Buy the Photon S: bit.ly/miniac-anycubic DISCOUNT CODE: "ACMINI" On 10/21 (Monday) the Anycubic Photon S will be on SALE for $389. On that day, the coupon code will only give you $5 off. If you want to buy the printer, wait until Monday! The coupon code will last until 11/3.
You can also check out the Photonsters Github page for various resin settings and programs to analyze and fix supports on models better than what Chitubox can do.
Use a rubber slice to remove the print not metal, my anycubic came with one and its great for removing the print and for removing excess resin from the FEP film, point the rubber slice away from you and lightly drag across film backwards so the resin gets caught underneath and drain through a filter. Hot water bath on your uncured minis can help with support removal, always remove support before curing as once cured the prints are more brittle. Resin can sit in the printer for a few weeks but its best to go by the rule of a few days tops, empty and repour after every 10hr of prints if theres still a large amount of resin left over as uv leak from the screen may coat the fep film in a thin layer of semi cured resin which can cause prints to fail down the line. Gloves are a must. A post print process i use is acetone bath 10s of swirling, cold water to remove acetone, hot bath and support removal and then cure under a UV lamp, i use a nail salon lamp i got for £10 on amazon. Works great. If you do get resin on you, it wont kill you but wash it off when possible as if it cures under your skin you will have a huge itchy reaction that can be nasty.
The issue of hands, heads and such being too large has nothing to do with the 3D sculpting or printing process, it's because whoever made the sculpt doesn't understand the medium. Also, most companies don't use the 3D print to make molds, they make an RTV mold of the print then make resin castings out of high-temp resistant resins so they can withstand the pressure of making the molds. Bu that's only for metal casting. If the model is being made out of polystyrene plastic it's separated into parts, hollowed out and has other work done so it (like gussets, pegs etc) then it goes directly to the CNC machine, no physical model is made (unless you use vinyl, but that's a whole other mess to talk about). Most companies, like GW, use the 3D prints to get models painted so they can get the box art, magazine articles etc done so they don't have to wait for the plastic sprues to be made. If they had to wait, their lead time could be up to a full year until they see a physical model. Using 3D prints helps speed up the manufacturing and advertising processes.
8:37 you should not be touching the resin print without gloves untill it has cured fully under the uv lamp. just because you washed it, the resin is still not cured. it is still not safe for skin contact till it is thoroughly exposed to uv light. Resin sensativity is real. You may quickly find that you start having adverse health reactions to your new found hobby if you dont.
@@kanesmith8271 Unlikely, unless your job is managing a 3D print farm and you are working with resin on a daily basis. People have a very poor understanding of relative risks. Even for someone like Scott, who is likely to get a lot of use out of it, occasionally handling an uncured miniature is not likely to significantly increase his cancer risk.
Designs are "bulky" because A LOT of people still use FDM machines for printing miniatures. FDM is way less accurate, and "bulky" and stylized minis are easier to print using this kind of technology.
@@preddes6522 True this, but generally its a 0.04 layer height. On FDM the "magic number" for layers is in an interval equal to the nozzle size. So a 0.4mm nozzle should have layers that are in 0.04mm steps, I print mine at 0.2, 0.12, and 0.08 If i had used a 0.2mm nozzle its 0.10, 0.06 and 0.04
@@B143DP Magical numbers is a logical fallacy when it comes to actually printing. Where you level your bed is basically guaranteed to not be a full step, so magical numbers means zilch for quality. Also it has all to do with the pitch of your leadscrews and your z-motors steps per revolution and nothing to do with nozzle diameter (other than keep the layer height to within 80% of nozzle diameter). You are conflating things. I print minis and figures in variable layer height no problem and get fantastic quality. 0.05 to 0.1 for minis and 0.07 to 1.5 for larger stuff.
@@B143DP not completely true. Layer height is more based on the Z axis stepper and how far the Z moves with one full step. On my printer that distance is 0.04 mm and my layer height is always a multiple of that. I get fantastic results at 0.08mm layer height as far as FDM is concerned using a normal 0.4mm nozzle. A smaller nozzle would only slightly increase the detail on the top of a print and be much more prone to clogs.
more pros: you can customise your minis with printing parts like head swaps, weapon options and more. you can also create your own minis and parts if you know how to 3d sculpt. and i loooooove my anycubic photon :D
i think resin printers are better for beginners, yes it's messy , but using PPE and being careful is fine, but because it only has one axis, it's just easier to print thing on, fdm printers have all this other stuff to worry about, the biggest con for the resin printers is a tiny build area, so unless you do dragons in pieces, and scenery and terrain as well it would be better to print them on a fdm, if you tinker with it and upgrade them enough they can do very good prints, almost as nice as resin.
@@seanc8054 for the size your absolutly right....but for qualety....no, not realy. resin printers are lightyears ahead qualety wise. as a miniature painter i can not stand those ugly build lines. they look absolutly terrible. i would rather print things in 20 peaces then print one thing on a PPE.
@@GirlPainting yeah me too, but some things wont print in pieces though, or i dunno how to cut them into pieces, and then if you glue them you see the lines from them being in pieces anyways, ive seen some prints on an ender 3 that were really good, i forget the name of the channel tomb of something horrors, i would print terrain with that level of quality in their video, the lines were almost invisible, they were printing at like 0.1 or something, it's not the same quality , but for printing a blown up wall or spooky tree i think it would be okay, i think it would take to much time and wear and tear on the LCD screen and UV light to make everything i want to make in 20 pieces, it would take like a week to do a few spooky trees or a building lol, i'll just settle for less then perfect, but check out youtube videos on how good a FDM can be forced into printing lol
@@seanc8054 i have seen such videos and i am not impressed. i waited with 3d printing untill it hit a level that i am satisfied with, and that is resin printing. it is smooth as butter without any lines visible. if you whant to print big scale terrain peaces, go for it. i will not stop you. i for myself build my terrain old school with silicon molds + plastor ;-) mdf terrain and also scratch build. and with my 3d printer i can print out details like book cases, chests, chairs and such. but i have my printer for other purposes, not terrain making. i print miniatures, and only miniatures.
@@GirlPainting maybe i should invest in a cnc laser cutter to cut those mdf pieces into buildings and such :O i love my elegoo mars printer though, so many little orks ive already printed
Love 3D printing, he’s a tip for you Scott on removing those supports! When you print Is done, and after you clean the mini with alcohol, let your minis sit in a container of warm/hot water for a few minutes, it’ll soften the supports and you can pull them right off!
As a side note, failed resin prints use less resin than a full print, whereas failed FDM prints use as much as a full FDM print. In regards to "Heroic Scale On Crack", it's often because the figures are designed to be printed on both kinds of machines. A figure that comes out perfectly on a resin machine might be a smooth blob on an FDM machine. The creator doesn't want to limit who 'gets' to print his or her sculpts, so they go for deeper details.
Hey man... quick tip for your ultrasonic cleaner - head to lowes and get MeanGreen cleaning product... use that instead of IPA. A lot less harsh for your workspace
I literally have that cardboard box sitting on my kitchen counter, waiting for this weekend to unwrap my Anycubic photon and get started. I check RUclips to see if there are any upda-- YOU. ARE. KIDDING. ME. Scott got a freakin' Photon.
I think another pro could be that there’s less pressure to experiment with and customize models. If you don’t like something, you’re only out the time and resin that you spent. You don’t have to buy a whole new kit or try to salvage what you modified.
@@torymiddlebrooks Pretty sure they mean you have to spend the initial 380 for the printer which makes it immediately more expensive to experiment than purchased minis or kits.
@@nulllocke I dunno. The upfront cost is pretty spendy; but it justifies itself pretty quickly. In the near future when technology gets even better and printing gets quicker; whole armies could be printed out and the printer and materials costs would equal probably roughly the equivalent prices it would cost to buy said army, but it also comes with the advantages of 3D printing (Such as making a whole new army, customizing troops..ect.) It will be interesting to see how a company like GW will be able to handle 3D printing at that point. The recast market for their products is already out of control, and it would probably be even worse when 3D printing reaches its apex.
@@dakotaa7535 For sure. It's not my intent to argue against 3d printing, just to explain Luca's response which is a valid point when talking about buying new kits versus printing them.
For those who are saying "I cant imagine buying a printer without knowing how to use it!" You might see whether a local community college has a 3d print club. Often you can meet like minded folks & pay only a nominal amount to have access to some great 3d printing hardware & people who love to share their knowledge. Bonus points if you bring donuts!
Well using SLA resin printers like his are pretty easy to use, you can learn most of the basics in less than an hour using youtube videos for information. I have a Maker Select V2 filaent printer right now and I plan to get the Elegoo Mars SLA resin printer in December since that is when ost of the sames for this type of stuff happens.
yeah, i mean thats what mini gamers do tho, most of us didnt have any idea how to paint but we spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a game that you had to paint first lol , 3d printing is the same, but with resin printers there isnt that much to learn really, you just need to figure out chitubox and the printer does the rest (you learn some things on the way, such as the FEP film wears out after about 1 liter of resin and needs replaced, it'll still print some models after 1 liter but you will get more failed prints if you dont change it out)
The main problem I have with 3D printers are the supports and layer lines, I'm glad to see that the resin printers are dropping in price, thanks for the vid scott. Don't forget to PRINT MORE MINIS
I've heard the layer lines on some 3d printers can get really bad. You end up having to run it at like 100 layers and then a single piece takes like 8 hours to print. I would just be antsy that entire time. Small projects i guess it wouldn't be took big of an issue though
Well new resin printers are almost without print lines also you can print the print plate full of stuff, as it doesnt slow down print time like on filament based printers 😘
@@gohan924 Well I can tell you right now, a FDM printer (the ones with layer lines) will have 2-4x more layers than a resin print depending upon the layer size. You can also FDM print a model with the same layer size and get "similar" results to a resin print but it still might have some VERY minute layer lines. A Resin print however has alot more layers (cause the standard layer size is 0.05mm) and you don't really see the lines. I have both printers and can confirm that FDM is great for creatures around Large+ sized and resin is perfect for small details such as heads, hands and anything medium or smaller. Also, a FDM print at 0.12mm heights with that dwarf will have around 223 layers where as the resin version has around 600 (depending upon support settings) and @Miniac 's probably had a similar amount of layers with his resin print and you don't see any problems there
@@gohan924 So... a few things. I think even on an FDM printer, 100 layers is far lower than we're really looking at. It depends on the resolution, of course, but a 50 micron mini that is about 30mm high is 600 layers. And that's the lowest (as in worst) resolution a resin printer would print at. At best quality, we're talking about 3,000 layers. A resin print at 50 microns will NOT have visible layer lines unless something is wrong (there are a few possibilities but in generally, it would mean that your print is moving around enough to cause visible layer lines). At low quality .05mm/50microns, we're looking at just 2-3 hours, and unlike an FDM printer, you can fill the plate up without changing the time. At high quality, I've had a standard mini take something like 12h, but that's because the angle resulted in a fireball that was coming from an extended hand making it more than 30mm in height.
