With the free Mineways program you can interactively select a model from a Minecraft world map and have a 3D printing service make the model real. You don't need a 3D printer, and it's easy to upload and buy models - really! See the two-minute introductory video. Prices of 3D prints range from $5 to $500, depending on size. Or, just enjoy viewing and rendering your creation in a different way (but for rendering you should probably be using jmc2obj). Kids like it, too.

Below are some 3D prints (the village on the far right predates Mineways, but is made on the same type of printer); click on an image to see more of that object, or visit the Mineways Flickr group for the whole set:

Super-fast quickstart for 3D printing: Download and unzip Mineways to some directory. Double-click mineways.exe to run. Use "File | Open World" to select a world. Use the left mouse button to drag the map around, use the mousewheel to zoom. Drag with the right mouse button to select an area on the map and to adjust this rectangle. Optionally use the middle mouse button or "Lower depth" slider to select a depth. Export the model for 3D printing by "File | Export for 3D Printing..." - just hit "OK" on the Options dialog. Not clear? Watch this quick introduction or this longer tutorial to see what's what. You can find more tutorials on the video playlist.

Problems? See the Troubleshooting Guide.

Exporting creates a .zip file by default. To preview your model, unzip the .zip file (there is also a checkbox on export, "Create files themselves", to avoid unzipping) and open the .wrl file with MeshLab or other VRML file viewer. If you want to 3D print your model, create a free Shapeways account and upload the .zip file. Once the model is processed by Shapeways (a few minutes), you can order it - make sure to select "colored sandstone" for the material. As an example, here's my non-profit store. Note that no part of this process will cost you anything, unless you actually order something.

What to try next: check out the "Export lesser blocks" feature, which lets you get more detail. This feature is not on by default because it has some risks - read up! To learn more about other options work through the documentation page, the information is pretty much in order of importance.

Super-fast quickstart for rendering: Mineways isn't ideal for rendering, but it'll work. Follow the 3D printing guide above, except export the model for 3D printing by "File | Export for Rendering..." - just hit "OK" on the Options dialog. You can preview the output OBJ file by using G3D, MeshLab, or any other OBJ file viewer. To import the model to a rendering program, see this area of the documentation.

L'Effie Tower. From left to right the images are: in Minecraft, selected in Mineways, previewed, delivered from Shapeways, and under glass. Click on an image for more about it.

Google Groups
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The most useful links:

Here are some of my favorites on Shapeways by other people:

Here's my little non-profit shop at Sculpteo (move your mouse over any image, it's cool):

From the Mineways Flickr pool and elsewhere; click on a photo to see more: