3D printing RPG miniatures

[Alysar]

3D printers are getting more and more popular. One obvious application for them is printing custom miniatures for TTRPGs. Creatures and NPCs will probably still be sold in bulk, but players will want something customized to represent their own PC.

My question is, has anyone started on any software project to actually let people design 3d models for their own miniatures? Something like Poser or MakeHuman but with common fantasy races available and genera-appropriate clothing, weapons and other equipment to add in.

[Kawaii Soldier]

Oh man, THAT DOES SOUND COOL!!! Someone should totally work on that. Heck, I'd support a kickstarter for it!

[Tyndmyr]

I've dabbled in it. Milkshape is my modeling app of choice, but there's a lot of preference involved here...people will swear by the app they know and love.

Now, cubify DOES have an API you can develop against that allows you to use plug-in bits for models so the end-user can easily customize things. That's probably the easiest path to take(also has print on demand for the designed models, for the folks without a 3d printer yet).

I'm a bit busy now though, so while I agree it'd be a lovely kickstarter project, I don't have the bandwidth to build it at the moment. Kudos if someone else runs with it, though.

I've done a few D&D scaled mini's though, and scads of other gaming stuff. It's quite handy for spare parts and what not. Here's some meeples I did a bit ago for a game I was developing, for instance.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...0243714&type=1

[Edge of Dreams]

So, this exists: http://www.123dapp.com/creature/

Never tried it myself, as I don't have an iOs device.

[IncoherentEssay]

Oh hey, this popped up conveniently as i have a question: 3D printing has been on the "it will be cheaper & more accurate Soon(tm)" horizon for a while, but what is the state of 3D scanning? Much as i like the idea of "chipping in for cheaper gaming", the prices google gave me last time i checked were a bit unpalatable.

Now, i'm quite not good enough to make gaming scale miniatures directly, but is it possible to scan larger scale pieces and print those at the gaming scale? Possibly designin & scanning multi-part kits with an eye towards compatility so users can combine them in the printer's software (this is a thing, right?) to print the desired miniature directly or print it out in pieces and assemble it the old fashioned way?

[ellindsey]

Oh hey, this popped up conveniently as i have a question: 3D printing has been on the "it will be cheaper & more accurate Soon(tm)" horizon for a while, but what is the state of 3D scanning? Much as i like the idea of "chipping in for cheaper gaming", the prices google gave me last time i checked were a bit unpalatable.

Now, i'm quite not good enough to make gaming scale miniatures directly, but is it possible to scan larger scale pieces and print those at the gaming scale? Possibly designin & scanning multi-part kits with an eye towards compatility so users can combine them in the printer's software (this is a thing, right?) to print the desired miniature directly or print it out in pieces and assemble it the old fashioned way?

Makerbot demoed their 3D scanner at Makerfaire NYC last weekend.

http://makerfaire.com/makers/the-mak...-3d-scanner-2/

It's really, really not cheap ($1400!)

Autodesk 123D can allegedly make 3D files from photos, but you may need a lot of photos taken from all different angles to make a usable file.

http://www.123dapp.com/catch

You may also have to do a lot of work on that file to make it ready for printing, if you do something like scan a person in costume and then scale it down to a figurine size.

[Alysar]

Makerbot demoed their 3D scanner at Makerfaire NYC last weekend.

It's really, really not cheap ($1400!)

Autodesk 123D can allegedly make 3D files from photos, but you may need a lot of photos taken from all different angles to make a usable file.

Staples is going to have in-store 3D printing pretty soon. In-store scanning can't be that far behind. You don't need to buy a scanner. You just need to have access to one.

[IncoherentEssay]

I doubt i'll have access to a scanner at a shop, as the only search result in finnish is for a 1k €+ home scanner (& equilavents from other manufacturers) and even that was "in the near future". Kind of comes with living in a frozen wasteland .

But that 123DCatch might work, and since it is free i'll give it a shot.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

One of the cool things I envision is a community of gamer-modelers who sell unique designs for 3D printing. Plus, it's not horribly difficult to make slight modifications to a design, if you build it modularly. So you could advertise it as "custom minis"; when someone puts a request in, you customize one of your stock models to their specifications, send them the file, and printing time!

[Grinner]

If you believe in the unrelenting power of the DIY spirit, there's this.

[Mr Beer]

I was talking about this with some friends the other day, I think when it happens it's going to rip a massive hole in Games Workshop's business model. Imagine cheap 3D printing coupled with pirated miniature files you can just download off the net? That's hundreds of $ per customer they'd be missing out on.

[Madcrafter]

There's another user on these boards who prints his own wargaming minis, for a bit over a dollar each. He pointed out that if you're doing that sort of thing you actually recoup the cost of the printer in less than a year. He does his own CAD work though, which is probably what I'd guess you'd have to do at this point in time.

Not that that's a terrible idea, since it's a very useful skill. I'd imagine you could actually make a decent business model if you got a couple of artists and a 3D prototyper, and ship people their mini's based off images or descriptions.

[Adoendithas]

I've found that the DotA 2 heroes make great miniatures. You can download the source files from VALVe's web site (they're used to make custom items for the Workshop), and piece the different sections together in Blender. Right now I'm printing Invoker, for example, to represent an evil sorcerer in the next adventure (although I had to promise the party wizard he could have it when I'm done). The different model files are a good choice for printing in different colors, too.

[Techsmart]

I know blender was starting to create tools for exporting to 3D printers. There are actually a bunch of tools out there, as well as already-created models.
Check out thingiverse, they already have a bunch of stuff there, like this stone golem.
I'm working on building my own 3D printer right now. I wouldn't recommend doing it if you haven't done electrical work before, but you can build one for about $300-400 (USD). One of my reasons for it is so that I can export my blender models out for use in my dnd games.

[Mutazoia]

I was talking about this with some friends the other day, I think when it happens it's going to rip a massive hole in Games Workshop's business model. Imagine cheap 3D printing coupled with pirated miniature files you can just download off the net? That's hundreds of $ per customer they'd be missing out on.

It will happen eventually but right now not many people have several thousands of dollars to plop down for a small 3D printer. And I doubt Staples will be doing 3D printing...it's such a specialized service they won't recoup the money on the machines fast enough for a corporate exec to see any profit in the idea. As for 3D scanning...check this out.

[Adoendithas]

You could see if there's a fablab in your area, they print things pretty cheaply.

[Tyndmyr]

It will happen eventually but right now not many people have several thousands of dollars to plop down for a small 3D printer. And I doubt Staples will be doing 3D printing...it's such a specialized service they won't recoup the money on the machines fast enough for a corporate exec to see any profit in the idea. As for 3D scanning...check this out.

They will be, but IIRC, it's paper only, which is interesting, but perhaps not as useful as plastic for making minis.

Prices have been dropping though. For instance, some Staples do sell the Cube, which is $1300. That's not particularly cheap, but it is a printer that works out of the box with a lack of assembly, so that's a plus. Build it yourself kits are much cheaper(a few hundred), but require a certain level of effort.

If the current rate of progress in terms of quality and price continue(there's a kickstarter currently aiming to deliver a kit for about a hundred bucks), I wouldn't be surprised to see them become quite popular. Printing a hundred bucks worth of minis wouldn't be that high of a bar, really.

Also, I note that you're in my state, Alysar...if you feel like modeling a mini, feel free to pop me a message, and I'll give it a test print. I do have a pretty good range of D&D scale terrain features, etc, so it certainly works on that scale.