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We love it when people who create with Shapeways become successful. And sometimes just how big that success can be blows us away. Case in point: Mike St. Martin, creator of the brand-new board game PlingPong. In just about a year, he’s gone from 3D printing the prototypes of his game on Shapeways to signing a publishing deal with one of the biggest toy companies in the country. PlingPong is a doorbuster at Target for 2017’s Black Friday. In the obvious whirlwind that he and his wife Amy’s lives have become because of this success, we took some time to sit down with him and talk about just how it feels to become an overnight sensation.

With the Valve Design Contest, our creators showed the world what magic is possible when 3D printing meets a partnership with one of the biggest video game publishers on the planet. SO many of you stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park. However, there can be only one winner, and that was James Kincaid. His Team Fortress® 2 Ring was not only beautiful. In one piece, he took the ideals of teamwork and cooperation that are so essential to playing the game well and made them into a reality. When I caught up with him, he talked to me at length about winning the contest, his passion for design, the nature of the universe and its infinite possibilities… You know, normal interview stuff.

Bringing you the best of our community is our raison d’etre here at Shapeways Magazine. And with the new Shapeways + Valve partnership, we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing some creators with a love of both video games and 3D printing (obviously, two of our favorite things). To kick off the Valve Visionaries series, we sat down with Bilal Majeed Khan of Miniature Den, a storefront with almost fifty models, over half of which are based on Valve properties. His sculptures are second to none, looking like they’ve just come straight from the game itself. They’re absolutely beautiful, and we’re obsessed with this Sniper that patrols our office. So, enjoy the interview, and enjoy the sculptures — this is the start of a beautiful thing.

RC cars and modifications are a huge part of the Shapeways community, and people like Mike, a guy who calls normal-size cars “1:1 vehicles,” are what keeps it vital and relevant. This truck is a great example of just what we can do, not only as a 3D printing community, but as creative people and passionate fans trying to make the world a little cooler. Emphasis on little… in a big way.

For Eduardo Ortiz, 1/24 scale model cars have been an obsession for years. The ability to take model kits and transform them into something truly unique has garnered him over 4,000 followers on Instagram, where he shares all of his creations. We caught up with Eduardo to talk about his passion, how he makes it happen, and how Shapeways — and 3D printing in general — are taking his passion to the next level.