1 of 2
By Olaf Growald
2 of 2
By Olaf Growald
Imagine looking down over a model of yourself, noting every tuft of hair and exactly how your belly curves into your waist. Better yet, picture that model compact enough to slip inside your coat pocket.
I’m here to tell you that, nowadays, it’s not just a thing of Joe Johnston’s “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.”
A couple Fort Worth Inc. pals and I took a trip down Camp Bowie Boulevard and into the Doob workshop, a 3D tech company founded in Düsseldorf, Germany. Doob’s in the business of forging hyper-realistic figurines of people — from 4 to 14 inches tall — priced from $99 to $699. Each model is handled with care and internationally shipped anywhere.
Since arriving in early 2019, Doob has always inspired our curiosity being just a stone’s throw away from our office and yards from us whenever we make java runs to Craftwork Coffee Co. So, we asked Rhonda Stepp Felton, partner and owner of Doob Fort Worth, if I could step inside the “Dooblicator.”
Let’s get down to brass tacks: It was really weird, but in the best way. No less than 66 cameras greet you walking into the doctor-office white chamber, and you sort of feel like you’ve found yourself in a scene from “The Matrix.” Surreal might be an appropriate way to describe getting Doob’d. Ironically, I felt like an action figure myself as Felton helped adjust my posture and posing to ensure a quality Doob.
And it was over in one-eighteenth of a second after we finally settled on my signature staggered stance. I stepped outside, and dozens of still images of my body were displayed across TV screens. “Is my hair really thinning that much in the back?” was an initial thought.
Turns out the finished product was pretty dang impressive.
By Olaf Growald
Fast-forward to about three weeks later. I find myself grasping a mini-me in the palm of my hand. The thing is printed from ink-imbued resin and totally nailed my blue-and-plaid button-down, all the way to the subtle wrinkles. The scuffed-up Chuck Taylors on the little guy look true to life, and I keep earning gaping reactions from many of my coworkers.
I don’t think there’s any experience like it, and I’m heavily tempted to come back on my own time with my cat in tow since Doob Fort Worth will 3D print furry friends too. Moreover, Doob has the digital data stored for two years if you ever manage to break the figurine.
It’d make for a great team-building trip too. Felton says they’ve printed entire office rosters before and are happy to accommodate anybody looking to see themselves from a third-person perspective.
In a way, it was quite a Zen undertaking, albeit an odd yet effective way of getting to know yourself.