Reply To: 3D printed minis dissolving

[blinky465 17028xp 1]

Priming won’t save them, I’m afraid. Well, it didn’t mine, anyway!

You’re quite right that some 3d prints can be very fragile. The first prints I made using the Anycubic resin that came with my printer were super-brittle; like they were made of glass! Fingers and noses would snap off just from looking at them.

These days I use eco-resin (the plant-based not-so-smelly stuff) or abs-like (for a much more forgiving model).
I can even drop my minis on the floor now and they don’t shatter into tiny little pieces any more!

Unfortunately, because of the super-high detail possible with a 3d printer (like a 4k mono screen for example) lots of sculptors don’t understand even the basics of producing nice miniatures – many don’t even  test-print their own models, and many simply make their minis far too complex and forget that we’re working at 28/32mm scale.

Guys like Artisan Guild and CyberForge make great minis for 3d printing. But that’s not to say there aren’t many more producing terrible minis (even if the renders look cool).

I guess our own experiences with different materials lead us to all have different preferences. I will never again buy or paint a metal miniature. Likewise, the soft rubbery plastic from Mantic or Reaper Bones. Hard plastic? GW are great at hiding their seams and mould lines, if I really must, I’d consider a GW hard plastic box set. But for me, 3d printed is top of the pops every time! (though maybe that’s because I’ve gone through many of the issues that come from 3d printing, and know what to look out for).