I thought so too. At least the premium plastic ones are high quality. I am hearing about people buying having terrible luck. I wonder how much you need to spend on a printer to get that quality.
Hero forge uses commercial grade 3D printers costing tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. The in home 3D printers are not nearly capable of printing the same quality or using remotely the same materials. It is the same reason businesses order business cards from a printing facility instead of purchasing card stock and doing it themselves.
Traditional minis are sculpted using something called Green Stuff, it is the standard modelling compound for the gaming miniature industry. Most figures are actually sculpted in Green Stuff before they are cast for mass production. Green Stuff is the common name for Polymeric's Kneadatite (Blue/Yellow) Sculptors Epoxy Putty. It is the same stuff that GW used to repackage in blister packs.
Unfortunately, it's hard to find decent, cheap minis anymore. I miss the Ral Partha pewter mini days. $1500 will buy you a 3D print that will print terrible minis :/ As someone mentioned, the nice printers are crazy expensive. My kids run games for their middle and high school friends, and have contented themselves with 2D tokens printed on cardstock, and round punched. They use 3D minis for characters, but the printed ones for the monsters.
You could also look at mm scale minis instead there are much smaller but usually offer plenty of detail. They will also allow you to use miniatures in a limited space. Something like these http://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/list.php?cat=18&page=1. (no affiliation)
Just mount each one on a penny and paint them. There plenty of company's that make monsters to that scale, plus if you would use a typical 28mm scale dragon it would look more true to scale with the players.
and made some cheap and fun paper minis in Gimp. I would also insert a photo if I'd know how to do it :)
Thanks for posting that link (bookmarked). We've used those paper minis in a couple one-shots before. Printing them on heavier card stock paper helps them stand better.
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Crit Happens!
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.
They're flat minis but look a lot better (and are half the work to make for double the durability and regidity).
Make sure you buy transparency that works with your printer (Inkjet vs. Laser), and some pawn stands. That and translarency costs 50c to $2 per page (selling at Hobby Lobby in packs for $10, or Office Max for $30), so be ready to print out several at a time to keep cost down.
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There was a thread about 3D printing minis. Apparently the consensus is that 3d printers do not produce high detail minis.
Does anyone have experience with casting minis (plastic or metal)? I am curious what other methods are used.
Aren't heroforge minis printed? They're pretty high quality.
I thought so too. At least the premium plastic ones are high quality. I am hearing about people buying having terrible luck. I wonder how much you need to spend on a printer to get that quality.
I''m still waiting to get a printer of my own and see how those turn out.
Hero forge uses commercial grade 3D printers costing tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. The in home 3D printers are not nearly capable of printing the same quality or using remotely the same materials. It is the same reason businesses order business cards from a printing facility instead of purchasing card stock and doing it themselves.
If not 3D printing, what do places like Games Workshop use?
Traditional minis are sculpted using something called Green Stuff, it is the standard modelling compound for the gaming miniature industry. Most figures are actually sculpted in Green Stuff before they are cast for mass production. Green Stuff is the common name for Polymeric's Kneadatite (Blue/Yellow) Sculptors Epoxy Putty. It is the same stuff that GW used to repackage in blister packs.
Casting these days is usually done using white metal or resin or plastic. There are various different methods commonly used. Spin casting or injection molding. If you are looking to make your own you would typically use resin molds. This is a pretty good guide. - http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article/resin-casting-for-beginners-part-1/5460
Hope this helps!
Unfortunately, it's hard to find decent, cheap minis anymore. I miss the Ral Partha pewter mini days. $1500 will buy you a 3D print that will print terrible minis :/ As someone mentioned, the nice printers are crazy expensive. My kids run games for their middle and high school friends, and have contented themselves with 2D tokens printed on cardstock, and round punched. They use 3D minis for characters, but the printed ones for the monsters.
Theres plenty of sources for economical minis, The DND adventure games provide plenty as do the token boxes. Or you could make your own. like this - https://newbiedm.com/2008/11/22/newbiedm-tutorial-counters-tokens-or-pogs/
You could also look at mm scale minis instead there are much smaller but usually offer plenty of detail. They will also allow you to use miniatures in a limited space. Something like these http://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/list.php?cat=18&page=1. (no affiliation)
Just mount each one on a penny and paint them. There plenty of company's that make monsters to that scale, plus if you would use a typical 28mm scale dragon it would look more true to scale with the players.
I found these old instructions from 2013:
http://lifeandtimesofcaptainwang.blogspot.hr/2013/07/how-to-create-cheap-and-cheerful.html
and made some cheap and fun paper minis in Gimp. I would also insert a photo if I'd know how to do it :)
I was looking for that article thanks!
Crit Happens!
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.
One thing I will say is that plastic minis are great, but home made paper miniatures are way more portable.
Yeah, actually I like the good old GW method of tape measure.
If you have Warhammer Age of Sigmar or Fantasy Battles use those minis.
Otherwise, tokens, stand-up tokens, LEGO models with LEGO bases, or clay homecrafts look great.
If you're actually going to get minis, get them UNPAINTED and UNASSEMBLED.
This just adds fun in hobbying.
I love transparency minis.
They're flat minis but look a lot better (and are half the work to make for double the durability and regidity).
Make sure you buy transparency that works with your printer (Inkjet vs. Laser), and some pawn stands. That and translarency costs 50c to $2 per page (selling at Hobby Lobby in packs for $10, or Office Max for $30), so be ready to print out several at a time to keep cost down.