Question asked, by me – 3D printed architectural models are now no good at doing colour:
Note also that if the clever people now developing 3D printing for architectural models were to make it easy to include quite accurate and quite detailed colour variety, then that could make a huge difference when it comes to making high colour architecture for real.
Question answered, by 3D Printing Progress – Mimicking Nature for Fast, Colourful 3D Printing:
Brilliantly colored chameleons, butterflies, opals – and now some 3D-printed materials – reflect color by using nanoscale structures called photonic crystals.
A new study that demonstrates how a modified 3D-printing process provides a versatile approach to producing multiple colors from a single ink is published in the journal Science Advances.
These things always take their time turning from “a new study” into a real thing. But give it about a decade, and architectural models will be looking fabulous.