I printed a bunch of minis using FDM printers, which required a lot more clean-up (sanding, filing, support removal, etc.). Resin printing looks great and the detail isn't compromised, but it's seems a little more fiddly and expensive. If anybody is looking for cheaper minis for boardgames etc. try looking at FDM printers. They tend to be cheaper to purchase and maintain but the results aren't as crisp. I printed a large kraken miniature for D&D for less than 60 pence.
I use fdm for terrain and a photon for minis. It’s way less fiddly to use resin. Doing supports in chitubox takes longer than fdm, but my photon is rock solid. I print whole plates of minis for very cheap. Minis are like 10-20 cents if you hollow them. I print gargantuan minis for less than 2 dollars. Fdm is great for terrain, but for minis it’s the way to go.
yea, the only thing fiddly about resin printing is making sure you level the plate, slice it right and avoiding getting it on your skin/eyes. and that gets a lot easier with practice. otherwise its cake. i had a buddy give me an fdm mini a couple years ago that i ended up throwing out because i wasnt about to spend a ton of time removing all the supports and processing it for the quality of figure i would end up with. speaking to cost, i got my photon for less than 300 bucks and a 500ml bottle of resin will run you about 20 bucks. the slight bump in price is totally worth it for the level of detail youre getting
Sculpting miniatures is a super difficult process and requires a huge ammount of skill and time. Huge props to all the people out there giving their models away for free. I've been sculpting for the Entertainment Industry for a while now but I never got the chance to print one of my characters or creatures. Since I'm a huge fan of your channel and now that you've got yourself a printer I'd like to send you a bust I've been working on for you to print and paint it... if you want it. Btw totally digging the Crysis Shirt... Thanks for the great vid. Really wanna buy a printer now. Le GF is not gonna like this :D
Big up for the 3D prints. Welcome to the club! Resin can be quite expensive but you can also hollow your models and save a lot of cash with no drawbacks. The surface will print totally fine. I ma currently printing the HUGE Tarasque from Artisan Guild and it is awesome! Thanks for your very informative videos on mini paintings!
One warning though. I have had minis 3D printed with resin printers from Shape Ways quite a long time ago. They seem to start decaying after 2-3 years. Even if stored in dark the resin starts to remelt and glitter through even a paint layer. Now, it might be that the new resin is better and more durable but the older one certainly wasn't I have minis that are sticky to touch and soft. So maybe, before spending a long time painting some Golden Demon quality stuff on this material, try out if the durability issues are solved :-)
I’ve been 3D printing since 2006, mostly engineering prototypes but the last year or so I’ve been printing terrain for our Gloomhaven group. The terrain printing has been done on one of my FDM printers and depending on your slicer settings yes layer lines are definitely visible but once you prime and paint your mini they become much less noticeable, sometimes even helping to add texture. I too delved into the world of DLP printing earlier this year with the purchase of the Elegoo Mars printer. I haven’t really done a lot with mine yet so i’m excited to see what you do with your Photon S.
@@michalnoga8460 I'd recommend you look at these - www.thingiverse.com/thing:3530085 And pretty much everything from Rob - www.thingiverse.com/robagon/designs
Been printing my own minis for the past year on resin and 6 months of stuff on a few different FDM printers before that. Some quick tips: -Grab yourself a bottle of flexible resin to mix with your regular resin at about 15% flex to 85% regular. This will make the small bits way more durable and less prone to breaking -remove supports before curing will reduce the number of “chunks” or dents that are missing in the mini -Come join us in the 3d printed tabletop guild on Facebook. There is so much knowledge available in that group you can get answers to nearly anything. -maximize your printing efficiency by filling the build plate up before printing. Since resin prints entire layers at once the time your print takes to finish is only limited by the highest part of a model. I can print 6 to 8 figures at one time in 3-4 hours on the resin printer when the same size and amount would be 20+ hours on FDM -lastly there are dozens of fantastic models out there from patreon and kickstarters that don’t suffer from the proportion problem you mentioned. I’ve generally gone away from thingiverse for my models and can usually find whatever I need from patreon or other modelers pages for sale that look absolutely fantastic coming off a printer. Feel free to ask me any questions you want about printing minis. I’d be more than happy to help anyone get their printing game to its peak. 🙂
I'm using the Photon for almost a year and I'm fully satisfied. Yes is a little messy sometimes. But results are incredible. I was coming from a filament printer...I still have it but never used again...the print quality is too much better on the Photon. The biggest advantage (other than quality) is that height is the only thing that influence the printing time so you can fill the printing plate wit a lot of stuff without increasing printing time. A must have for an hobbyst.
True but some minis can warp in places as they cure under UV light without support structures holding them in place. Look for thin flat or long narrow structures.
Scott, after watching this video a month a go, I purchased an AnyCubic Photon S, and since then I have had loads of issues with the company, they have had 2 lots of payments from me, I have had to send a faulty one back and they still haven't refunded me for 1 of the printers and the cost of returning one. I have opted for an Elegoo Mars, it worked straight out of the box and when I have had a query, their customer service have been brilliant. I would caution anyone wanting to buy an Anycubic machine.
I've been 3d printing for years but just recently got into tabletop wargaming and mini painting. I can say without a doubt, these resin printers are MILES easier to operate than the more traditional FDM printers I've been fooling with for the past decade. While I still love my FDM printers, at this point they pretty much only do really big things like cosplay or mechanical creations, and my photon is cranking out minis faster than I can paint them! FDM printers have so many failure modes that it took me a few weeks before I could reliable get decent looking prints out of them, and years before I could properly diagnose and fix printing problems. This resin printer on the other hand.... pretty much never fails a print. It's amazing. BIG PRO: For beginners to the painting hobby, some of the really big intimidating models had just been to big and intimidating to even attempt, but since I started with resin printing all of the scary that was involved with those models is gone, and I can dive right in and experiment with all the neat techniques and stuff you feature on your channel! If I ass it up, no problem! Print another! This printer is GREAT! It's also motivated me to dive back into 3d modeling and sculpting organics and stuff! So far I'm only doing banners and remixing other peoples things but every day I get better. I can finally strap all the dead bodies and gore to my murder-dollies! It's taken this hobby to a whole new level! I recently printed a 28mm scale skull and it came out hollow with a detachable jawbone. Mind=Blown. Keep making videos dude, your stuff is great!
Welcome to the 3D printing hobby!!! I was just recently thinking that we need a painting channel that focuses on 3D printed models. The "heroic scale on crack" problem is NOT a problem with resin printers, but just the models that you were looking at, especially on Thingiverse. Many models, especially free ones, are optimized for printing on FDM machines, which are not capable of the fine details that we get on resin printers. With Artisan's Guild, you hit on one of the top-notch designers. Patreon is actually where most of the best designers sell their models. Another AMAZING one that I strongly recommend is PrintYourMonsters. His designs are absolutely gorgeous. If I were you, I would get in touch with PrintYourMonsters (his name is Emmanuel) and see if you can partner with him--I'm sure he would appreciate the exposure of having a professional painter painting, posting, and making videos that feature his models. There are a lot of others. Some offer miniatures that are designed to print without supports and are therefore easier, but for the best ones, you really need to learn to master supports. There's a channel called 3DPrintingPro that you should check out ASAP, he's the master of ChiTuBox. You should also check out a program called Photon File Validator. It will check your sliced file for any islands and help you get beautiful prints consistently. Also, most miniatures these days are designed digitally and printed on resin printers, then a mold is made from the print and it's duplicated that way. A resin print will have better quality than one cast in a mold. Don't believe me? Go look at Reaper's current kickstarter. Those aren't photographs of already-made miniatures, those are the digital models that will be printed and then have molds made.
As a person who owns both a fdm and resin printer, one con is that you need to change your exposure times when you change resins. A 10second exposure with anycubic green is fine, but trying the same with a transparent or red resin can produce over or under exposure and a less than stellar print
you guys are unbelievable. I'm waiting for a FDM printer I pledged for (kickstarter project) and now I don't want it anymore, I want this one... I hate you :D
I just started 3d printing a little bit ago and just recently paid for some custom models for me and my friends from hero forge for our pathfinder campaign. Patreon is fantastic for finding amazing models
Just got my Ender 3 Pro built and started the test print 30 min ago so here's to what I hope will be the start to a lifetime of printing kick ass terrain for my players! The resin printers like the Anycubic looks amazing!
People keep pooping on FDM printing but one thing you should know is that, it can be extremely accurate and have extremely good definition ( my ender 3 can pull off.08) though not as good as SLA BUT FDM is better for objects that have a decent amount of volume(like the boxs you were printing) In short: SLA is good for latticed small prints. FDM is amazing for set pieces for cheap and clean
So tempted to buy one of these. The prices are getting way more reasonable. I've been doing 3d sculpting for a long time and I've gotten some things 3D printed but I'd love to do more of that and start to produce my own minis. Are there any figures or characters that you've always wanted to see but can't find a mini for anywhere? Just looking for ideas on what to make.
