"When will 3D printing eclipse metal miniatures?" Topic

I started sculpting minis about 3 years ago. I am currently sharing them thru a Kickstarter as I did them for myself and have no desire to be a retail "store/manufacturer". Insert shameless plug here…..

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During this process I have become very aware that more and more models are being sculpted digitally. The fine detail is very apparent and even the best artists cannot match the level of detail by hand that a computer model provides. More and more people own 3D printers. The cost of the machines are cheaper. The quality with resin printing is getting better and better. The ease of operation is getting more consumer friendly etc. etc.
Look at HeroForge they are now offering a 3D printed "color" meaning painted look printed figure. So beyond choosing the custom sculpt as is, you will soon be choosing your paint scheme as well.
So the big question. How soon before their is a viable alternative to metal models. 1. choose your favorite style/race/trope- view hundreds of stl file pics. 2. Drag and drop changes or mods digitally for desired "look" 3. down load for your personal printing or send to the commercial printer to receive the models in the mail. I think this is happening now more than we think and oh so very soon will be the norm, say 10 years?

Easy.

Same answer as plastics. When the material the figures are rendered in is no longer so fragile/brittle that the spears and weapons aren't all broken after 2 years, then lead is about done.

Caveat: When the figures can be 3D rendered already pigmented, now THAT will be a game changer.

Sooner then the naysayers think and longer then supporters think. It really depends on where the quality/cost line is – and nobody knows that before it is crossed. Just like with home printers killing off a large portion of print shop business (but notice print shops are still around) it depends on when the 3d prints are "good enough" for people not to care that they are not as good as well done metal miniature.

No time soon for me. I have no interest in printing stuff at home myself I'd rather just buy, the things I want, already made. On top of that I've yet to see any 3D printed stuff that is better than what the Perry twins or Mark Copplestone can knock out in old-fashioned putty and cast in metal.

Look at the prices of the Hero Forge painted miniatures !!
Someday perhaps -- but not now.

Valid points of all replies. I did not mean to imply that metal minis will go away completely but will become a minor market share. As far as already pigmented …. well I was floored when I saw the current KS by Hero Forge, look em up as they are doing just that! Tech is ever moving on.

A lot also depends on the quality of the 3D sculpting. I've seen stuff coming out the past few years that just shows (to me) laziness; The figures are clunky, lots have cloaks, robes, or long loincloths to avoid the effort of sculpting actual legs on the figure, some are just blobs covered with detail and topped with a face. Granted there are real 3D artists out there, but if most of the offerings are "blah", I'm going to pass on them…

As for the blah figures – ignore those. It is part and parcel with anybody being able to create 3D figures. For the most part quality still costs.

I'm not sure "eclipse" is the right word.

You can design things as detailed as you like, most home 3D printers won't print them well. I can print a better USS Iowa than I can an ork, though. So the question is not whether hand sculpting or digital sculpting is better. Both can be done well or badly. The advantages of digital are lost when certain types of models get printed on modestly priced FDM printers.

My concern is that 3D printing is going to separate gamers into two purchasing groups. We all know people who buy miniatures, base them, and slap them on the table. They just want to play. Paint jobs are not important. Maybe they prime them. Maybe they do a complete paint job on some, perhaps even all, but their focus is playing. I am not criticizing these people, I'm sure a lot of people think I'm in this group. But they're not painting fanatics. Other people are brilliant painters and the look of figures and terrain is very important to them.

People in the first group can be pretty happy with mediocre miniatures, if they're a little blobby, disproportionate, etc they're not bothered.. People in the second group want really great miniatures, crisply cast, plenty of detail.

Currently, everyone has to buy pewter miniatures. But increasingly if you are in the first group you're going to be able to use more and more 3D printed figures. That's great for the first group, but it decreases the number of purchasers of the high quality cast figures. So the market for really good figures, already small, will shrink. That will be the end of some companies and product lines, and raise prices for others.

Some types of minis are going to be more affected than others. Crazy fantasy figures with lots of detail, swirling robes, balletic poses, etc are pretty safe. Spaceships are in big trouble.

