Fun and Interesting thread Lotus123,
The pessimists will want to kill it. Until then we can have some fun. I've also spent some time on this and feel it is doable - at some point. Cost of technology curves always bend downward in the long run with scale effect so that doesn't worry me. But your example is abstract.
To bridge the gulf between theory and reality I'll share more practical examples of model genres that
already make MONEY by exploiting the low cost of digital distribution:
Paper models
https://www.fiddlersgreen.net/
I've built a few architectural models (cathedrals) from printed paper. It turns out paper is an excellent material for constructing buildings and modern warships because the real ones are hand fabricated from sheet goods also. The benefit of using paper is that it can be printed on a common inkjet from a digital file downloaded from the internet.
Bonus: With access to the digital file, builders can improve it by enhancing accuracy, improving colors, adding detail. It potentially harvests great untapped masses of individuals to add collective value to the product. All these small incremental changes - properly edited by a gatekeeper - can result in a much more valuable intellectual property (
free to the owner of the property). Valve has exploited this user feedback in the gaming world. Anybody heard of Half-Life?
R/C airplane plans are also available digitally. Public domain plans are available here
http://myunclewilliestoo.com/
For those who are unfamiliar, balsa wood is cut from sticks and sheets and pinned to the outline of the plan. These plans are now digitized and distributed by file on the internet too. With access to the file, the builder can shrink or enlarge the plan to meet his budget and other considerations (like the size of his car). Larger plans are emailed to Kinko's for printing on a 36" plotter. Unfortunately this business has developed a low reputation due to
copyright infringement. There is a lesson to learn here.
The next stage of this R/C plan business, I feel, would be to include a laser cutter ready file of all the unique balsa parts that could be emailed to your local cutter/engraving shop. Conceivably, one could gather all the ingredients for the R/C airplane kit but the intellectual design local: printer, engraver, local hobby shop.
Bonus: Distributing the plan in common cad file format would also allow amateur designers to tinker with changes without starting with a blank sheet. User generated corrections and mod's could add value to the property as in the paper model case above. (Jano: TurboCAD v14 is $23 at Amazon. It includes 3D surface rendering ability and comes with an 850 page manual as a "starting guide". I highly recommend it.)
Edit: If someone could come up with a paper model style of construction for R/C planes that eliminates balsa wood that would really be huge! The whole plane could be printed on your inkjet and sprayed with fuelproof sealer.
Digital distribution also solves a huge manufacturers dilemma in the internet age. Manufacturers have historically made their profit from efficiency. (They make many, many copies of the exact same thing.) In the internet era, making a large production run of something causes the street price to plunge because suddenly there are dozens of distributors hawking the exact same thing right next door to one another and can only compete with price. I call it the "Tijuanna effect". Large firms with deep pockets can warehouse their run allowing it to trickle out but.... Digital eliminates the distribution flood by only producing
on demand.
In summary, this is definately doable. From my experience with other forms currently in their infancy, intellectual property rights is a problem. The operating costs are lower and act as the primary motivation for the entrepreneur. I've bored people enough. I'll let someone else talk now.