Pro: per model it is cheap Con: depending on how expensive your machine is, you may need to deal with print lines. Con: once again depending on price, if arms and legs are separate there maybe gaps and not mstch up 100% so have some green stuff or putty of some kind to fill it.
I don't know if someone get you this tip but: after cleaning in IPA, but before using UV lamp put miniature under hot water, and remove supports with your hand. You can remove most of them without problem. Also check 3d Printing Pro channel on youtube- best tutorials about puting supoorts on chitubox. If you love Artisan guild scupults (best on patreon imo) check their profie on myminifactory- lot of cool stuff from previous months.
I've been 3d printing minis for 40k and dnd for 10 months now on an ender 3 pro, and the quality is way better than just "acceptable" or "good enough" to be used alongside official models. For fdm printing, the more effort you put into your printer the better the quality will be, and it shows.
A lot of the sculptures you find online for printing are going to be intended for the FDM printers that use the spools of plastic filament. So the detail may not be as good as one specifically made for resin.
As someone "fairly new" to tabletop gaming and already trying to be a decent GM, I find 3D printing to be extremely useful. It completes the game master experience from A to Z. You can go from an inception of a story bit/character/villain/anything basically, to writing it up, creating a statblock for it, finding the right base 3D model, modifying it if necessary, printing it, painting it up and then finally placing it on the board for your players and see them watch slack-jawed as you bring it all to "life" :D Amazing stuff! And if you are not a perfectionist or just a beginner painter/storyteller/GM/human (like me), just get a low-mid price ranged FDM printer. Not the best quality obviously but it still looks amazing on the board from arms reach!
I am very happy to see this video. I have been a patron of Comet Lord miniatures for months and did not own a 3d printer until yesterday. It makes me feed glad to see that this unit handled the detailed models effectively.
The "bananas heroic" style you're seeing in most of the free minis is due to a lot of people still using FDM (i.e. "melted plastic") printers for their miniatures. This kind of forces artists to keep to "chunkier" designs as they cannot have the same level of detail as resin. There are artists that are creating assets and miniatures that show off the accuracy you can get with resin printers (like the Photon S). Given your painting focus, try looking up The Makers Cult for someone doing more detailed "grim dark" focused miniatures.
This isn't really that true if you have a well tuned FDM printer. I've printed minis that were intended for resin printers, proper small slender ones without issue there was just more cleanup at the end and I have the added benefit of a MUCH larger build plate and not having to handle toxic chemicals. I really don't like resin printers.
@@Krytern It is true though. The resin printers highest layer height is the lowest layer height possible on FDM printers. I have both a well-tuned FDM printer and a resin printer. Whilst I can get "good" results from the FDM, perfectly reasonable for the tabletop, the resin printer gets *sterling* results.
@@BTolputt What is the lowest layer height possible on your FDM printer? Isn't the highest a resin printer can go about 0.2, which a FDM printer can quite blatantly go lower than that?
@@Krytern 0.05mm is the smallest layer height I've seen on any retail FDM machine. Which is the smallest mine goes to. That is the starting layer height for the standard Anycubic, which can go down to 0.01mm, which I've seen NO retail FDM machines capable of. This is a stupid argument to be having. The design of FDM makes it incapable of matching the finer levels of resin. I wish it were otherwise (FDM is cheaper & cleaner), but it isn't so.
@@BTolputt I'm not trying to have a big argument, just the resin printers I've seen start from 0.2 and go down from there. There is definitely a quality difference but with a properly tuned FDM printer the difference isn't "sterling".
Fun fact, sculpters and companies (specifically Reaper) have resin printers to generate prototypes and masters for casting molds. There is still post processing and mess, but it is more than capable of handling the details. Glad you are with us on the resin train, there is no going back.
This is a "when" not a "if" subject for me, I'm waiting because the prices and quality are still getting much better every year. I hoping 2 more years will get a quality printer down to $200.
Nothing that cheap yet, but the elegoo mars and original photo are often under $300 and I'd pick up either over the S model shown in the video. You can get a resin printer for $200 I had the monoprice mini sla for like $180, but it just made too many compromises. The electronics will get cheaper but the high precision metal mechanical bits will continue to be a barrier to really low cost machines.
A pro i've seen is that with a resin printer, print time is based on how many layers, rather than materials if you can fit 3 or 4 minis of the same height in the build plate, then you can print them in the same amount of time as 1 print would take
I got my first 3d printer around Christmas last year. I went with an fdm printer because it is easier to maintain and better for prop making. Great websites for miniatures as desktophero3d and heroforge.
I’m actually getting an FDM printer in a few weeks. I decided to get an FDM vs the resin based on cost of prints and the care required after printing. Resin are 100% better at quality of prints. I’m going to be doing board game inserts, upgrades, and D&D pieces. Printing terrain on FDM printers are much cheaper. Love the video and glad you are enjoying it!!
I wanna say great thanks to you. Because, it’s a hobby desert in my country, and there are only one brand that we could have is games workshop. They are great, but you can not find any other mini form games workshop or limit board games. I am enjoy this hobby, but I just not finding any enjoyment of getting all kind of mini I want. (And they are also very expensive, due to the shipment form other country) This video gave me a light of hope, that I could build my own minis. Thank you again to sharing this great video for us.
Maaan you are making me want one now! I'm no where near a mini fanatic, in fact I'm kinda new to board games in general but being able to improve all my games with awesome minis would be amazing. Love seeing people's faces when they see how awesome some games are. Can imagine their reaction when they see awesome little people and terrain etc
Artisan Guild and Comet Lord are both two of the best out there. I would also add Cast N Play to that list, especially if you want terrain or set pieces. FYI, Comet Lord also has a Patreon that is well worth subscribing to.
Another big pro is printing stuff that isn't related to minis. For example, my dog chewed the control knobs off of my washing machine and I printed replacements (FDM printer). Hobby related things too, like an airbrush stand, a pencil box that I keep my small files in, a safe container for used razor blades, etc.
I've been genuinely interested in this so I'm really glad to watch this, I hope you're as through and use the same scientific method as other stuff you do.
I’m no expert so forgive me if I’m stating the obvious here. If supports are more annoying than glue up, it might be worth designing/buying sculpts that print in several unsupported pieces on a single plate.
I've been on the fence about 3D printing for a while, it's definitely something I want to do, but living in an apartment in California, space is at a premium. The size and ease of use of this model is super appealing, when I get things more organized and decide to take the plunge this will likely be the printer I get. Glad they sponsored this video or I may not have seen it otherwise! Appreciate the consistent, quality content.
it is certainly an Area that could evolve rather drastically, but so far it did not. Pricepoint as you mention being one thing, another is the mixing of stuff, cleaning etc. At least GW will have to keep on their toes to make stuff that amazes if every even semi-dedicated miniature fan can get a machine and start doing their own stuff or print out remade models nearly similar to originals. That said not everyone will become an amazing sculptor in an instant, but they might not also have to be. More digital sculpting artist could start selling own sculpts online or be hired to sculpt specific projects - Similar to what is done in the Paint Shops currently. The other side is the younger generations coming into the hobby - So far that part seems more like the Parents have bought these models for their kid not knowing what they bought and not knowing the skill set needed to paint - often resulting completely overpainted models being sold back Online. It is highly unlikely that Parents would invest in a machine just for their kid to try out a Model. So at least for that part, I think GW will remain an attractive offer, though it is most likely not a returning customer. But yes for the dedicated hobbyists 3D printing could become a very juicy option - Properly first for those who already do Conversions. The rest will follow depending on how easy the setup becomes. If 3D printing gets similar traits as home printers with super expensive paint, then it will not sell like hotcakes. I guess one way to calculate it would be something like a 2500pts GW Army vs Buying a 3D printer and printing the Army.- That is If you can even get all the models in such an army?. And then there is time - The GW hobby is already a pretty time-consuming undertaking, (which GW addressed by the new Contrast Colours, making the Hobby Paint Part more accessible to a broader audience along with all the entry Sub Game types). So how much time will it take to print all those models?. Those already doing special projects will most likely not mind the time, if the quality is up to par and they can create something unique - but for those eager to get playing, buying originals will seem easier and "safer" way to go for now. - but will be interesting to see how this evolves. SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC After nearly 20 years of absence from the 40K I returned only to find out that my Eldar "Xenom Scum" barely had developed - Still exactly the same Design Language with a few exceptions done by Forge World - the only major difference being a much higher degree of details and dynamics. Essentially GW are only by now able to create what they properly always wanted to be able to create. For the Eldar space race that supposedly can create anything out of Wraith Bone, it seems like an extremely slow development cycle for their equipment, weapons and all - Not something that amazes much. But okay GW has +20 Armies to take care of - But perhaps that is yet another reason that 3D printing could become strong into this hobby segment.
@@99Plastics yes I agree... The hassle is explained well with the supports, the bad software... All the cleaning etc but like with all technologies this will improve overtime, becoming much quicker, simpler and cheaper... So no hassle. I will give it a maximum of 5 more years before all you have to do is press print and you model is ready in minutes. I would however assume that the cost of printing materials will follow suite with inks and be super expensive
Some comments: Resin printing is messy and should be done with mask and gloves. However, there are no carcinogens in resin (see the MSDS for specific hazards). The area needs to be well ventilated. Resins are cross-linked in 405nm LED light, this is not actually UV. The resolution of the prints is microns, most people blame low-res prints on the printer, but its from the 3D model. A liter of resin goes a long way, but a considerable amount of isopropanol is required to clean prints. Supports or trivial to remove before final curing, with the proper tool. Resin prints can be sanded easily.
Glad you've jumped into the 3D printing game! I've owned both the Anycubic Photon and the Elegoo Mars with great results. But here are some things that I think people should definitely know that I don't see in reviews where people have only had it for a short period of time. 1. The prices are affordable, but the pieces within the machine also fail pretty regularly after continued use. Anycubic support is pretty good about sending you replacement parts for things that break, but all of the repairs are on you. Anycubic doesn't do it for you. Just to give you an idea, before I got rid of my Photon I replaced the motherboard, a fan, the UV lights, and the screen. I had the machine for just under 6 months. 2. The LCD screen is not covered under the 12 month warranty. 3D printer companies consider the screen a "consumable" because they fail so frequently. You can get another screen from other sources for around $50 (I've seen as low as $35 and as high as $70) which isn't awful all things considered, but also annoying since mine failed about 4 months into having it. Looking forward to more 3D printed minis in the future! Hope you don't run into the same problems I did with the Photon.
