Neomek Goes Mad Scientist this Halloween with 3D Printed Dr. Finkelstein Costume

The creative folks at Neomek decided it was time to cut loose in the lab and put the 3D printers to work for some All Hallows’ Eve mischief.  As Tim Burton has said regarding Halloween creations, they give you “some sort of texture all of a sudden that wasn’t there before.” I think this quote is quite applicable to Neomek’s venture into this year’s cosplay.

Jim Clark and the crew at Neomek decided to get creative (and creeeeeeepy!) with cosplay Burton-esque style. Neomek, with offices in both Pennsylvia and Illinois, provides prototyping, 3D scanning, engineering, product development, and low-volume manufacturing. They decided to take a short break from the more serious work, and put their machinery to the task of having some fun for the holiday, using 3D scanning, digital sculpting, 3D printing—and a real live human boy (Clark’s son) as a ‘specimen’ for modeling purposes!

Dr. Finkelstein, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Holding true to their claim that they ‘turn ideas into reality’ and ‘produce amazingly realistic prototypes,’ Jim Clark and Neomek show off their mad (buahahaaa!) skills as they get into the dark Burton Halloween spirit. What better 3D printing project than a duckbilled mad scientist? Drawing from the inspiration of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Neomek produces a Dr. Finkelstein costume.

They take us into Tim Burton’s creepy dreamworld with absolutely one of the eeriest looking characters (even if he is rather goofy in the movie), with an oversized, hinged head, long, frail limbs, seated in an austere black metal wheelchair. The alabaster doctor looks like a combination between a mad scientist and escaped mental patient. It’s a true testament to children’s enthusiasm and spirit of Halloween that a small child would want anything to do with this scary getup–it truly is what nightmares are made of–but Clark’s son is obviously enthused and patient, participating in the 3D scanning and the fittings, as well as the real modeling of the costume.

3D printed Dr. Finkelstein

The fact that Dr. Finkelsteins head is so much larger than the rest of his body makes it an attractive 3D printing project, as that is the central focus to the costume. With the child ‘modeling’ for the 3D scanning, Neomek technicians scanned his shape. Once the scanned data was merged and cleaned, they used digital sculpting and added mechanical features such as the creepy Frankenstein-esque bolts in the top of his skull, and spectacles. The 3D prototype parts were printed, and the model was fitted, with makeup following. The end product is very impressive, as is the fortitude of Clark’s son–my daughter would have been shrieking with fright at the sight of such a monster, and it is realistic enough to creep me out as well.

3D printed Finkelstein, front view

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, a 1993 American stop motion musical fantasy film was created from Burton’s namesake dark holiday poem with dark, ethereal illustrations penned in his inimitable style. It is a wonderful inspiration for this type of Halloween project as the movie is such a complex work of art, and what a challenge to re-create a part of it. It’s important to note that Burton’s work has recently been associated with 3D printing with some of his later work like Coraline (2009), which began to incorporate 3D technology into the special effects.

This takes the creation of Frankenstein or Finkelstein to a whole new modern level…from the mad scientist’s lab and the movie studios–into the world of 3D scanning and printing from Neomek to you. Trick or treat!

NeoMek, founded in 1995, has offices in Illinois and Pennsylvania. They provide:

• 3D scanning services
• Part inspection services
• Engineering services
• Product development services
• Low-Volume manufacturing services
• 3D scanner and software sales

Over twenty years, Neomek has earned the title of “The Preferred Service Provider” for hundreds of the world’s leading product development firms by providing excellent support and manufacturing services.

Do you have plans for 3D printing a creepy Halloween costume, or maybe decorations for a party? Tell us about it in the 3D printed Finkelstein forum thread at 3DPB.com. Check out the video below showing the scanning process.