"10mm WW2 infantry...is it a pipe dream at this scale?" Topic

So, has anyone ever tried printing WW2 minis at 10mm that are native scale set to 28mm? I don't own a printer, but several Etsy sellers are saying at 10mm infantry would just be too fragile.
So, that leads me to believe my only options are Victrix plastics or metals.
Not sure where to look/order 10mm metal WW2 infantry in the US. I do know Pendraken has a huge line, but with shipping and tariffs, that's a little much for me to swallow.
Appreciate and assistance.

Better to buy 15mm or 6mm STLs and re-size from there. But plenty of people print 6mm so I can't imagine 10mm are any less sturdy.

I assume you;re multi-basing? I'd just use good thick bases so the figs don't get handled too much.

Alternatively metal in 15mm from Old Glory is robust and cheap/

Pendraken is available here in the US.
link

The main issue with scaling down very large figures to very small ones that they are going to end up far too thin and brittle unless they were oversized dwarves to begin with.

As John says, go down from 15 or go up from 6.

Dark Horses stock supply is poor and im not paying tariffs, so I guess I'll go 3d printed.

I thought it would be like plastic 15mm economics, cheaper to make them in metal?

As in, bought 10mm would likely have better detail in metal than most/many home 3d printers.

Print lines can look bad enough on 28mm.

…And I have the molds for 10mm (1/160th) Minifigs in storage in Ohio (I live in Colorado and my casting equipment is in Kansas!) Been trying to get someone to purchase Minifigs molds from me but to no avail yet. I have permission to produce any Minifigs that I have masters for.

For WWII we had US; British (Europe and 8th Army); Germans (Europe/Russia. DAK). Italians; Russians; Japanese and civilians. Nam, and moderns.(Wish I had kept more castings for my own use!)

So if any US producer is interested….price is negotiable.

I print my own and some Shipyards figures 1/144 figures (12mm) printed though modern. They are close to scale but may not suit folk who are more into models than playing. They are very simple, many are close to Prone flats with some basic more 3D figures like Milan, Charlie G and MG 3 and crew. Excessive unreal detail is for painters not players and I dislike unrealistic oversize detail but that is a personal issue. I have done standing figures using an FDM printer but really they are to fragile for regular play.

These are from STL's commissioned and have had resin printed, They give an idea of what can be done well.

link

So its not a pipe dream, if you can get the STL's. but some are better in Resin than FDM.

I did but ovear all no go

If you used filament, wouldn't it just depend the size of the extrusion, in regards to fragility?

Would the computer program just compensate for the loss of detail? Ignoring it where the finer detail is? Or would it just try them anyway and make a big mess??

But if the plastic coming out is the correct thickness, it should be no problem for fragility???????

Real scale detail is too small for the printer to reproduce so you don't put in in the first place. My printer can do guns at 0.7mm diameter but its too thin to be practical for wargaming at least with the filament I use normally. Printeres won't put in detail it can't reproduce. Crap metal figures(mostly crap by design) are done by folk who have no understanding of scale so you end up with Circus freaks with over large basic appendiges made worse4 by massively overscale detail. I would not mind if they came with a warning like "note not real figuers, massive uneccessary distortion included". Some minor changes for minimum metal thickness is fine, If you can't get the wrist down to scale ,fine, but to then add "detail" that is oversize takes it away form approximate scale to fantasy scale. You will note model N Guage Railway figures are too fragine for wargames and have no detail as its not possible to do scale detail.

Henry Turner has comprehensive ranges in many periods in either 6mm-15mm or 15mm. I have scaled these to 10mm and 12mm and the result matches or exceeds what is available in metal or plastic. Eskice also has native 15mm ranges, and I have done the same with their WWII figures and vehicles. I use a resin printer exclusively for these, so cannot comment on the feasibility of good results using fdm.

Here is a photo of the Henry Turner WW2 Germans in 6mm:

As noted by DFrameJ, the figures can be printed at 10mm perfectly well.

Robert

And another photo, again with 6mm figures:

Robert

@monk2002uk

Those Turner files are fantastic, never thought I'd see a fella having a smoke in 6mm. That just proves the wide variety to be found within 3D printing.

Are you using ABS-like when printing ?

I'm a new convert to it, had great success so far but the real test will be the Project Wargaming phalanx pike in 2mm.

Thank you. The variety is impressive. If you know how to manipulate STL files in CAD software then all the more so.

These figures were printed in a standard resin. I have moved to an ABS-like resin. A bit more expensive but worth it for the extra strength and flexibility. My printer is a FormLabs Form 4, which comes with proprietary resins so I cannot comment on other brands that are used more widely.

Robert

A Pak 38:

and a German tank commander:

Robert

And a guide to painting 6mm WW2 Germans with contrast paints in case you are interested:

Robert

@monk2002uk

A Form 4 !!

Wow, that is a serious pro-level machine. Judging by the quality of your prints, it is worth every penny.

It is a great machine, kodiakblair. Not only the quality of the prints but the ease of use was worth every penny. After sending the STL file(s) remotely, I don't have to touch anything until the build is completed. The build plate has a flexible metal overlay that the prints adhere to. When the overlay is flexed then the prints pop off. Everything else such as levelling, dispensing and heating the resin, etc is all handled automatically. No smell is another plus.

Robert

Monk did you paint these or are they demo images from the Turner site.

BTW I can't find the WWII line on their site or MYMiniFactory?

Can you please post a link here for me?

I painted and photographed all of these, yes. Here is the link that I have found:

link

Robert

@monk2002uk

I've only recently discovered the joy of using a spring steel build plate. Such a simple concept yet it makes a huge difference.

I bought 3 of them so down time between prints is mere seconds, just pop one plate/ wipe the magnetic sheet/place the other plate on then it's time to hit print again.

That is what I found as well. The only issue has been with flexible resins :-) No surprise there…

Robert

@ Monk

TY for the info and link. I could not find them so bookmarked the page. Great paining.