I literally printed and painted that dwarf last week ( yours came out a lot better in regards to the painting ) Resin printing has been amazing for a while now ,just now its cheap enough to get into . Edit your using way WAY to many supports , those shelves if you had manually gone in and placed 3 supports on each side of the shelf that would have been enough to support it but been super easy to remove.....Oh and soaking the mini for a while in warm water also helps the model be more rubbery and makes the supports easier to remove and the model harder to damage .
Just bought a Photon S and hoping to provide some miniatures to my daughter who DM’s a lot. Can’t wait! Will also be my father attempt at 3D printing…wish me luck!
You can actually forgo the alcohol entirely if you use Mean Green, Purple power, or Mr. Clean in the ultra sonic cleaner. Just put it in a glass jar to make it easier to handle, and every once and a while sit the jar out in the sun to let the resin in it cure, then just filter it out with a coffee filter.
Great review however I don't believe you stressed enough the actual toxicity of resin and the unknowness of just how bad it could possible be to do inside of a house.
@@nicondottiere I think it would depend on the size of the window. It would definitely help if you could place the printer as close to the window as possible though.
@@nicondottiere Maybe?? I know you can get resins that supposedly have less of the nasty stuff in them or are plant based. My personal opinion on the matter is that I wouldn't under any circumstances use one of these printers inside of my house where I eat,sleep,live. That is just my opinion though.
You missed the biggest pro of them all in my opinion...it is a hobby of sorts and it SUPER fun to do...the satisfaction of knowing you made a mini vs. just buying it
Dear Scott, I don't comment much but I just wanted to let you know that your videos are always inspirational regardless of topic because you're presence and personality are so powerful and engaging that I always want more. I would just like to once thank you for pushing me to paint more minis and being so instructional and informative. Keep up the good work, you're video editing skills have almost reached up to your painting skills and it's a joy to watch.
A big pro is saving money. I spent around $600 total so far and have printed around 400 minis. Even with some misprints I've saved a lot of money compared to what I would have spent buying the minis.
A tip if you're going to print mini's; having someone who knows how to 3d model and export the mesh to .STL means you can print them custom, however you want. Doesn't take much to learn some basic 3d modelling skills and transfer them here.
I am not sure if anyone said this or not but you DON'T want to be using a metal putty knife to remove your prints. It will continue to scratch your build plate which can cause your prints to not adhere to the plate. Pick up a few good PLASTIC ones instead. Thanks for making such a great video with a ton of resources, I appreciate it.
Podcast Scott: I hate dwarfs!!! SCREW DWARFS! First mini printed..... a dwarf lol great vid!! Love to get into 3D printing but still unsure of taking the plunge
If its cost well the longer orange 10 is 200 odd bucks american . If its worry about the tech side of things well as an FDM printer for several years I can say there is very little learning curve with a resin printer ( there is with FDM printing) its so easy I got my 12 year old nephew to watch a 5 min how to video then had him print a plate full of mini's , the results were pretty much perfect ....
Get an Epax X1. It's a bit better in almost every way. Zrail is a big improvement and worth the increased cost alone. I say this as a photon owner. I wish the X1 had been available when I was buying. Photon is very low quality product. You get what you pay for though.
I'm not sure about resin printing but for FDM you can adjust the printing layer height to whatever you want. An example I have is that I kept doing all my models in .2mm and I thought it was the nozzle width, it's not, it's the layer height from each pass that a it goes over. Meaning my new hills I created after discovering this were AMAZING. So all in all, as you get better and figure out things the models becomes better and better because there are hundreds if not thousands of different settings you can use to adjust a model and it's creation.
Complete ranges of minis that are also high quality are pretty rare, im a big fan of the makers cult, making some feudal imperial guard proxies, mechanicus and even thunder warriors if you like your marines/custodes
I got my Photon S and waiting for my Anycubic Wash & Cure machine to complete my set up. Next will be one of the FDM machines just to round up my collection of 3D printers with different materials.
4 года назад+1
The ELEGOO Mars is another budget 3D resin printer that is becoming very popular. Its sub $300 price tag is appealing.
I've been printing myself since August, about 5 months, but I've been designing for 3D printing for a number of years using Shapeways.com, where they do the printing of my sculptures. And yes as a professional 3D artist I do all of my own sculptures. I use an Orange 10, which is very similar to yours. Here's a tip for removing models from the build plate, use a razor blade or x-acto knife. Wiggle it under the edge of the model, then with the Sirayatech resin I use the model just pops off. If it's still too tight you can get your other scraper and get it under the razor. This should prevent any damage to the model.
Was looking at this very unit around the beginning of this month and the price alone is one hell of a selling point to go for UV casting over plastic forming. This type of casting (prototyping) is older so the devices are more developed and it's really showing with the Photon series. Only sticking point was the proprietary software needed for the device which isn't that much of a sticking point.
Great video Scott, I like the small vingettes inbetween the "meat" of the video topic. Makes it all feel more journalistic than your plain old youtube video demonstration. Keep up the good work,
Mine is the original Photon. My first print was successful, every other print was a disaster. You can never have enough supports. My third print failed to stick to the printing platform. The result was 2D. I have a few 3D models from a graphic design course I did a few years ago. Fine for rendering on screen, but many had errors that had some interesting effects when I used photons slicer. There were missing layers and the geometry of the models made splitting them into smaller parts next to impossible. Mesh tools like Meshmixer, Meshlab and blender helped me save a few. Some objects had fine details that were too brittle and broke off too easily. The one thing I had trouble with is the curing times under a UV lamp. 30 minutes for some models was way too long and thirty seconds wasn't long enough. And no matter how careful you are, some resin will always find a way onto your gloves and the table. I wouldn't be surprised to find some on the ceiling fan. I found a drop on my shoe that could only have gotten there if it phased through the cutting mat, plastic sheet and the table or it defied gravity and flew through an obstacle course of table cloth, chair legs and the cat to reach my shoe. I've had a lot of fun. I'm still learning, and 3D printing some of my own minis was why I bought this 3D printer.
I would recommend not to use a metal spatula, but instead a plastic one(i still use the one that came with the photon). This way you can't scratch the build plate :)
Absurd hero proportions aren't a limit of the medium, its a design choice for those artists. Yes it's easier to print bulky things, but if you use proper supports, you can print anything.
Buy the Photon S: bit.ly/miniac-anycubic
DISCOUNT CODE: "ACMINI"
On 10/21 (Monday) the Anycubic Photon S will be on SALE for $389. On that day, the coupon code will only give you $5 off. If you want to buy the printer, wait until Monday! The coupon code will last until 11/3.
love the achievement and animated bit XD
You can also check out the Photonsters Github page for various resin settings and programs to analyze and fix supports on models better than what Chitubox can do.
Use a rubber slice to remove the print not metal, my anycubic came with one and its great for removing the print and for removing excess resin from the FEP film, point the rubber slice away from you and lightly drag across film backwards so the resin gets caught underneath and drain through a filter.
Hot water bath on your uncured minis can help with support removal, always remove support before curing as once cured the prints are more brittle.
Resin can sit in the printer for a few weeks but its best to go by the rule of a few days tops, empty and repour after every 10hr of prints if theres still a large amount of resin left over as uv leak from the screen may coat the fep film in a thin layer of semi cured resin which can cause prints to fail down the line.
Gloves are a must. A post print process i use is acetone bath 10s of swirling, cold water to remove acetone, hot bath and support removal and then cure under a UV lamp, i use a nail salon lamp i got for £10 on amazon. Works great.
If you do get resin on you, it wont kill you but wash it off when possible as if it cures under your skin you will have a huge itchy reaction that can be nasty.
The issue of hands, heads and such being too large has nothing to do with the 3D sculpting or printing process, it's because whoever made the sculpt doesn't understand the medium.
Also, most companies don't use the 3D print to make molds, they make an RTV mold of the print then make resin castings out of high-temp resistant resins so they can withstand the pressure of making the molds. Bu that's only for metal casting.
If the model is being made out of polystyrene plastic it's separated into parts, hollowed out and has other work done so it (like gussets, pegs etc) then it goes directly to the CNC machine, no physical model is made (unless you use vinyl, but that's a whole other mess to talk about).
Most companies, like GW, use the 3D prints to get models painted so they can get the box art, magazine articles etc done so they don't have to wait for the plastic sprues to be made. If they had to wait, their lead time could be up to a full year until they see a physical model. Using 3D prints helps speed up the manufacturing and advertising processes.
Lol
8:37 you should not be touching the resin print without gloves untill it has cured fully under the uv lamp. just because you washed it, the resin is still not cured. it is still not safe for skin contact till it is thoroughly exposed to uv light. Resin sensativity is real. You may quickly find that you start having adverse health reactions to your new found hobby if you dont.
Scott's wife thanks you.
The toxins slowly buildup, you're gonna see some cases of sarcoma in the future caused by the mishandling of uncured resin
Aww stfu health and safety nazi
@You know the deal son i have 3 kids and oussy on the plate ... mr little dick
@@kanesmith8271 Unlikely, unless your job is managing a 3D print farm and you are working with resin on a daily basis. People have a very poor understanding of relative risks. Even for someone like Scott, who is likely to get a lot of use out of it, occasionally handling an uncured miniature is not likely to significantly increase his cancer risk.
Designs are "bulky" because A LOT of people still use FDM machines for printing miniatures. FDM is way less accurate, and "bulky" and stylized minis are easier to print using this kind of technology.
Although if you print at a 0.05 layer height you can get a pretty detailed model. Lotta post cleanup though.
