Shapeways offers the ability to turn a three dimensional design into a metal figurine if you so desire.

Although I saw the concept offered under the auspice of bringing your online persona to life, I also think the service would make an interesting service for the creation of custom figurines.

While Shapeways creates your figurine out of metal, will it be long until porcelain figurines are available? While they may not initially be of the same quality as handpainted figurines from manufacturers with hundreds of years of experience, surely we can expect that improvements will be made to the system.