I can print an ork with a gun, paint it, put it next to one from GW and you can see the difference. You'd be happy to play with either, but if you're looking forward to the hour you're going to spend painting that ork, you are probably willing to spend the money on the GW ork. If you just want to get it on the table, get yourself some green filament and go here:
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You can have all you want for six cents a piece, and GW's economies of scale are in big trouble.

I don't think pewter miniatures are going away anytime soon, (at least based on what I have been able to print so far) but the terrain and buildings are more than good enough for my table.

Not having to pay shipping for kilos of resin or metal appeals to me as I'm in the middle of nowhere, plus I can print a building faster than Australia post can deliver one from the US or UK…

I agree with Zephyr1 about the quality of some miniatures being put up on thingiverse and other sites but some of that is just the skill of the sculptor (or lack of). I have a collection of metal going back 40 years and some of those are not that good either.

Right now 3d printing is still for the enthusiast but the barrier to entry is getting lower and the quality of output is improving. For now I'm happy to have a foot in both camps.

Im sure that this was the thinking when plastic came out initally. "All metal sculpts will go away and plastic will replace it." IMHO if it is done in metal now it will probably be done in metal in the future. There is still a market for metal even now given the popularity of plastic miniatures today. The larger question that I have is low long until plastic is eclipsed by 3D machines?

I'm not sure it ever will, at least in my lifetime.

More research needs to be put into eliminating/smoothing the striations on the prints.

I don't think 3d printed figures will ever replace metal. Metal is a much nicer material than plastic or resin. 3d prints take forever and look crappy (at the moment) plus there's the issue about undercuts and so on. Why go to all that hassle, and buy the printer, when you can just pay a miniature manufacturer your money and have your figures straight away? I can see why 3d printing might be useful for buildings, but not figures. There'll be some people who want to be on the cutting edge and will get into it, but I think most people will stick with metal.

We might get the same situation that occured when plastic figures started appearing. "Wow", says Johnny Wargamer, "now i can finally afford that huge Napoleonic army I've always dreamed of!" He buys 50 boxes, paints 5 figures and suddenly realises that it doesn't matter how cheaply you can buy figures, you still have to invest the time in painting them. 3d print mountains will join plastic mountains just as they joined lead mountains.

I'm not sure about printed figures supplanting metal, but I've seen and purchased some really nice ship and aircraft miniatures of some pretty small demand stuff that don't exist in metal.

I'm likely to stick with metal whenever possible, but if it printed minis fill a niche, I'm in.

I have manufactured a lot of metal minis in my time. I have to say, the 3d printer is getting awfully close to closing the gap!

If I'm at a convention, you guys are right. I can have the metal minis right away. But if I'm in a snow storm in Nebraska, I can print a half-dozen figures today. I can print a half-dozen figures tomorrow, and the next day, and so on. I'll have over 60 figures in a month (faster than I can paint them, for sure!) and they cost me on the order of 50 cents per 32mm figure or $1.25 USD for a 15mm tank. That's good economics, and I can do it without mail order or traveling.

We're not quite there yet on detail and predictability, but we're darned close!

I write a blog on home 3d printing called, surprisingly enough home3dprints.com.

I'm a digital sculptor, and design minis for 3D printing—right now it is a very small niche. But low-cost resin printers are making it affordable for a lot of hobbyists to get into 3dprinting miniatures.
There are a few dozen artists that I know who are using Patreon to try and support themselves. I have my entire back catalog of STL files available to my patrons at $9.95 USD per month, even if they just join for a month! Patrons also have access to download all of the models released during the month.
There is a merchant tier and a commission tier too!

If you would like to checkout my work, it is at patreon.com/Zandoria

I think the speed issue will be a major factor. Currently you can save some money with a decent 3d printer but it's slow. Pewter is expensive. It may be that local shops will have a number of 3d printers and sell what they print. I think it's a logical step for retail these days. Always have everything available but not have the overhead of stock.

Print shops still exist because they can do the work and add some value through binding and such. Honestly, I believe that rpg and wargame retailers need to head down that road to survive. It may mean a shift away from the middle ground manufacturers if they are too slow to adapt.

I guess I thought metal had been eclipsed by plastic already.