@@preddes6522 True this, but generally its a 0.04 layer height. On FDM the "magic number" for layers is in an interval equal to the nozzle size. So a 0.4mm nozzle should have layers that are in 0.04mm steps, I print mine at 0.2, 0.12, and 0.08
If i had used a 0.2mm nozzle its 0.10, 0.06 and 0.04
@@B143DP Magical numbers is a logical fallacy when it comes to actually printing. Where you level your bed is basically guaranteed to not be a full step, so magical numbers means zilch for quality. Also it has all to do with the pitch of your leadscrews and your z-motors steps per revolution and nothing to do with nozzle diameter (other than keep the layer height to within 80% of nozzle diameter). You are conflating things. I print minis and figures in variable layer height no problem and get fantastic quality. 0.05 to 0.1 for minis and 0.07 to 1.5 for larger stuff.
@@B143DP not completely true. Layer height is more based on the Z axis stepper and how far the Z moves with one full step. On my printer that distance is 0.04 mm and my layer height is always a multiple of that. I get fantastic results at 0.08mm layer height as far as FDM is concerned using a normal 0.4mm nozzle. A smaller nozzle would only slightly increase the detail on the top of a print and be much more prone to clogs.
Agreed
more pros: you can customise your minis with printing parts like head swaps, weapon options and more. you can also create your own minis and parts if you know how to 3d sculpt. and i loooooove my anycubic photon :D
i think resin printers are better for beginners, yes it's messy , but using PPE and being careful is fine, but because it only has one axis, it's just easier to print thing on, fdm printers have all this other stuff to worry about, the biggest con for the resin printers is a tiny build area, so unless you do dragons in pieces, and scenery and terrain as well it would be better to print them on a fdm, if you tinker with it and upgrade them enough they can do very good prints, almost as nice as resin.
@@seanc8054 for the size your absolutly right....but for qualety....no, not realy. resin printers are lightyears ahead qualety wise. as a miniature painter i can not stand those ugly build lines. they look absolutly terrible. i would rather print things in 20 peaces then print one thing on a PPE.
@@GirlPainting yeah me too, but some things wont print in pieces though, or i dunno how to cut them into pieces, and then if you glue them you see the lines from them being in pieces anyways, ive seen some prints on an ender 3 that were really good, i forget the name of the channel tomb of something horrors, i would print terrain with that level of quality in their video, the lines were almost invisible, they were printing at like 0.1 or something, it's not the same quality , but for printing a blown up wall or spooky tree i think it would be okay, i think it would take to much time and wear and tear on the LCD screen and UV light to make everything i want to make in 20 pieces, it would take like a week to do a few spooky trees or a building lol, i'll just settle for less then perfect, but check out youtube videos on how good a FDM can be forced into printing lol
@@seanc8054 i have seen such videos and i am not impressed. i waited with 3d printing untill it hit a level that i am satisfied with, and that is resin printing. it is smooth as butter without any lines visible. if you whant to print big scale terrain peaces, go for it. i will not stop you. i for myself build my terrain old school with silicon molds + plastor ;-) mdf terrain and also scratch build. and with my 3d printer i can print out details like book cases, chests, chairs and such. but i have my printer for other purposes, not terrain making. i print miniatures, and only miniatures.
@@GirlPainting maybe i should invest in a cnc laser cutter to cut those mdf pieces into buildings and such :O i love my elegoo mars printer though, so many little orks ive already printed
Love 3D printing, he’s a tip for you Scott on removing those supports! When you print Is done, and after you clean the mini with alcohol, let your minis sit in a container of warm/hot water for a few minutes, it’ll soften the supports and you can pull them right off!
Yeah I have printed a few things and I never had issue with the supports.
Thanks for the shoutout, Scott! Really enjoyed watching your journey getting started. Now the fun begins :)
As a side note, failed resin prints use less resin than a full print, whereas failed FDM prints use as much as a full FDM print.
In regards to "Heroic Scale On Crack", it's often because the figures are designed to be printed on both kinds of machines. A figure that comes out perfectly on a resin machine might be a smooth blob on an FDM machine. The creator doesn't want to limit who 'gets' to print his or her sculpts, so they go for deeper details.
Hey man... quick tip for your ultrasonic cleaner - head to lowes and get MeanGreen cleaning product... use that instead of IPA. A lot less harsh for your workspace
What is the main active ingredients? I need to find a similar product in my country.
Water
It is less harsh but also MUCH less effective for cleaning.
Thanks for painting my Dwarf model!
As in you did the sculpt? Does anyone sell physical models?
@@edwardcote2440 Yes I sculpted him. You can get a physical model from Danny here: www.etsy.com/ca/shop/3Dminis
Hey i see that the model is no longer on thingiverse? do you sell it by any chance on another website?
@@florisjanpietster Hi - yes you can get them here: gumroad.com/capritor
@@claudiosettiart Thanks man thats definitely a reasonable price. when my printer comes next week this will be the first one ill print
I literally have that cardboard box sitting on my kitchen counter, waiting for this weekend to unwrap my Anycubic photon and get started. I check RUclips to see if there are any upda-- YOU. ARE. KIDDING. ME.
Scott got a freakin' Photon.
Shawn McDonald same. Just opened and started a test print on my Photon yesterday. Lol
Nice , I was excited that he literally printed the same mini I did a couple days ago ( his paint job was much better than mine)
I think another pro could be that there’s less pressure to experiment with and customize models. If you don’t like something, you’re only out the time and resin that you spent. You don’t have to buy a whole new kit or try to salvage what you modified.
Plus 380$ *
You have to spend another 380 to experiment, Luca? That doesn't seem correct
@@torymiddlebrooks Pretty sure they mean you have to spend the initial 380 for the printer which makes it immediately more expensive to experiment than purchased minis or kits.
@@nulllocke I dunno. The upfront cost is pretty spendy; but it justifies itself pretty quickly. In the near future when technology gets even better and printing gets quicker; whole armies could be printed out and the printer and materials costs would equal probably roughly the equivalent prices it would cost to buy said army, but it also comes with the advantages of 3D printing (Such as making a whole new army, customizing troops..ect.)
It will be interesting to see how a company like GW will be able to handle 3D printing at that point. The recast market for their products is already out of control, and it would probably be even worse when 3D printing reaches its apex.
@@dakotaa7535 For sure. It's not my intent to argue against 3d printing, just to explain Luca's response which is a valid point when talking about buying new kits versus printing them.
Congrats man!! Welcome to the wonderful world of 3D Printing
For those who are saying "I cant imagine buying a printer without knowing how to use it!"
You might see whether a local community college has a 3d print club.
Often you can meet like minded folks & pay only a nominal amount to have access to some great 3d printing hardware & people who love to share their knowledge.
Bonus points if you bring donuts!
Well using SLA resin printers like his are pretty easy to use, you can learn most of the basics in less than an hour using youtube videos for information. I have a Maker Select V2 filaent printer right now and I plan to get the Elegoo Mars SLA resin printer in December since that is when ost of the sames for this type of stuff happens.
yeah, i mean thats what mini gamers do tho, most of us didnt have any idea how to paint but we spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a game that you had to paint first lol , 3d printing is the same, but with resin printers there isnt that much to learn really, you just need to figure out chitubox and the printer does the rest (you learn some things on the way, such as the FEP film wears out after about 1 liter of resin and needs replaced, it'll still print some models after 1 liter but you will get more failed prints if you dont change it out)
I love that the colors of that printer are “old school game boy”
The main problem I have with 3D printers are the supports and layer lines, I'm glad to see that the resin printers are dropping in price, thanks for the vid scott.
Don't forget to
PRINT
MORE
MINIS
I've heard the layer lines on some 3d printers can get really bad. You end up having to run it at like 100 layers and then a single piece takes like 8 hours to print. I would just be antsy that entire time. Small projects i guess it wouldn't be took big of an issue though
Well new resin printers are almost without print lines also you can print the print plate full of stuff, as it doesnt slow down print time like on filament based printers 😘
@@gohan924 Well I can tell you right now, a FDM printer (the ones with layer lines) will have 2-4x more layers than a resin print depending upon the layer size. You can also FDM print a model with the same layer size and get "similar" results to a resin print but it still might have some VERY minute layer lines. A Resin print however has alot more layers (cause the standard layer size is 0.05mm) and you don't really see the lines. I have both printers and can confirm that FDM is great for creatures around Large+ sized and resin is perfect for small details such as heads, hands and anything medium or smaller.
Also, a FDM print at 0.12mm heights with that dwarf will have around 223 layers where as the resin version has around 600 (depending upon support settings) and @Miniac 's probably had a similar amount of layers with his resin print and you don't see any problems there
@@gohan924 So... a few things. I think even on an FDM printer, 100 layers is far lower than we're really looking at. It depends on the resolution, of course, but a 50 micron mini that is about 30mm high is 600 layers. And that's the lowest (as in worst) resolution a resin printer would print at. At best quality, we're talking about 3,000 layers. A resin print at 50 microns will NOT have visible layer lines unless something is wrong (there are a few possibilities but in generally, it would mean that your print is moving around enough to cause visible layer lines). At low quality .05mm/50microns, we're looking at just 2-3 hours, and unlike an FDM printer, you can fill the plate up without changing the time. At high quality, I've had a standard mini take something like 12h, but that's because the angle resulted in a fireball that was coming from an extended hand making it more than 30mm in height.
Layer lines are still an issue if you don't orient correctly.
I printed a bunch of minis using FDM printers, which required a lot more clean-up (sanding, filing, support removal, etc.). Resin printing looks great and the detail isn't compromised, but it's seems a little more fiddly and expensive.
If anybody is looking for cheaper minis for boardgames etc. try looking at FDM printers. They tend to be cheaper to purchase and maintain but the results aren't as crisp. I printed a large kraken miniature for D&D for less than 60 pence.
I use fdm for terrain and a photon for minis. It’s way less fiddly to use resin.
Doing supports in chitubox takes longer than fdm, but my photon is rock solid. I print whole plates of minis for very cheap. Minis are like 10-20 cents if you hollow them. I print gargantuan minis for less than 2 dollars.
