"Color FDM print of Historical Minis" Topic

Several printers can print in 4 colors, and can use a 0.2mm nozzle. Lots of youtube videos saying figures printed with such nozzles are fine at tabletop distances. Has anyone tried printing historical figures with a multicolor printer, using different colors. E.g. a civil war figure could use lights blue (pants), dark blue (coat) and black (accoutrements) and grey (areas that need to be painted).

I am just wondering if such figures would be OK as 'line' troops and help reduce painting time.

Suddenly nostalgic for the old Matchbox two tone kits! Certainly sounds like an interesting area of development.

There have been printers capable of this for years, but none I would want to own and use. When one is affordable, does a reasonable job reliably, and is not to fussy I will probably invest and start churning out minis.

An obvious plan would be to print in four colors and then maybe add some details, wash, dry brush and have a good mini, but paint takes so poorly to FDM minis (both he material and the layer lines) that this is going to require som new techniques. We'll have to see.

Ironically, I just got a resin printer for the purpose of printing minis to paint.

Current tech would create a lot of waste changing colors with each layer. Note the Bambu "poop chute" on the Bambu Labs top end printers.

It is a promising idea that will most likely get better in a few more printer generations.

FDM filament is dead cheap so a bit of wastage seems a bit immaterial. I use a 0.4mm nozzle FDM printing for 1/17 scale models and it's fine at table top distances. I have a friend that has a Prusa like mine with the four colour system but it did take a lot of fussing to get it to work. Apparently there is a a new color system for Prusa but I have no direct knowledge of how mush less fussy it is.

Way back when, Timpo somehow produced simply painted miniatures in 54mm.

As soon as something like this can get to $6. USD I think they may appear on tables

link

Timpo produced cheap painted minis using cheap labour.

Those Heroforge figures can be printed likely to a similar quality on a FDM printer right now for pennies worth of material. A Bambu with a .2 nozzle can do great prints. All ofthe cost is in equipment, labor, marketing, and so on… business expenses. Even if it is fully automated, there is quite an investment setting that up. Unfortunately, it is never going to be feasible to print 1 figure and sell it for $6 USD or less unless it's coming from a camp in NW China. Maybe never say never, but not in the foreseeable future with current tech.

They will probably develop a gubbins so the waste material can be used as interior fill.