It looks like we might be seeing another legal dispute involving a free 3D printable map generator.
Last year we discovered Map2Model, a remarkably easy-to-use online tool that could turn almost any city into a 3D printable model. You simply selected a region on a map, and the service generated a model containing buildings, streets and other features.
Unfortunately, Map2Model shut down in July after its developer, Smoggy3D, received legal notices alleging potential infringement of design rights. As a small hobby project, the developer, Smoggy3D, couldn’t justify the expense of defending the service.
At the time, I wondered whether other services providing similar functionality might face the same problem.
It appears that might be happening.
A recent Reddit thread revealed that another free service, Mini Skyline, has received correspondence from Lichtbild, a company selling physical 3D printed city and terrain models.
Some Reddit contributors believe Lichtbild was also involved in the Map2Model shutdown. That connection wasn’t entirely clear in our original post, although Lichtbild has since acknowledged having contacted Map2Model’s developer.
Mini Skyline developer Joey confirmed receiving an email from Lichtbild questioning the service’s use of Esri satellite imagery.
Joey disputes the allegation. He explained that while Esri imagery is used to display maps during model selection, it isn’t incorporated into the generated 3D models. Such a feature was developed but disabled because of licensing concerns.
There’s an important point here. Lichtbild reportedly told participants in Mini Skyline’s Discord that it isn’t attempting to shut down the service and doesn’t believe Mini Skyline’s models infringe its designs. The company also denies responsibility for Map2Model’s closure.
No formal lawsuit has been reported as far as I can tell, and Joey says Mini Skyline will continue operating.
Nevertheless, the situation is a bit suspicious, especially after what happened to Map2Model.
Mini Skyline is quite an impressive service. It generates printable landscapes and cityscapes using geographical information, including terrain elevations, roads, buildings, water features and other detail (see image at top). It can produce multicolor 3MF files suitable for modern FFF 3D printers: you can print a landscape with buildings — in color!
It’s free, requires no registration, and even permits commercial use of generated models when the input data licences allow for that use, and if the required attribution is provided.
That’s a pretty interesting ability for anyone interested in 3D printing landscape models.
But there’s also a very interesting twist to this story.
Unlike the original Map2Model, Mini Skyline has a downloadable desktop application. A standalone version.
The software is available free for Windows, macOS and Linux, although Intel Macs and ARM-based Linux systems aren’t currently supported.
The desktop application performs model generation locally and obtains geographical data directly from public sources. According to the developer, its core functionality doesn’t depend on Mini Skyline’s servers. I’ve actually tried this out, and it works beautifully, and has up to date data in my testing. Great 3D models are generated in less than a minute.
That means even if the website were somehow forced offline, your already-installed copy of the desktop Mini Skyline application should continue working.
However, this tool still requires internet access to get the geographical data, certain extra features depend on Mini Skyline’s servers, and any changes to external data services in the future could potentially break the app.
But the important point here is that a functioning copy of the software can exist completely independent from the website.
There’s a catch, though.
If Mini Skyline were to shut down, the desktop download could disappear along with it. Anyone who hadn’t already obtained the software might find themselves in the same situation as former Map2Model users.
My suggestion is slightly urgent: if you have any interest in generating 3D printable cities or landscapes, download the Mini Skyline desktop application now. Keep a copy of the installer somewhere safe.
Hopefully, the current disagreement goes no further and Mini Skyline continues to develop. Its developer certainly seems determined to keep it operating, and it’s a terrific application.
But we’ve already seen one excellent free tool disappear after receiving legal notices.
There’s no good reason to risk losing access to the service when you can preserve your own working copy today.
Via Mini Skyline and Reddit
