http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-04/hp-prints-three-dimensions-release-designjet-3d

Still not affordable, but it's getting cheaper and better...
Which raises the question: will we enter the age of pirated models?
:)

I prefer to think of the alternate.. Imagine being able to scan in that misshapen hunk of plastic from gamagawa and fix it in CAD and spit out a new part that actually looks like a G-17.

I think we're still a long, long ways off from a desktop model printer. I've had a few designs printed; the highest resolution printers have fewer printer artifacts (ridges, the 3D equivalent of the old 2D graphics jaggies) and use better materials, but their output is very expensive. Cheaper printers have much worse surface resolution, use porous materials or both so the models have to be looked at as either masters for resin casting, or as a rough shape that'll be completely hidden under layers of other materials.

Here are some of the things I've had printed:

1/700 and 1/1000 scale figures (printed on a high resolution printer)



1/350 scale saucer from "The Invaders" (lower resolution but still better printer than the HP). The legs are styrene:



Reconstruction of the engines from an old, long OOP Leif Ericson Space cruiser kit. The blue parts are the new ones. This was printed on a high resolution printer:



A bay for the same kit that I designed:

.
This last part was printed at Shapeways, which is probably the cheapest and easiest place to get designs printed in 3D.

Frank