In October of last year, 3D Babies wanted to prove that Japan wasn’t the only country producing creepy 1:1 scale 3D printed fetuses. It needed help in its quest though and took to Indiegogo to raise $15,000. It only managed to bring in $1,225, however, and all was thought lost.
While a failed Indiegogo campaign may spell death for many startups, 3D Babies’ retail Web site is still live. The company appears to still be accepting orders for all three of its models – the $600 full size fetus, the $400 halfsize fetus and the $200 mini fetus.
Interestingly enough, the company is also offering 3D printed celebrity babies. For $250, you can obtain a mini 3D printed North West – the child of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. I thought it couldn’t get creepier than 3D printing your own fetus, but buying a 3D print of somebody else’s child is certainly something else.
While it certainly looks like 3D Babies is in business, the company hasn’t made any updates to its site since the beginning of its Indiegogo campaign. It’s YouTube channel has also gone private. We’ve reached out to the company to find out if it’s still accepting orders or if the Web site was built prematurely on the hopes of 3D Babies succeeding in its crowdfunding campaign.
If 3D Babies is in business, it’s the only company of its kind in North America. Regardless of your feelings on the creepy factor of buying a 3D printed celebrity baby, 3D Babies is the kind of business that’s only possible through the proliferation of 3D printing. It would be a shame for the idea to die out before it has a chance to prove itself.
UPDATE: 3D Babies let us know over the weekend that they are still in business. The failed Indiegogo campaign only means that they couldn’t afford to buy their own 3D printer. They will still accept orders and design the 3D printed babies themselves, but they outsource the actual printing to a third party for now.
