I wish they had made this text much more prominent.

All-in-all, it’s a good cutting tool almost equal to a metal blade, although it’s more suited for general crafting than for detailed work. Safety-minded adults and teachers can feel better about letting youngsters use the Slice. But, it does have a sharp tip that will cut flesh if enough force is applied, so supervision is always a good idea.

Roman Detyna’s version, pictured here, is very beautiful and nicely detailed. But, it is aimed at more experienced model builders. The Maritime Museum of San Diego wants to reach a broader audience, aiming for 4th-graders and everyone new to paper models.

Both models will be available for free from the museum’s website. My simple version is expected to be completed by mid/late May, and will also be available for download from Nava Designs. If you’re interested in following my model progress, I may post some images on my Twitter feed since the museum has given me free range to post almost whatever I like.

A new look, and a new logo. Yup, another Nava Designs logo in my quest to find something permanent. I think this one will stick, because its’ simple, memorable, and very personal. It both looks good and is recognizable in small scale, so it can be used on many different sizes of materials. The ‘N’ is my own handwriting, so it’s instantly far more personal than anything that I’ve done before. Sometimes simple can be hard to design.

I like Etsy. I really do. But, it has its problems. There are some very basic features that many Etsy users (including myself) believe should have been implemented from the start—or at least added early on. They’ve been requested for years, but the Etsy administrators have shown no desire to add them, let alone provide any type of response. It’s like shouting to a locked door, but you’re not sure if there’s anyone on the other side listening. I posted about my wishlist of features on Etsy’s forums, which stirred up quite a commotion for a day or two.

I like Etsy. I really do. But, it’s time to say goodbye. Don’t get me wrong; I’m keeping my Etsy account, which is needed to buy things there. And, there are definitely things there that have caught my eye. But, I decided to bring the Nava Designs Store back home, featuring a superior cart system. And, I don’t have to pay all of those Etsy fees ($.20 to post each number of items, and 3% of the sale). I also have a better postage calculator than I did before, so shipping will not be so expensive as last time.

Best of all, no account signup is required! You can still shop as a guest, with payments still being processed through PayPal (no PayPal account required). Etsy requires an account. I don’t like having to sign up for accounts whenever I want to buy from an online store, especially if I’m buying from them only once.

It may seem like I’ve been pushing the store a lot lately . . . and that would be true. I’ve been working on a lot of exciting things, and I just can’t wait to share them. The new bookplate debut is just the tip of the iceberg. Other designs are coming, and there are some mystery items that will coordinate with those designs.

There are also new social buttons on Nava Designs, which I’ve been upgrading as well. I’ve included the most obvious buttons, but if there are others that you think I should include, contact me.

I started off working on a package designs for a client who will be pitching an oh-so-cool toy to Disney soon. What started out as a series of 2-D box-fronts quickly turned into full-blown CG renders (at no request of the client, mind you). And, that led to to teaching myself how to texture objects in Blender. To escalate matters, there were no good high-res images of the existing toy that I could use on the packaging art, so I took it upon myself to both design and render that in 3-D, too! It took two solid weeks of work with no days off to get everything learned and rendered. In the end, it was worth the effort and newly-gained knowledge.

Next, I shifted my focus to working on Nava Designs. There’s a new Etsy store, and a Twitter feed. In the coming weeks (hopefully), I will be adding some unique items to the store. It’s been exhausting, but the items are fun, and the artwork is way cool!