Fdm is great for terrain, but for minis it’s the way to go.
yea, the only thing fiddly about resin printing is making sure you level the plate, slice it right and avoiding getting it on your skin/eyes. and that gets a lot easier with practice. otherwise its cake. i had a buddy give me an fdm mini a couple years ago that i ended up throwing out because i wasnt about to spend a ton of time removing all the supports and processing it for the quality of figure i would end up with.
speaking to cost, i got my photon for less than 300 bucks and a 500ml bottle of resin will run you about 20 bucks. the slight bump in price is totally worth it for the level of detail youre getting
Is that a Crysis shirt, with all the main character names? Awesome!
Sculpting miniatures is a super difficult process and requires a huge ammount of skill and time. Huge props to all the people out there giving their models away for free.
I've been sculpting for the Entertainment Industry for a while now but I never got the chance to print one of my characters or creatures.
Since I'm a huge fan of your channel and now that you've got yourself a printer I'd like to send you a bust I've been working on for you to print and paint it... if you want it.
Btw totally digging the Crysis Shirt...
Thanks for the great vid. Really wanna buy a printer now. Le GF is not gonna like this :D
Sure, if you'd like you can send it to scott@miniac.co , thank you!
@@Miniac that would be super interesting to watch even in a short video!
Big up for the 3D prints. Welcome to the club!
Resin can be quite expensive but you can also hollow your models and save a lot of cash with no drawbacks. The surface will print totally fine. I ma currently printing the HUGE Tarasque from Artisan Guild and it is awesome!
Thanks for your very informative videos on mini paintings!
@Charlie Vetsworth that is a really good idea! going to try that out!
I already have a backlog of thousands of minis to be painted, watching this video gave me anxiety.
Look me up on instagram, Not_Rembrandt.
Nah, 3D printing is slow, backlog will increase slower than buying new units.
bout 10,000 here... literally
You should not feel anxiety; you do know that a role-player will inevitably die if he ever does run out of unpainted miniatures?!
This is a WHOLE ASS MOOD
One warning though. I have had minis 3D printed with resin printers from Shape Ways quite a long time ago. They seem to start decaying after 2-3 years. Even if stored in dark the resin starts to remelt and glitter through even a paint layer.
Now, it might be that the new resin is better and more durable but the older one certainly wasn't I have minis that are sticky to touch and soft. So maybe, before spending a long time painting some Golden Demon quality stuff on this material, try out if the durability issues are solved :-)
Great comment!!
I have a resin mini in front of me printed from Shapeways in 2017 and it is still in perfect condition. It is the black stuff.
Its down to the material, and there are multiple brands out there
If the resin was sticky to the touch or soft it definitely wasn't 100% cured. I have a lot of almost 2 year old resin prints with no issues at all.
Should it not be better to store it with plenty of UV light? After all that is the finishing step in the workflow, plenty of UV light. ;-)
I’ve been 3D printing since 2006, mostly engineering prototypes but the last year or so I’ve been printing terrain for our Gloomhaven group. The terrain printing has been done on one of my FDM printers and depending on your slicer settings yes layer lines are definitely visible but once you prime and paint your mini they become much less noticeable, sometimes even helping to add texture. I too delved into the world of DLP printing earlier this year with the purchase of the Elegoo Mars printer. I haven’t really done a lot with mine yet so i’m excited to see what you do with your Photon S.
Can you share please your links for Gloomhaven terrain? Thanks :-)
@@michalnoga8460
I'd recommend you look at these - www.thingiverse.com/thing:3530085
And pretty much everything from Rob - www.thingiverse.com/robagon/designs
Been printing my own minis for the past year on resin and 6 months of stuff on a few different FDM printers before that.
Some quick tips:
-Grab yourself a bottle of flexible resin to mix with your regular resin at about 15% flex to 85% regular. This will make the small bits way more durable and less prone to breaking
-remove supports before curing will reduce the number of “chunks” or dents that are missing in the mini
-Come join us in the 3d printed tabletop guild on Facebook. There is so much knowledge available in that group you can get answers to nearly anything.
-maximize your printing efficiency by filling the build plate up before printing. Since resin prints entire layers at once the time your print takes to finish is only limited by the highest part of a model. I can print 6 to 8 figures at one time in 3-4 hours on the resin printer when the same size and amount would be 20+ hours on FDM
-lastly there are dozens of fantastic models out there from patreon and kickstarters that don’t suffer from the proportion problem you mentioned. I’ve generally gone away from thingiverse for my models and can usually find whatever I need from patreon or other modelers pages for sale that look absolutely fantastic coming off a printer.
Feel free to ask me any questions you want about printing minis. I’d be more than happy to help anyone get their printing game to its peak. 🙂
remember to remove supports before curing, otherwise it may cause splintering when removing them after :)
I'm using the Photon for almost a year and I'm fully satisfied. Yes is a little messy sometimes. But results are incredible. I was coming from a filament printer...I still have it but never used again...the print quality is too much better on the Photon. The biggest advantage (other than quality) is that height is the only thing that influence the printing time so you can fill the printing plate wit a lot of stuff without increasing printing time. A must have for an hobbyst.
dont know if already mentioned it already: Remove the Supports before cure the print
that was actually painful to watch
With gloves.
True but some minis can warp in places as they cure under UV light without support structures holding them in place. Look for thin flat or long narrow structures.
Scott, after watching this video a month a go, I purchased an AnyCubic Photon S, and since then I have had loads of issues with the company, they have had 2 lots of payments from me, I have had to send a faulty one back and they still haven't refunded me for 1 of the printers and the cost of returning one. I have opted for an Elegoo Mars, it worked straight out of the box and when I have had a query, their customer service have been brilliant. I would caution anyone wanting to buy an Anycubic machine.
Miniac! Thanks for using my growl outro submission for this video! Huge fan, this is the best miniature channel on RUclips by far. \m/ Stay metal \m/
I've been 3d printing for years but just recently got into tabletop wargaming and mini painting. I can say without a doubt, these resin printers are MILES easier to operate than the more traditional FDM printers I've been fooling with for the past decade. While I still love my FDM printers, at this point they pretty much only do really big things like cosplay or mechanical creations, and my photon is cranking out minis faster than I can paint them!
FDM printers have so many failure modes that it took me a few weeks before I could reliable get decent looking prints out of them, and years before I could properly diagnose and fix printing problems. This resin printer on the other hand.... pretty much never fails a print. It's amazing.
BIG PRO: For beginners to the painting hobby, some of the really big intimidating models had just been to big and intimidating to even attempt, but since I started with resin printing all of the scary that was involved with those models is gone, and I can dive right in and experiment with all the neat techniques and stuff you feature on your channel! If I ass it up, no problem! Print another! This printer is GREAT!
It's also motivated me to dive back into 3d modeling and sculpting organics and stuff! So far I'm only doing banners and remixing other peoples things but every day I get better. I can finally strap all the dead bodies and gore to my murder-dollies! It's taken this hobby to a whole new level!
I recently printed a 28mm scale skull and it came out hollow with a detachable jawbone. Mind=Blown.
Keep making videos dude, your stuff is great!
Welcome to the 3D printing hobby!!! I was just recently thinking that we need a painting channel that focuses on 3D printed models.
The "heroic scale on crack" problem is NOT a problem with resin printers, but just the models that you were looking at, especially on Thingiverse. Many models, especially free ones, are optimized for printing on FDM machines, which are not capable of the fine details that we get on resin printers. With Artisan's Guild, you hit on one of the top-notch designers. Patreon is actually where most of the best designers sell their models. Another AMAZING one that I strongly recommend is PrintYourMonsters. His designs are absolutely gorgeous. If I were you, I would get in touch with PrintYourMonsters (his name is Emmanuel) and see if you can partner with him--I'm sure he would appreciate the exposure of having a professional painter painting, posting, and making videos that feature his models.
There are a lot of others. Some offer miniatures that are designed to print without supports and are therefore easier, but for the best ones, you really need to learn to master supports. There's a channel called 3DPrintingPro that you should check out ASAP, he's the master of ChiTuBox. You should also check out a program called Photon File Validator. It will check your sliced file for any islands and help you get beautiful prints consistently.
Also, most miniatures these days are designed digitally and printed on resin printers, then a mold is made from the print and it's duplicated that way. A resin print will have better quality than one cast in a mold. Don't believe me? Go look at Reaper's current kickstarter. Those aren't photographs of already-made miniatures, those are the digital models that will be printed and then have molds made.
As a person who owns both a fdm and resin printer, one con is that you need to change your exposure times when you change resins. A 10second exposure with anycubic green is fine, but trying the same with a transparent or red resin can produce over or under exposure and a less than stellar print
I have this printer as well... blew my mind when I started printing minis off!
you guys are unbelievable. I'm waiting for a FDM printer I pledged for (kickstarter project) and now I don't want it anymore, I want this one... I hate you :D
Watching this I didn’t know what year it was until I saw a fully stocked isopropyl alcohol shelf at Walmart......can’t be 2020 with such things.
“Don’t drink drink resin, you may die!”
This kind of customer advise is why I watch Miniac. :)
👍🤣🤣🤣🤣👍
Same here!
I just started 3d printing a little bit ago and just recently paid for some custom models for me and my friends from hero forge for our pathfinder campaign. Patreon is fantastic for finding amazing models
That box drop at the beginning of this video caused me physical pain :
Just got my Ender 3 Pro built and started the test print 30 min ago so here's to what I hope will be the start to a lifetime of printing kick ass terrain for my players! The resin printers like the Anycubic looks amazing!
Can you print a miniature 3D printer printing a miniature 3D printer?
I'll do anything for you
I mean they did print a mini anycubic photon with an anycubic photon. Lol
@@Miniac You're talking about a power no human should have.
People keep pooping on FDM printing but one thing you should know is that, it can be extremely accurate and have extremely good definition ( my ender 3 can pull off.08) though not as good as SLA BUT FDM is better for objects that have a decent amount of volume(like the boxs you were printing)
In short: SLA is good for latticed small prints. FDM is amazing for set pieces for cheap and clean
So tempted to buy one of these. The prices are getting way more reasonable.
