Question from a newbie about what printer I should get/

[3D OZ]

That's relatively small object with a lot of detail and I think most home/hobby printers would struggle to produce an outcome that you would be happy with.
At the very least there would be considerable time required to tweak the settings to get an acceptable result.
Slicing software will add the required support, so no need to worry about that issue too much.

Can you post a picture of the shapeways print as it would give me an idea of the outcome you are after.

[Valandar]

That's relatively small object with a lot of detail and I think most home/hobby printers would struggle to produce an outcome that you would be happy with.
At the very least there would be considerable time required to tweak the settings to get an acceptable result.
Slicing software will add the required support, so no need to worry about that issue too much.

Can you post a picture of the shapeways print as it would give me an idea of the outcome you are after.

Well, this is the end result. I have it slid onto the battery case of my e-cig (or 'mod' for those familiar with vaping slang) right here:

http://valandar.3d-kitty.com/gallery...someDragon.jpg