3D Laser Scanning

I'm doing some more research on the boots today. I am not sure how exactly to proceed on the soles. I figure I have two options.

1. Acquire a casting of the soles, either made for production, screen used, or fan made.

2. Sculpt my own

If I go with the second one, the production will be much cheaper. However, I'm not a good sculptor, and I fear that this effort would take a really really really long time, and it would never quite be where i hoped it would be. The soles are really complex, and even if I abandoned the idea of matching all of the surface patterns and details, the overall shapes are still very complex.

If I pursue option two, it will cost me an arm and a leg. I have a few different options for the soles, each with varying degrees of possibility of success. There is one option that is a total slam dunk, but it is also the most expensive. Very interesting dilemma I find myself facing.

So to pass the time, I did some research today on 3d scanning. Assuming I could get ahold of a made for production sole, I would want to get it scanned, resized, then output. I sent out emails to half a dozen scanning houses around the country today to get an idea of pricing. That too will dictate how I am to proceed.

I would really like to give the hand sculpt thing a try, but I just feel that there would be such a small chance of success. Even if I only got it PARTLY right, it would probably be passable, and nobody would ever be able to tell the difference. I will have to think about this one some more.