Modelling 3D Printed Blood Bowl

Coach · Nov 5, 2020

I got myself a resin 3D printer during the first UK lockdown and been having a bit of a play with it. There are a few people/companies offering .stl files so you can print your own team at home. I've compiled a list in the first reply of what I've found below, if you find any more then leave a reply and I'll add them in.

A couple of weeks ago I taught myself how to use Blender in a basic fashion and I've been knocking out a few prototypes of Blood Bowl nameplates.

Here's my 25mm base Star Player design shown off kindly by Grim Ironjaw. I've also done one for the newer 32mm bases.

You can order custom nameplates from https://www.versatileterrain.co.uk/ though doing a whole team gets expensive pretty quick, they offer print your own or they will print them for you and send them out.

Wargname are also running a kickstarter with some alternative designs https://www.kickstarter.com/project...and-physical-nameplates-for-fantasy-football/

I've got some ideas for other designs I'd like to try and do myself and if they come out well then I may offer them up for sale too.

Coach · Nov 5, 2020

MagicElmo · Nov 6, 2020

Wow, really tempted to get a 3D printer.
Those are getting more affordable and great what they can do.

Nifty idea with the base.

Gallows Bait · Nov 6, 2020

I like the idea, I just don't think I could handle a 3d printer. I do wish some of the models that only come in digital formats were manufactured for sale as well, it does feel like I'm missing out on some great miniatures sometimes.

Silfuin · Nov 6, 2020

3d printers are now cheaper and decent quality.
More than enough for bases and stuff that doesn't require high definition.

For the quality level required by miniatures prices are still high ... in the order of ten thousand Euro or more.

Coach · Nov 6, 2020

Gallows Bait said:
I like the idea, I just don't think I could handle a 3d printer. I do wish some of the models that only come in digital formats were manufactured for sale as well, it does feel like I'm missing out on some great miniatures sometimes.

There are merchants selling prints of 3d models, if there are any you see that you want by all means feel free to ask if anyone knows somewhere selling them. Failing that you can get someone to print them for you, there are companies that do that, or if it's the odd one or two drop me a message and I'll see what I can do.

I can only see the industry getting bigger as it cuts out the need to store inventory or deal with postage. There is still a bit of faff with 3d printers (both kinds) so not quite ready for mass consumerism but it's getting more and more popular, especially as prices are falling. Happy to offer any advise for anyone interested in it themselves.

Gallows Bait · Nov 6, 2020

Great advice, I hadn't thought about pay to print options before.

Ben Smith · Nov 8, 2020

I’m in a pretty similar position to you Coach - got myself a printer in April, and haven’t looked back!

The only other couple of sites that have been good for me are Fanath (love their chaos team), and thingiverse - there are loads of free minis there.

Obviously the initial outlay for the printer can be high (mine was around £280), but I can now print out a team for less than £10!

I would rate the print quality as very high as well. I print at the “standard” setting (0.05mm/layer), but you can go for even better resolution (0.01mm/layer) - it just takes longer to print.

One downside I did find is that the resin can be quite brittle. I mix my resins to get around this now - adding 20% flexible resin to make them more durable.

Printing base plates for me has been a game changer, making the minions really pop! I have bough them from versatile terrain in the past, but I’m now rocking the Wargname ones - it’s my Slann team in the pictures in the kickstarter (I’m not affiliated with Wargname, I was just asked to print and paint them as a test - they are awesome!).

Here are some pictures of my printed minis, or base plates as a reference.....

Coach · Nov 8, 2020

Good shout on Fanath, I backed their kickstarter for their fans so bit dumb of me to not include them in the thread!

Which printer did you get? I ended up getting the Elegoo Mars 2 Pro with the mono screen for faster print times. Can rattle base plate prototypes out in under an hour.

Ben Smith · Nov 8, 2020

I’ve just go the original Mars - I think it was not long before the Pro came out when I got it. I’m in no rush for the prints, so I can cope with the slower speed!

I’ve got a template for a support free base plate that I’ve used a lot - think I can print about 30 of them in about 20 minutes.

My resin mix does add some time on for each layer (I have to print at about 11 seconds per layer), but I like being able to drop my minis without having to worry.

Coach · Nov 8, 2020

I've not tried printing them without supports, I'll have to give that a go. I've had trouble removing some prints off the printing platform so a bit wary about damaging them removing them. I believe there are some tricks to removing prints like getting a magnetic flexible build plate, or put it in the freezer (not sure I want to put toxic resin in with my food though).

I've been using Elegoo ABS like resin and it's not as brittle as the standard stuff. Not tried a break test yet on them but they seem fairly solid and a little bit of flex. I'll try snapping one of these prototypes at some point and using some for drop tests.

Silfuin · Nov 9, 2020

We have a different concept of very high quality it seems.
I'd say that quality of your minis is decent, but very high seems to me an exaggeration.
Good enough for playing pieces for sure, and with a good paint the frogs and bases look really nice, but what I call very high quality is a higher level of detail, like the one needed in collection pieces.

Coach · Nov 9, 2020

I'm amazed at the quality I can print off compared to what I used to buy. Excuse the potato photo from my phone, just got up and didn't want to grab the proper camera. Proxy wraiths for the new Necromantic team perhaps...

Quality is subjective to each individual. Shop bought minis can look great or bad and the same for 3d printed ones, from either the sculpt or the print quality. There's enough choice out there for most things to please most people.

Now if only I could find some High Elves and Amazons I liked.

Silfuin · Nov 9, 2020

Indeed satisfaction of quality level is subjective.
Those pieces are really good, and as already said for playing pieces is more than enough.
However I have seen pieces from high end (and costly) 3d printers, and you can tell the difference.
Don't mind me though, I am notoriously picky, often too much ...

Ben Smith · Nov 9, 2020

I quite liked the Fyte Kickstarter Amazons - it a shame that it failed, but at least they are going to sell the stls at some point in the future.

I’d love some high elves and dark elves though! I like the minis that are out there, but not enough to buy them - I’m still waiting for minis that I’d actually want to paint!

Coach · Nov 14, 2020

Tried printing directly onto the base plate, even modified the design to have a larger flat bottom surface. Some printed out fine but too many just peeled off or printed funny. Tried another batch with some more supports at the bottom corner and these all came out top notch. Shiny patches are where the alcohol hadn't quite dried yet. Need to make a version for 40mm bases for the big guys, though the new box set only includes 32mm bases for them apparently.

Gallows Bait · Nov 14, 2020

Those look really good. Definitely enough detail there.

Coach · Nov 21, 2020

https://pungaminiatures.com/ have announced they are going to launch a patreon in December for .stl files of their minis. I can't wait as their minis look amazing, I did ask them before about buying stl versions but they said they had no plans to do so. Looks like they've had enough people asking that they changed their mind. Is this a sign the tide is turning even further towards home printing?

Ben Smith · Nov 22, 2020

They look awesome! If you ever decide the share the template let me know......

One thing I’ve done with success is to sink them down about 0.25 mm (change the z axis location to -0.25 in chitubox) - it then means you should be able to print without any supports.

Coach · Nov 24, 2020

Just seen this kickstarter for 3D dugouts https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/13badluck/3d-fantasy-football-dugouts-vol-1

Not something I'm interested in but thought I'd share, still a couple of weeks to go.

Modelling 3D Printed Blood Bowl

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