I've been doing 3d sculpting for a long time and I've gotten some things 3D printed but I'd love to do more of that and start to produce my own minis. Are there any figures or characters that you've always wanted to see but can't find a mini for anywhere? Just looking for ideas on what to make.
Female orc druid
Some peasants and villagers :)
Pro: per model it is cheap
Con: depending on how expensive your machine is, you may need to deal with print lines.
Con: once again depending on price, if arms and legs are separate there maybe gaps and not mstch up 100% so have some green stuff or putty of some kind to fill it.
I don't know if someone get you this tip but: after cleaning in IPA, but before using UV lamp put miniature under hot water, and remove supports with your hand. You can remove most of them without problem.
Also check 3d Printing Pro channel on youtube- best tutorials about puting supoorts on chitubox.
If you love Artisan guild scupults (best on patreon imo) check their profie on myminifactory- lot of cool stuff from previous months.
I've been 3d printing minis for 40k and dnd for 10 months now on an ender 3 pro, and the quality is way better than just "acceptable" or "good enough" to be used alongside official models. For fdm printing, the more effort you put into your printer the better the quality will be, and it shows.
You should use that half dwarf in a ooze build.
A lot of the sculptures you find online for printing are going to be intended for the FDM printers that use the spools of plastic filament. So the detail may not be as good as one specifically made for resin.
I was waiting for the “don’t forget to... PRINT MORE MINIS”
As someone "fairly new" to tabletop gaming and already trying to be a decent GM, I find 3D printing to be extremely useful. It completes the game master experience from A to Z.
You can go from an inception of a story bit/character/villain/anything basically, to writing it up, creating a statblock for it, finding the right base 3D model, modifying it if necessary, printing it, painting it up and then finally placing it on the board for your players and see them watch slack-jawed as you bring it all to "life" :D
Amazing stuff!
And if you are not a perfectionist or just a beginner painter/storyteller/GM/human (like me), just get a low-mid price ranged FDM printer. Not the best quality obviously but it still looks amazing on the board from arms reach!
Unboxing 3D Printer ASMR with the Miniature Maniac!
This is always something I have wanted to try and this have given me encouragement to
I am very happy to see this video. I have been a patron of Comet Lord miniatures for months and did not own a 3d printer until yesterday. It makes me feed glad to see that this unit handled the detailed models effectively.
The "bananas heroic" style you're seeing in most of the free minis is due to a lot of people still using FDM (i.e. "melted plastic") printers for their miniatures. This kind of forces artists to keep to "chunkier" designs as they cannot have the same level of detail as resin.
There are artists that are creating assets and miniatures that show off the accuracy you can get with resin printers (like the Photon S). Given your painting focus, try looking up The Makers Cult for someone doing more detailed "grim dark" focused miniatures.
This isn't really that true if you have a well tuned FDM printer. I've printed minis that were intended for resin printers, proper small slender ones without issue there was just more cleanup at the end and I have the added benefit of a MUCH larger build plate and not having to handle toxic chemicals. I really don't like resin printers.
@@Krytern It is true though. The resin printers highest layer height is the lowest layer height possible on FDM printers.
I have both a well-tuned FDM printer and a resin printer. Whilst I can get "good" results from the FDM, perfectly reasonable for the tabletop, the resin printer gets *sterling* results.
@@BTolputt What is the lowest layer height possible on your FDM printer? Isn't the highest a resin printer can go about 0.2, which a FDM printer can quite blatantly go lower than that?
@@Krytern 0.05mm is the smallest layer height I've seen on any retail FDM machine. Which is the smallest mine goes to.
That is the starting layer height for the standard Anycubic, which can go down to 0.01mm, which I've seen NO retail FDM machines capable of.
This is a stupid argument to be having. The design of FDM makes it incapable of matching the finer levels of resin. I wish it were otherwise (FDM is cheaper & cleaner), but it isn't so.
@@BTolputt I'm not trying to have a big argument, just the resin printers I've seen start from 0.2 and go down from there. There is definitely a quality difference but with a properly tuned FDM printer the difference isn't "sterling".
Fun fact, sculpters and companies (specifically Reaper) have resin printers to generate prototypes and masters for casting molds.
There is still post processing and mess, but it is more than capable of handling the details.
Glad you are with us on the resin train, there is no going back.
This is a "when" not a "if" subject for me, I'm waiting because the prices and quality are still getting much better every year. I hoping 2 more years will get a quality printer down to $200.
This most likely will happen, but the cost of the resin probably will not change, unfortunately...
For terrain, the Ender 3 can already be bought for under $200. For minis? You can regularly grab an Anycubic on Amazon or $240-$260
Nothing that cheap yet, but the elegoo mars and original photo are often under $300 and I'd pick up either over the S model shown in the video. You can get a resin printer for $200 I had the monoprice mini sla for like $180, but it just made too many compromises. The electronics will get cheaper but the high precision metal mechanical bits will continue to be a barrier to really low cost machines.
A pro i've seen is that with a resin printer, print time is based on how many layers, rather than materials
if you can fit 3 or 4 minis of the same height in the build plate, then you can print them in the same amount of time as 1 print would take
I got my first 3d printer around Christmas last year. I went with an fdm printer because it is easier to maintain and better for prop making. Great websites for miniatures as desktophero3d and heroforge.
I’m actually getting an FDM printer in a few weeks. I decided to get an FDM vs the resin based on cost of prints and the care required after printing. Resin are 100% better at quality of prints. I’m going to be doing board game inserts, upgrades, and D&D pieces. Printing terrain on FDM printers are much cheaper. Love the video and glad you are enjoying it!!
I wanna say great thanks to you. Because, it’s a hobby desert in my country, and there are only one brand that we could have is games workshop. They are great, but you can not find any other mini form games workshop or limit board games. I am enjoy this hobby, but I just not finding any enjoyment of getting all kind of mini I want. (And they are also very expensive, due to the shipment form other country) This video gave me a light of hope, that I could build my own minis. Thank you again to sharing this great video for us.
Maaan you are making me want one now! I'm no where near a mini fanatic, in fact I'm kinda new to board games in general but being able to improve all my games with awesome minis would be amazing. Love seeing people's faces when they see how awesome some games are. Can imagine their reaction when they see awesome little people and terrain etc
Artisan Guild and Comet Lord are both two of the best out there. I would also add Cast N Play to that list, especially if you want terrain or set pieces. FYI, Comet Lord also has a Patreon that is well worth subscribing to.
UPS isnt "universal" power supply - its "un-interruptable" power supply
Another big pro is printing stuff that isn't related to minis. For example, my dog chewed the control knobs off of my washing machine and I printed replacements (FDM printer). Hobby related things too, like an airbrush stand, a pencil box that I keep my small files in, a safe container for used razor blades, etc.
I've been genuinely interested in this so I'm really glad to watch this, I hope you're as through and use the same scientific method as other stuff you do.
I’m no expert so forgive me if I’m stating the obvious here. If supports are more annoying than glue up, it might be worth designing/buying sculpts that print in several unsupported pieces on a single plate.
It's a pretty common practise to make some models easier to print, so yeah, valid advice
You found the right people- Artisans Guild is the best! and they have a Kickstarter going right now, called AMAZONS!
I've been on the fence about 3D printing for a while, it's definitely something I want to do, but living in an apartment in California, space is at a premium. The size and ease of use of this model is super appealing, when I get things more organized and decide to take the plunge this will likely be the printer I get. Glad they sponsored this video or I may not have seen it otherwise!
Appreciate the consistent, quality content.
once this technology becomes cheap enough GW will be finished
it is certainly an Area that could evolve rather drastically, but so far it did not. Pricepoint as you mention being one thing, another is the mixing of stuff, cleaning etc.
At least GW will have to keep on their toes to make stuff that amazes if every even semi-dedicated miniature fan can get a machine and start doing their own stuff or print out remade models nearly similar to originals. That said not everyone will become an amazing sculptor in an instant, but they might not also have to be. More digital sculpting artist could start selling own sculpts online or be hired to sculpt specific projects - Similar to what is done in the Paint Shops currently.
The other side is the younger generations coming into the hobby - So far that part seems more like the Parents have bought these models for their kid not knowing what they bought and not knowing the skill set needed to paint - often resulting completely overpainted models being sold back Online. It is highly unlikely that Parents would invest in a machine just for their kid to try out a Model. So at least for that part, I think GW will remain an attractive offer, though it is most likely not a returning customer.
But yes for the dedicated hobbyists 3D printing could become a very juicy option - Properly first for those who already do Conversions. The rest will follow depending on how easy the setup becomes. If 3D printing gets similar traits as home printers with super expensive paint, then it will not sell like hotcakes.
I guess one way to calculate it would be something like a 2500pts GW Army vs Buying a 3D printer and printing the Army.- That is If you can even get all the models in such an army?.
And then there is time - The GW hobby is already a pretty time-consuming undertaking, (which GW addressed by the new Contrast Colours, making the Hobby Paint Part more accessible to a broader audience along with all the entry Sub Game types). So how much time will it take to print all those models?. Those already doing special projects will most likely not mind the time, if the quality is up to par and they can create something unique - but for those eager to get playing, buying originals will seem easier and "safer" way to go for now.
- but will be interesting to see how this evolves.
SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC
After nearly 20 years of absence from the 40K I returned only to find out that my Eldar "Xenom Scum" barely had developed - Still exactly the same Design Language with a few exceptions done by Forge World - the only major difference being a much higher degree of details and dynamics. Essentially GW are only by now able to create what they properly always wanted to be able to create. For the Eldar space race that supposedly can create anything out of Wraith Bone, it seems like an extremely slow development cycle for their equipment, weapons and all - Not something that amazes much. But okay GW has +20 Armies to take care of - But perhaps that is yet another reason that 3D printing could become strong into this hobby segment.
assuming they don't take it themselves and make it cheaper? pure speculation, please educate me commenters
its 200$ right now, that's nothing in terms of buying from GW. Yet they are still fine because most people don't want to go through the whole hastle.
