Ever since working with some of the Auto manufacturers, I've been enthralled with the idea of rapid prototyping. At the time (early 90s) it was under the name Stereolithography and involved millions, or at least hundreds of thousands to consider. More recently, desktop sized (sorta) machines have come about for around $25K. Even more recently, Make magazine and further online research yielded a DIY approach that gives you a lot of control of the financial comitment (from a couple hundred to as much as you want to spend).