[JasonB]

Thanks for your answers, it sounds good.

To broaden things out a bit, I wonder if any of you 3d printers would be willing to give us a sketch outline of roughly where we are with current, affordable technology?

I guess what I'm asking is, how complicated is it, how expensive is it, would it need us to turn it into a hobby in itself, and basically is it worth it?

I'm sure it must feel like an alien technology to many, and certainly the discussions surrounding it can often seem very offputting, with multiple tales of printing failures, technical problems, and models that look like they need a heck of a lot of post printing work.

I know it's asking a lot with such a varied and complex technology, but is there any chance of a realistic appraisal of the current pros and cons, in layman's terms?