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"What does a typical terrain piece cost 1/72" Topic


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PeterH05 Oct 2024 2:19 p.m. PST

I am looking to print some terrain pieces (houses/shops) in resin to avoid layer lines – I just got quoted $350 USD USD – is that the going rate? Seems insane to me
Thanks in advance

pzivh43 Supporting Member of TMP05 Oct 2024 3:20 p.m. PST

Godo God, no! I've seen simple houses for $15 USD-$20, if you're talking about a large castle, maybe more.

79thPA Supporting Member of TMP05 Oct 2024 3:27 p.m. PST

You need to be a lot more specific about what you are having printed and in what quantity.

PeterH05 Oct 2024 6:13 p.m. PST

Yes, sorry about the lack of detail, not sure I have much more. It's a typical Norman 3 story building in 1/72 scale. The printer said he was going to use a 12k printer for utmost detail. I wrote him back saying I was surprised by the price and he dropped the price to $225. USD He said an FDM option was going to be $115. USD I still feel that's crazy high though.

Cuprum2 Supporting Member of TMP05 Oct 2024 6:56 p.m. PST

In essence, it depends on the amount of resin used and the printing time (and without the cost of creating the 3D model itself).
And here a lot of nuances appear – whether the walls are hollow, the number of parts, the price (and properties) of the resin, the qualifications of the printer, etc.
If I were you, I would contact several specialists and ask them to name the price and justify their rates. Perhaps you could refuse some properties of the model that you do not need.
And yes – this is quite an expensive pleasure. But it is unlikely to be more expensive than if you were to buy a plastic model of the same size.

79thPA Supporting Member of TMP05 Oct 2024 7:14 p.m. PST

I don't know anything about printers or types of material, but that seems pretty crazy for a single building. Based on what I have seen at shows and on line, $25 USD to $50 USD should be the price range.

Andrew Walters06 Oct 2024 7:44 a.m. PST

On the one hand, if they are charging for their time for the supports and set up and trying to recoup the cost of the machine, that might be a justifiable number. It's certainly not a number anyone is going to pay. Giant companies getting prototypes or marketing items made are doing that from giant marketing budges and no one in that business cares what they spend, so giant prices for stupid-high resolutions are common.

How many pieces and what size was your job?

If the job takes 10 hours on a $1,000 USD printer that's probably worth $40 USD right there. Resin costs dimes. But if they have to add supports to a resin job that could be an hour or more per model.

I think everyone needs a friend with a 3D printer who enjoys the occasional side project. If someone is doing it only for money, then like all custom work it's going to be pricey.

Micman Supporting Member of TMP06 Oct 2024 11:08 a.m. PST

Do you have the STL? See if there is a local Makerspace around. Libraries and schools. Most of them just charge for materials.

At that cost you can get a printer of your own. Maybe not 12k, but you don't need 12K for 1/72 unless you want a masterpiece on the table.

Andrew Walters06 Oct 2024 1:26 p.m. PST

12k is much more than necessary. 4k is great, 8k is gravy, 12 is… why. Unless it's got a giant print bed so it's the equivalent of 4.

PeterH06 Oct 2024 3:29 p.m. PST

Thanks for the feedback, there is no way I am paying $350 USD, $225 USD or $115 USD (for FDM). I will find a better, cheaper solution, I can't believe it should cost more than $65 USD-75 for a large piece, and the feedback so far seems to confirm that.

UshCha Supporting Member of TMP06 Oct 2024 10:57 p.m. PST

Ceratainly seems you need your own printer. FDM's, a decent one like a Prusa take minimal to no maintainace. Minimal to no learner curve and are cheap to run. No doddgy chemicals and the limes thing is a bit of a farce, you can't see them even 2 ft away after a decent paint job. A printer is about £1,000.00 GBP and we have used ours for thousands of hours. It's not a separate hobby like some say, maybe onec it was but its nolonger the case.
I'm assuming postage is horrendus so somewhere like AOTRS in the UK is out of the question.

Micman Supporting Member of TMP07 Oct 2024 9:13 a.m. PST

That is the difference between a $300 USD printer and a $1,200 USD one. The $300 USD one can be a lot of work to keep running correctly. The Prusa's just run for the most part. That is why I am buying a friend's old one this week.

If you get your own printer, think of it like a new period that you know nothing about and have to learn everything. There are a lot of resources out there, be sure to watch a lot of the reviews on printers. There were a couple I really liked that I found out were trouble. No one needs those kind of headaches.

ThunderAZ07 Oct 2024 10:14 a.m. PST

If a person is printing as a business and is doing so for profit. $350 USD / $225 USD is steep, but not unreasonable for a one off print on demand job in resin of this size. With that said, no, I wouldn't pay that much.

Reason why someone might charge that much: In resin, its probably going to take a whole day via multiple print jobs to print out the pieces for a 3 story building with a resin printer. Its probably going to take 30 minutes+ to set up the model in the printer and thy guy will need to babysit the job throughout the day. One failed piece and he is set back multiple hours. Its probably going to take his time on and off throughout the day babysitting the project. One to two hours total including cleaning and curing across 5+ sessions in the day is reasonable.

The advice suggesting this building be printed with resin for higher quality (and a higher price) over FDM is questionable advice in my opinion. Yes, it may have a little bit higher detail. However FDM on a decent printer like a Bambu will produce perfectly acceptable results. I would never do this with resin myself. Layer lines are a minimal issue with a half way decent printer for terrain pieces.

Given we don't see the exact model you want printed, all we can do is guess, but I would think a 3 story Norman (Normandy?) shophouse style building would cost about $25 USD to $50 USD in FDM as quoted above.

Don't waste the money on getting this printed in resin.

Zephyr107 Oct 2024 1:42 p.m. PST

" I will find a better, cheaper solution, "

>cough<paper buildings>cough<

;-)

UshCha Supporting Member of TMP08 Oct 2024 1:49 a.m. PST

Yup I have a 3D printer but don't print houses, they are all fold flat card (so far!). There are plans afoiotto do a hybrid but so far just plans.

TimePortal08 Oct 2024 8:59 p.m. PST

Too rich for my needs.

PeterH11 Oct 2024 10:24 a.m. PST

Alright thanks for the feedback – if anyone knows of a reasonable, US based printer I'd appreciate it. Thinking these prints should really cost no more than 50-60 USD for better quality based on the prices I have paid for FDM prints on Etsy, but what the hell do I know!

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