"Newbie question - printing 15mm/18mm" Topic

Hi,
Firstly, I don't have a printer so I'll initially be getting things printed.

I've supported a Kickstarter for some Napoleonic miniatures, which I'llwant in 18mm. I'm wondering what people recommend. My understanding is that resin is better for resolution but more brittle. What do people mostly do? The follow up will be about printers but that's for later . . .

Thanks,
John

General rule -- Resin for figures, FDM for terrain / tanks.

When it comes to resin for printers, there is a popular mixture of flexible resin and ABS like resin (10% flexible, 90% ABS like -- but don't get too hung up on exact proportions) that makes figures less brittle. I will submit this is really needed for smaller scales, so bayonets etc don't break off.

When it comes to resin printers, be aware that they take space, they are messy (resin spills etc.), and the uncured resin can cause chemical burns and allergic reactions. Make sure you have a indoor work space away from kids, pets, and general living, or get a friend to print the figures.

I have found that resin prints do not take paint well -- you have to prime first. I have had great success with GW primers, but need to experiment with cheaper alternatives. (Once primed the figures paint well)

Thanks Nick, that's very helpful. I hadn't even realised there were flexible resins available. If I get a printer it'll be going in the garage.

My resin printer is in the garage. Unless you have a heated garage, dont try to print in winter. That being said, you will very quickly have a massive backlog to paint!

When I got my resin printer I almost returned it -- the fumes from the resin REALLY got to me. Since then I have developed a process of planning what I want to print, and then doing large batches of figures in one go (with the garage door open to release the fumes). I then have enough figures to paint for a long time.

All good points. You can do what I did and buy a portable plant growing chamber and stick your printer in there. I have 11 printers inside a 9' x 7' x 7' room. I have two vents coming out of the many openings in the room and venting them to the outside.

I have a small desk type heater in there and this does the trick.

Or you can have me print them :)

Something like an Anycubic 4K is going to work. I have one in the basement (no windows) and it's usually ready to go. Short of a failure, I leave resin in it, etc.

I wear gloves but don't have fume problems and such. I'll probably get cancer 😀 hopefully riding my bicycle without a helmet inured me to any I'll effects.

Phrozen's washable resin does not smell very much. My printer is in an unvented utility room. I use a small air purifier just in case. And yes, the backlog build up very fast.

You can print pretty fair/good quality 25/28mm with an FDM printer. The quality isn't great or superb, but fair to good… it depends on the model.

20mm and below are a bridge too far. Interestingly, I get pretty good 6mm tanks off my FDM printer… but their shape plays to the strengths of the printer.

Resin printers… even cheap ones do a great to superb job on smaller scales. Various resins have various strengths and bendability. you may need to try different formulations/brands to find the one that works.

The same goes for the smell. Resin is smelly. A well vented basement or garage is needed. Most resin printers have a nice hood that keeps in most of the smell, but when you open it up…

I have both types. The Resin is somewhat less fiddly with the settings and printing. The cleanup and maintenance however is more fiddly. FDM is very fiddly with the settings. I am constantly working to eliminate stringing and to ensure quality. Cleanup however is a simple exacto knife. Both are fun… and are somewhat hobbies unto themselves.

Joe Collins

Resin printing is still in its 'mysterious' days. It is messy (very messy), and a pain in the butt mostly. It is temperature dependent, and some resins are quite expensive. When it works, it is like magic that gives you some great figures. It will still be frustrating at times, but I find it just really cool to do. You will end up spending more than just the cost of the printer- there are many small tools, and supplies (paper towels) you'll end up buying.

I am an elegoo Mars 3 pro guy- which you should probably consider as it comes up very often in 'what printer to choose'.

My suggestion is to start watching the many videos on youtube, figure out what model you want, and then watch as many of them on that specific model.

still in its 'mysterious' days. It is messy (very messy), and a pain in the butt

That has not been my experience. I bought a printer, set it up, leveled the plate, bought an STL, sliced it on the company software, poured company resin, and everything printed just fine.

Free STLs are worth what you paid for them I've noticed.

Thumbs up to Elegoo Mars 3 and 2 Pro, I have 10 of these. I just got a Saturn S on sale for $309.00 USD and OMG what a huge print plate. Again Elegoo. I must admit i have no exp. with any other brands so by all means do some home work.

Thanks everyone. This has been a gold mine of information for me.

1. I'm already a wargamer; I already have a backlog . . .

2. The garage is separate from the house and where I would set up is near the main door.

3. I'm in temperate Christchurch, New Zealand, so often about 10 degrees Celsius in the daytime and (being by the sea, rarely freezing at night. When people mention winter, I'm not sure if they're meaning upstate New York or Florida, or something in between :~}

4. I will be printing 18mm minis so I think it will have to be resin.

Thanks again,
John

18mm are mighty small to handle. I turned down a 15mm job of over 100 longbows just for that reason. I have had luck printing 12mm armor but that is different just the body and turret.

Best of luck.

I'm in Tasmania -- similar latitude and temperatures. You should aim for a temp of 15 degrees Celcius or higher to print.

Re the comment on longbows -- I have printed 15mm archers etc. But you need to find figures that are designed to be printed at that scale. When figures are scaled up and down, thin items such as muskets or spears can get too thin, and hence easy to break.

The figures I'm planning to print TMP link have allegedly been successfully printed in 18mm.

Cheers,
John

I print 15mm( actually 18mm to eyes) fantasy miniatures, to match my Demonworld, and BattleValor Miniatures. You definiately want a resin printer, consider a 8k printer. I am just in the process of getting my replacement ( my Epax X1 died) and got a ELegoo saturn 2 which had a few problems and waiting for my replacement. I single base my miniature on washers and movement trays. You can even design your own Heroforge or similar miniatures that print ok. A good source for pre made stls is Forest Dragon or Greenskin Miniatures or similar, there are also some good historical 15mm romans and such.

THere are better resins that are not so brittle, Siraya ABS like or other abs like work ok, Im just changing over to Sunlu resin now and it may be even better.

If I were going to only do 18mm, I would consider a smaller sized printer then the Saturn2, like maybe that Phrozen 8k mini or something, as the larger resin printers are more of a pain, compared to my Epax x1.

I have also just bought one of those Plant enclosures and a small plant heating pad to heat my resin, as my basement is a little cool, and likely the cause of many of my failed prints I have had in the past with the epax.

Now if you do get a bigger sized printer like the typical 8k, it reasonable to print scenery on the resin printer also, with some of the cheaper resin printers and hollowing of the pieces.

Just of note, people are starting to print a lot of 10mm for warmaster, so printing for 18mm is definitely doable :)

Thanks very much Albus Malum. This is just the sort of information I need to prevent a costly mistake that I can ill afford to make . . .

John