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View Full Version : 3D Printing of Minis - Finally Here?



Psyren
2014-01-15, 02:33 PM
We've had threads (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302123) about (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305924) this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247810) topic before. "Mini manufacturers are scaling back, and it's hard to find the specific look I want. Are minis dying?" A common... well, thread in those threads has been "hey, what about that 3D printer stuff, that's cool! When can we start using it to make minis?"

After all, as the adage goes, once there is new technology one of the first things man does is put po- I mean, orcs and elves on it.

It seems that time is nearly here, courtesy of Hero Forge (http://kotaku.com/building-your-rpg-characters-in-the-real-world-1501393509) (and Kickstarter. (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/heroforge/customizable-3d-printed-tabletop-miniatures))



What sets these guys apart from others that have come before:

1) Widely customizable - you can choose your weapon, outfit, race, gender, and even pose from a wide variety of presets in their design suite. (Free design will possibly be available later.) No art experience is needed - you build the model using their WebGL powered interface and then ship it off to be printed. (No color just yet though.)

2) Fine detail - facial expressions, and clothing/armor textures like spikes and grooves, and even hairstyle can all be discerned.

3) Articulate parts - Want a spiked flail where the chain moves? How about a lantern that swings in your character's hand? 3D printing makes that possible.

Finally, the modelers have pretty professional chops - there's some nice resumes on display here.

So, discuss and all that.

Yora
2014-01-15, 03:13 PM
I never use miniatures, but it's still interesting from a technical standpoint.

What about costs?

Since you don't have to make molds, you are already saving a bit of money and it doesn't make a difference if you make the same figure a thousand times or one thousand unique ones. (Other than the work for making the blueprints? template? 3D-model?, but that's probably something many hobby artists would do themselves for their own figures.)
You don't even need a "special" machine, since any 3d-printer would do, which would also save costs. But then, a 3d-printer is still expensive and making a single figure is probably still more expensive than a single mold casting, after you have substracted the cost for providing the machines.

How does that translate to actual costs per figure?

HMS Invincible
2014-01-15, 03:18 PM
I kinda want to browse a brick store so I can examine the goods myself, or at least have someone guide me through so I know what I'm getting. However, I'm very interested, and will probably buy some once it gets going. I know one thing for sure, it'll wreck the business model of Warhammer figurines.

valadil
2014-01-15, 03:40 PM
I want to go to there.

This was the first thing I wanted when 3d printers showed up. I'm glad they're finally catching up to the point where this is feasible. I'm still wondering what the price per mini would be though. It'd be lovely if I could use something like this for all my figures, but if I can only afford to do this for my favorite PC that's still awesome.

Yora
2014-01-15, 03:40 PM
Depends. The company could change their business strattegy to print on demand. I think when you print at a large scale, you can get prices probably a lot lower than what people would have to pay to print only 3 figures a time at a regular printing company.

OverdrivePrime
2014-01-15, 03:51 PM
A number of guys and gals from my tabletop group are kicking in for this. The project is sure to get funded - 2 days in they're well over halfway to their goal.

I agree that the real determination is how much individual pieces cost once Hero Forge is live.

I'm also wondering if the Hero Forge character portrait people are going to sue. :smallconfused:

ellindsey
2014-01-15, 03:58 PM
Very nice. I may end up making use of this when they go live. Might even back it.

I'll be more interested if they go ahead with the option to let you just use their design software and download the STL files. My home machine isn't as high-resolution as the ones at Shapeways, but if I'm printing out a dozen NPCs it'd be much cheaper and easier to do it myself.

CarpeGuitarrem
2014-01-15, 04:17 PM
I'm very, very impressed by the detail they're promising. And that team looks top-notch!

I don't really use minis for gaming though... :smallfrown: So it wouldn't be practical for me to kick this at the mini level.

On the other hand, I bet you could use these minis for a "build your own hero" skirmish game...

ALSO: there's an FAQ at the bottom of the front page with a few pertinent answers...



What will a customized miniature cost?

While we expect 3D printing technology to get faster, more accurate, and cheaper in the near future, our pledge tiers are pretty in-line with the prices we expect at launch (so, in the neighborhood of $15-$25 depending on material, before shipping—note that reward tiers INCLUDE shipping). While this does price them higher than most minis, we think it will be a powerful service for when you're looking to get that one hero just right, or build that one perfect mini to lead your massive army.

We're keeping our eyes trained on the horizon for new, more detailed, and cheaper materials though. 2014 will be a very exciting time for 3D printing, and we're likely going to see new materials, printers, and techniques very soon:

http://qz.com/106483/3d-printing-will-explode-in-2014-thanks-to-the-expiration-of-key-patents/

Will I be able to download the 3D model file for my character?

This is a far more popular question than we anticipated. Though we don't have any plans to offer this at launch, it is clearly something people are interested in. We will keep this in mind!

The name "Hero Forge" is an ubiquitous one. Any relation?

It's no surprise that a name as evocative as Hero Forge sees a fair bit if use—it pops in a few different industries, applying to several very different properties. A few folks have pointed out that, in tabletop circles, "HeroForge" (with no space) is a fantastic, free character manager app. Though we're clearly doing very different things, we just wanted to avoid confusion and point out that there is no affiliation. We've spoken with the fellow though, and he is just as cool as his app! Check it out if you get a chance:

http://www.nzcomputers.net/heroforge/

Will you allow user-submitted parts?

This is another question we got a lot more than we anticipated! While we don't plan to offer a way for users to submit or view parts at launch, we are definitely going to keep the possibility of offering a curated selection of user submissions in mind.

Mr Beer
2014-01-15, 04:50 PM
I know one thing for sure, it'll wreck the business model of Warhammer figurines.



Tragedy! :smallbiggrin:

CombatOwl
2014-01-15, 05:23 PM
Since you don't have to make molds, you are already saving a bit of money and it doesn't make a difference if you make the same figure a thousand times or one thousand unique ones. (Other than the work for making the blueprints? template? 3D-model?, but that's probably something many hobby artists would do themselves for their own figures.)

3d printing is comparatively time consuming, so the fixed cost in 3d printers goes through the roof (you need more of them to meet the demand in a reasonable time frame). It's why these services have taken awhile to become available.


You don't even need a "special" machine, since any 3d-printer would do, which would also save costs.

Have you ever seen someone trying to print a mini with an FDM printer? The detail is... somewhat less than adequate on the 30mm scale. They're probably going to have to use photolithographic printers to get good detail at 30mm, which are more expensive. And the materials used are also more expensive. It will undoubtedly work, but one of two things will be true; it will either be somewhat pricey, or the final production quality will be poor.

warty goblin
2014-01-15, 06:04 PM
Not sure what the correspondence between Pledge cost and production cost is, but the cheapest option they have is $20 for one of the 30mm low-detail minis, and $35 for a 30mm high detail one. You can also get 2 30mm high detail figs for $60.

So that's not exactly cheap. Not brutally expensive either, but $60 for two tiny plastic dudes is more than I'm willing to pay. $60 buys a lot of 'this one I have looks close enough.'

Fouredged Sword
2014-01-17, 09:56 AM
It has been stated that they are thinking in the 15-20 dollar range for their stuff. That is more expensive than I can eat (my wife would kill me), but I think it's a neat idea. IF they could get the cost down to, say 5 dollars a model, I would eat it up.

That is a big jump, but it could become reality in the next 2-3 years.

If I was involved in a long running DnD game, I would totally consider a mini, even at the 20 dollar range. It is just so cool to get that unique look.