the usual newb questions

hi,

i have a few questions i couldnt quite answer myself by reading other forum posts.
there is already quite an amount of information about the reprap project in the net, but i couldn't find very much "realistic stuff". most bloggers seem to think that you can just buy some parts for about 500euro and then print anything from lego to warcraft models with it. so here are a few questions somebody who has already build and used a reprap might be able to answer:

1. i can solder a bit, repair computer/notebook stuff but im far from being an expert in electronics or whatever. and i dont have much tools.
-> is this enough skill to assemble a v3 kit from bitsforbytes? if so, how like do you think will it take?

2. i want to print stuff i designed in blender, mainly little toys or action figures. is the quality good enough for this? can i print some kind of humanoid figures (like a standing man with a sword in his hand) or will it just collapse while printing? or can i make things like lego bricks?

thanks in advance!

Hi.
I was in the same position some months ago.

I bought the V2 electronics kit and the V2 bits from bytes kit. I managed to put it together over some weekends and evenings, and have it complete.
I haven't quite got around to printing yet, because I had RSI and surgery, so I've only just been able to get back to it.

I've detailed my build on [renoirsrants.blogspot.com]

I built it in my front room with a small set of hand tools - mainly screwdrivers, allen (hex) keys, and pliers. It's basically like a big meccano set - if you've put together some lego technic stuff you should be OK. Just follow the instructions.
Before my reprap, the last time I'd soldered was back at school, and mine worked.

Print quality varies quite a bit with the settings, and it might take a while to get the optimum settings for quality. Nophead (http://hydraraptor.blogspot.com) seems to have some good examples of the print quality.

Good luck and have fun!

ok i think i can assemble one then

about the quality it seems pretty good after a bit of optimizing
[1.bp.blogspot.com]

but i dont think that its good enough for stuff like lego, i could make parts that look like lego, but they won't really fit together.

i think i will think about this investment for a little longer...
maybe i can find a few people in my area and share the costs/space/work

post a message in the user group thread of your country and you'll probably find people in your neighbourhood. Good luck.