
Microspot 3D Toolbox
Modular 3-D
Pros
- Cheap
Cons
- Some instability
Bottom Line
This is a useful 3-D tool with potential for Mac users on a budget.
-
Price
$ 15.00 (AUD)
Note: The price of this product is in US$.
Microspot 3D Toolbox is a bit of a curiosity: it's a truly modular 3-D application. You start off with a free base application that's useful in its own right as an object viewer. It lets you open 3DMF, Google Sketchup (.SKP) and 3DS files. If you've got 3DS Max, Vue or Poser in your workflow, you can import a combination of models from them — and Sketchup — into the same scene.
This scene can then be customised by dragging image files into the scene from the desktop, to create backgrounds and provide textures for objects. Texture replacement on models can take a bit of time, but if you click Ungroup you can separate models into component parts ready for individual texture application. You can also drill down further through the levels of grouping contained within the object, by using the Edit Group Menu command or alternatively Option-double clicking the 3-D object. Either method will open a new sub-document window with the object broken down into its components.
Once you've done this, holding down Ctrl and dragging textures onto the component will restrict their application to that single component. If you're thinking of buying Photoshop Extended for its 3-D texturing capabilities, you might want to check this out first.
However, if you want to save work, or do anything complicated, you'll need to purchase a serial number. This opens up the Library, Save and Export functions. You'll then also have access to Microspot's custom library and be able to start working with the plug-in pack modules. These modules, available for an additional cost, offer textures, modelling primitives, wall-creation tools and modelling tools. You can make the output look more natural by adding the Light and Render pack, which offers point lights, spotlights, sun and ambient brightness, and three renderers, including a raytrace renderer.
The most useful module is the Animation pack, which includes the Animation Tweener palette. This displays all animated objects, as well as any camera and light animations. You can animate several objects using variable 'tween' timings, as if they were on separate animation timeline tracks. The interface is slow to update in places, but the finished result looks fine once exported to QuickTime.
The Camera and Alignment pack is useful for animation too, with palettes for aligning objects, aligning the camera and nudging objects into place and switching the cursor options.
Several actions, such as Apply Gravity or Add Base Plate, provide workflow shortcuts when working in 3-D space. The base plate is a ground plane to cast shadows onto while rendering, but you'll need the Light & Render pack to use anything but wireframe and preview rendering.
The application crashed a couple of times, so it's essential to save your work.
Brand Post

Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Miofive 4K Dash Cam review: This friendly road watcher is ‘here for you!’
- 2 Dell U3223QE review: A winning debut for an IPS Black monitor
- 3 Netgear Nighthawk M5 mobile router review: Probably too expensive, but nice
- 4 Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A review: This 4K monitor plays nice with consoles
- 5 Firewalla Gold review: Powerful home network security in a tiny box
Latest News Articles
- Microsoft’s universal ‘One Outlook’ client just leaked out
- Microsoft reveals a new Windows Game Bar built for controllers
- Microsoft tests a limited VPN for Microsoft Edge
- Audacity developer puts the ‘proper’ version on the Microsoft Store
- How to pin an extension to Chrome’s toolbar
Resources
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers

Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world

Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles

PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D

The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G

Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65

This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- 100 Great PC Games You Should Play Before You Die
- Best Click Frenzy mobile and Internet plan deals
- Microsoft’s iconic browser Internet Explorer is being killed off in June
- Which flagship TV is best? Sony 4K HDR Bravia 2016 versus LG 4K HDR OLED 2016
- 10 Blu-ray movies / Best looking Blu-ray movies