Enishi Yukishiro's Wato (Small/Med 3D Prints)

By mid-March, I was halfway done with my second attempt at making this sword out of wood, and then by chance I discovered the magic of 3D printing. At that point, wood no longer felt like an inadequate medium for my purposes, so I started designing this sword all over on Google Sketchup. Here is the final product, printed from two different 3D print services (the smaller one was from Sculpteo, [link], and the larger one was from Shapeways, [link]. Sorry for the poor lighting, but I tried to find a balance to get a crisp photo without letting the flash wash everything out.

Some teasers on upcoming works:
1) I'm about to order a 16" print from another printing service that will allow a larger sized sword print. Completed: [link].
2) The project I'm most excited about is a full-scale and functional replica of the Wato. I've order a custom 40"-blade sword forged with folded steel, and I already have designs of a full-scale hilt and pommel ready. Making the tsuka out of wood won't be hard, so all I'm waiting for now is for one of the printing services to introduce a metal like Brass at an affordable price into their selection of print mediums (iMaterialize offers brass, but their brass printing is too expensive).

UPDATE: My sinosword folded-steel 40-inch blade has arrived, and I've ordered a test 3D-print of the hole space I designed into the hilt for the tang. Progress at this point will be slow, though, as I'll have more important obligations for a while.