@@99Plastics yes I agree... The hassle is explained well with the supports, the bad software... All the cleaning etc but like with all technologies this will improve overtime, becoming much quicker, simpler and cheaper... So no hassle. I will give it a maximum of 5 more years before all you have to do is press print and you model is ready in minutes. I would however assume that the cost of printing materials will follow suite with inks and be super expensive
Some comments:
Resin printing is messy and should be done with mask and gloves. However, there are no carcinogens in resin (see the MSDS for specific hazards). The area needs to be well ventilated.
Resins are cross-linked in 405nm LED light, this is not actually UV.
The resolution of the prints is microns, most people blame low-res prints on the printer, but its from the 3D model.
A liter of resin goes a long way, but a considerable amount of isopropanol is required to clean prints.
Supports or trivial to remove before final curing, with the proper tool.
Resin prints can be sanded easily.
welcome to the revolution! Also use gloves until after its fully cured.
Glad you've jumped into the 3D printing game! I've owned both the Anycubic Photon and the Elegoo Mars with great results. But here are some things that I think people should definitely know that I don't see in reviews where people have only had it for a short period of time.
1. The prices are affordable, but the pieces within the machine also fail pretty regularly after continued use. Anycubic support is pretty good about sending you replacement parts for things that break, but all of the repairs are on you. Anycubic doesn't do it for you. Just to give you an idea, before I got rid of my Photon I replaced the motherboard, a fan, the UV lights, and the screen. I had the machine for just under 6 months.
2. The LCD screen is not covered under the 12 month warranty. 3D printer companies consider the screen a "consumable" because they fail so frequently. You can get another screen from other sources for around $50 (I've seen as low as $35 and as high as $70) which isn't awful all things considered, but also annoying since mine failed about 4 months into having it.
Looking forward to more 3D printed minis in the future! Hope you don't run into the same problems I did with the Photon.
How's your Mars been doing? I've had one for a couple months and I've been using a solus for a couple years.
@@reptilian-overlords2464 I haven't had any real issues with it. For the price you really can't beat it.
Personally, if I have the space, I won't mind getting a resin printer.
As for where I'll get my models, let's just say I... Sculpt. 😅
I recently got my first resin printer. I still haven't printed on it yet, I'm working on a model I want to print, and when it's ready I'll print that.
Just got my Photon printer a couple of weeks ago and absolutely love it...it is quite addicting
I'm just waiting for a dual input resin printer so I can have water soluble supports.
how would that even be a thing. The resin is in a bath resevoir
@@AnunnakiAaron I'm sure someone'll figure it out sooner or later.
That would be truly pointless.
I literally printed and painted that dwarf last week ( yours came out a lot better in regards to the painting ) Resin printing has been amazing for a while now ,just now its cheap enough to get into . Edit your using way WAY to many supports , those shelves if you had manually gone in and placed 3 supports on each side of the shelf that would have been enough to support it but been super easy to remove.....Oh and soaking the mini for a while in warm water also helps the model be more rubbery and makes the supports easier to remove and the model harder to damage .
That dwarf looked amazing I’d be all over it if I wasn’t a broke teen trying to pay bills
Just bought a Photon S and hoping to provide some miniatures to my daughter who DM’s a lot. Can’t wait! Will also be my father attempt at 3D printing…wish me luck!
Just like modern 2d printers, I wish we can live in a age where every household owns a 3d printer that finishes in seconds. Soon
You can actually forgo the alcohol entirely if you use Mean Green, Purple power, or Mr. Clean in the ultra sonic cleaner. Just put it in a glass jar to make it easier to handle, and every once and a while sit the jar out in the sun to let the resin in it cure, then just filter it out with a coffee filter.
Great review however I don't believe you stressed enough the actual toxicity of resin and the unknowness of just how bad it could possible be to do inside of a house.
So how bad could it be? I'm considering resin 3d printing and i have a 2 years old...
@@nicondottiere Make sure to be operating a resin printer in a well-ventilated area, your family will thank you later.
does opening a window counts? I don't have a garage or a room that could be spared for that
@@nicondottiere I think it would depend on the size of the window. It would definitely help if you could place the printer as close to the window as possible though.
@@nicondottiere Maybe?? I know you can get resins that supposedly have less of the nasty stuff in them or are plant based. My personal opinion on the matter is that I wouldn't under any circumstances use one of these printers inside of my house where I eat,sleep,live. That is just my opinion though.
You missed the biggest pro of them all in my opinion...it is a hobby of sorts and it SUPER fun to do...the satisfaction of knowing you made a mini vs. just buying it
Keep in mind that the fumes from resin can be extremely toxic, and even cause cancer.
Best to keep the printer in your garage.
False. Nothing in resin is carcinogenic. Read the MSDS.
@@truantray also you can vent it out the window with about 30$ worth of stuff.
Dear Scott, I don't comment much but I just wanted to let you know that your videos are always inspirational regardless of topic because you're presence and personality are so powerful and engaging that I always want more. I would just like to once thank you for pushing me to paint more minis and being so instructional and informative. Keep up the good work, you're video editing skills have almost reached up to your painting skills and it's a joy to watch.
10:40 'Don't talk to me or my son ever again.'
A big pro is saving money. I spent around $600 total so far and have printed around 400 minis. Even with some misprints I've saved a lot of money compared to what I would have spent buying the minis.
A tip if you're going to print mini's; having someone who knows how to 3d model and export the mesh to .STL means you can print them custom, however you want. Doesn't take much to learn some basic 3d modelling skills and transfer them here.
I am not sure if anyone said this or not but you DON'T want to be using a metal putty knife to remove your prints. It will continue to scratch your build plate which can cause your prints to not adhere to the plate. Pick up a few good PLASTIC ones instead. Thanks for making such a great video with a ton of resources, I appreciate it.
Podcast Scott: I hate dwarfs!!! SCREW DWARFS!
First mini printed..... a dwarf lol great vid!! Love to get into 3D printing but still unsure of taking the plunge
If its cost well the longer orange 10 is 200 odd bucks american . If its worry about the tech side of things well as an FDM printer for several years I can say there is very little learning curve with a resin printer ( there is with FDM printing) its so easy I got my 12 year old nephew to watch a 5 min how to video then had him print a plate full of mini's , the results were pretty much perfect ....
I have an ender 3 FDM printer and I hate it! I’m definitely getting an Anycubic Photon for Christmas and I’m so excited about it!
Get an Epax X1. It's a bit better in almost every way. Zrail is a big improvement and worth the increased cost alone. I say this as a photon owner. I wish the X1 had been available when I was buying. Photon is very low quality product. You get what you pay for though.
What do you hate about the Ender 3?
I'm not sure about resin printing but for FDM you can adjust the printing layer height to whatever you want. An example I have is that I kept doing all my models in .2mm and I thought it was the nozzle width, it's not, it's the layer height from each pass that a it goes over. Meaning my new hills I created after discovering this were AMAZING.
So all in all, as you get better and figure out things the models becomes better and better because there are hundreds if not thousands of different settings you can use to adjust a model and it's creation.
I got this on sale on Amazon for $379, can't wait to get it and make some mini's.
Complete ranges of minis that are also high quality are pretty rare, im a big fan of the makers cult, making some feudal imperial guard proxies, mechanicus and even thunder warriors if you like your marines/custodes
I got my Photon S and waiting for my Anycubic Wash & Cure machine to complete my set up. Next will be one of the FDM machines just to round up my collection of 3D printers with different materials.
The ELEGOO Mars is another budget 3D resin printer that is becoming very popular. Its sub $300 price tag is appealing.
I've been printing myself since August, about 5 months, but I've been designing for 3D printing for a number of years using Shapeways.com, where they do the printing of my sculptures. And yes as a professional 3D artist I do all of my own sculptures. I use an Orange 10, which is very similar to yours.
Here's a tip for removing models from the build plate, use a razor blade or x-acto knife. Wiggle it under the edge of the model, then with the Sirayatech resin I use the model just pops off. If it's still too tight you can get your other scraper and get it under the razor. This should prevent any damage to the model.
Was looking at this very unit around the beginning of this month and the price alone is one hell of a selling point to go for UV casting over plastic forming. This type of casting (prototyping) is older so the devices are more developed and it's really showing with the Photon series. Only sticking point was the proprietary software needed for the device which isn't that much of a sticking point.
parts of those supportslook like they could be re-purposed as scaffolding/pipes/ machine arms in an industrial setting
Great video Scott, I like the small vingettes inbetween the "meat" of the video topic. Makes it all feel more journalistic than your plain old youtube video demonstration. Keep up the good work,
This was the final push for me to pick one up. Thanks for the review Miniac!
Yes! I love 3d printing and mini painting. This is a cool cross over. Hope you do more 3d printing stuff.
Mine is the original Photon. My first print was successful, every other print was a disaster. You can never have enough supports. My third print failed to stick to the printing platform. The result was 2D. I have a few 3D models from a graphic design course I did a few years ago. Fine for rendering on screen, but many had errors that had some interesting effects when I used photons slicer. There were missing layers and the geometry of the models made splitting them into smaller parts next to impossible. Mesh tools like Meshmixer, Meshlab and blender helped me save a few. Some objects had fine details that were too brittle and broke off too easily. The one thing I had trouble with is the curing times under a UV lamp. 30 minutes for some models was way too long and thirty seconds wasn't long enough. And no matter how careful you are, some resin will always find a way onto your gloves and the table. I wouldn't be surprised to find some on the ceiling fan. I found a drop on my shoe that could only have gotten there if it phased through the cutting mat, plastic sheet and the table or it defied gravity and flew through an obstacle course of table cloth, chair legs and the cat to reach my shoe. I've had a lot of fun. I'm still learning, and 3D printing some of my own minis was why I bought this 3D printer.
I would recommend not to use a metal spatula, but instead a plastic one(i still use the one that came with the photon). This way you can't scratch the build plate
:)
Absurd hero proportions aren't a limit of the medium, its a design choice for those artists. Yes it's easier to print bulky things, but if you use proper supports, you can print anything.