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The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

matduggan.com

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Re: The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

#121

Post by throw-12-16 »

kergonath wrote: post #112

3D printing is fantastic for terrain, which is typically larger and smoother, so it’s easier to hide or sand away any printing issue. It’s fine for things like busts or some display mini, where you can afford to be careful and spend the time fixing rough edges. But it really isn’t there compared to good quality plastic for smaller minis with dynamic poses. It’s too cumbersome, too finicky, and the material is too bri…

This hasn’t been the case for several years.

High res resin printers are more than capable of printing high quality minis.

There are hundreds of videos on youtube to back that up, squidmar in particular has done several side by side comparisons.

Re: The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

#122

Post by throw-12-16 »

milchek wrote: post #83

Thanks for sharing. I've recently been thrown into the 40k universe thanks to my son (who is 9) becoming obsessed with it. What started out as a "oh look, they've opened a Games Workshop store in this shopping centre... hey it looks like they're giving away free miniatures and showing you how to paint, lets kill 5 mins in the store" has turned into starter packs, combat patrols and lore deep dives with books. All in…

You should look into One Page Rules.

Its a much more accessible game that doesnt have a predatory business model behind its ruleset.

GW is frankly a shitty company, they are extremely litigious and their business model hinges around nerfing armies and then launching new models to make up the gap.

Re: The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

#123

Post by throw-12-16 »

AndrewStephens wrote: post #30

Great essay! I have never played WH40k but have been quite into Magic the Gathering at times. Before I started playing I asked a friend what was to stop me just printing or photocopying cards (even in the 90s this would have been possible) I understood how silly that question was when I felt the pleasure of actually owning a high quality product. Sure, I could spend the time to make my own cards but playing the game…

My playgroup proxies everything.

We all have large magic collections but Wizards has shown repeatedly that they have no intention of making the game more accessible.

I have been playing magic continuously for 30 years and have not spent a dime on it since 2019.

Re: The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

#124

Post by throw-12-16 »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #29
aleph_minus_one wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is your printer a resin or FDM printer?

Anyone seriously printing miniatures does it on a resin printer.

The number of people speaking from a position of authority in this comment section saying they have only tried FDM for minis is hilarious.

High res resin printers are incredible.

Re: The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

#125

Post by throw-12-16 »

dcw303 wrote: post #50

I am a new initiate into the world of 3d printing for minis. I decided a resin printer does not suit my small apartment lifestyle, and got an Elegoo Centauri Carbon FDM printer. It's pretty plug-and-play, there was very little setup required. www.reddit.com/r/FDMminiatures/ will give you an idea of the level of quality you can reach. With the smallest 0.2mm nozzle, will it reach resin levels? Close but not really. Is…

If you like OPR you would also enjoy trench crusade.

Really fun game with none of the GW BS.

Re: The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

#128

Post by pockybum522 »

I'm so confused. I've resin printed DnD minis for everyone in several of the campaigns I've played in. They all love them. Yes, there were gloves. Yes, there was alcohol baths, but I just dropped them in the automatic washer and walked away for ten minutes.

The entire manual involvement for me from hitting go on the printer to handing out their minis to my friends, ready to be painted, I would estimate at just over five minutes per mini. This includes removing supports. This reads like it was written in 2010, not 2025.

Re: The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

#129

Post by throw-12-16 »

protocolture wrote: post #20

Yes and No. Look, 3d printing is almost a psychological thing. You almost nailed it but skipped right past it. The term proxy used to delineate between wysiwyg and non-wysiwyg. "I am using this chess piece as a marine" The Deoderant Bottle Gravtank from White Dwarf - Not a proxy. They made it custom rules. It was a miniature, and it was furnished with love and care. This culture is now only found in like, airfix or c…

I dont play GW games anymore aside from Mordheim (discontinued), because frankly GW is a shitty company that I dont want to support.

Their entire business model is predatory, they nerf armies and then release new models all the time, the rules are monetized and outrageously expensive, and they are litigious to the point of taking down youtube channels in order to prop up their shitty streaming service.

There are so many better games that have embraced 3D printing and are actually fun to play.

Re: The year of the 3D printed miniature and other lies we tell ourselves

#130

Post by throw-12-16 »

chaostheory wrote: post #45

This game and Shadowrun where always meant to be either fully simulated in software or at least calculated turn by turn even on table top. It would eat up too much time otherwise.

WH40k is a pretty garbage game.

It frequently results in turn 1 wins before you even get to play.

Competitive 40k is even worse.

There are way better tabletop games that are actually fun.

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