It’s been a while since I posted my last blog and I had a bit of a break. For a start my last blog was fairly long and was so well received that I got invited for an interview on the Counter Charge podcast! Danny on the radio! If you haven’t listened to it then shame on you. For those of you that have and you’re now reading this blog in your head with my annoying voice superimposed over it then I apologise. Also my time has been taken up by trying to work out my new 3D printer!
3D printing! A revelation in wargame miniatures? Bullshit tech fad where you’re persuaded to spend hundreds of pounds to get something you don’t really need? Probably both. I was really into computers in my teens but as technology moved on I just didn’t have the money or inclination to keep up. It didn’t add a whole lot to my life. I held onto that old Nokia for years before finally giving up.
Coming back into the world of being ‘tech savvy’ has been a long, infuriating process for me. I can do it when I can put my mind to it but I don’t want to and I hate having to do things I don’t want to. I like Apple products because I find them intuitive to use. Somebody, somewhere will probably cry at that.
So getting a 3D printer was something of a shaky ground for me. I’d see lots of really cool models online that I’d love to buy but couldn’t because they were to be printed at home.
A buddy of mine Duncan ‘Shadow’ Louca had been doing 3D sculpts for years and his stuff is fantastic but you never want to be the guy who asks ‘can you just print this for me…’ because that would annoy the shit out of me. I refuse to do it to others out of principle.
So no 3D prints for me. There are thousands of beautiful models on the market though so it’s not really a problem and I already have waaaaay too much to paint. But there was still that niggling itch and more and more it became a burning sensation.
By a stroke of bad luck I was in a bad car crash last year (If you want a fun Kings of War tie-in for this blog, I was reading ‘Steps to Deliverance’ in the passenger seat at the time!) And when the insurance paid out for my injuries I had a little bit of cash and decided to treat myself!
After reading plenty of articles, watching YouTube videos I decided on an Anycubic Photon S. It was slightly upgraded from the regular Photon while still being affordable. A UK supplier on e.bay proved my best option too. Resin for printing detailed miniatures seemed a lot better than the SLP plastic miniatures which had less quality and better for bigger stuff like terrain.
I listened to the Counter Charge podcasts on 3D printing which was also fun and helpful. The guys discussing it on there have been doing for years and know lots more. What I’m about to describe is one mans car crash. No pun intended. Well, a little bit intended. If you can’t laugh at your own trauma there what can you laugh at?
It was rather exciting to open something new and fancy and it had everything in the box that you need to get going. Sort of.
You have to wash the models in isopropyl alcohol afterwards (to get rid of all the wet resin on the new model surface) which I also had to get off eBay and arrived a week later. Patience Danny…..
Okay so now I can actually wash the models. Which also involved going out to buy tongs, a metal scraper and plastic tubs, but NOW I was ready! Sort of.
Because you can’t just print a model. It need supports first. Like the sprues you get on a regular model. Looks complicated. Fortunately I found a model that came ‘pre-supported’ for my first print! NOW I was ready! Sort of.
Most of my research said that the program Chitubox is one of the best for adding the supports and preparing the files ready to print. I downloaded that and eventually worked out how to do it. Only thing is, the printer didn’t recognise the files. It only recognises PWS files. Know how that works? Me neither. Several hours spent trying different things, researching online and swearing and it turns out Chitubox doesn’t do PWS files. So let’s try that agin in the official software. Which is pretty bad. But it works. Ready to go! Sort of.
The printer ‘build plate’ needs levelling. Which is easy. If you know how to do it. Apparently the method in the instructions is a bit poo. I found that out after my first print failed. And models were sticking to the bottom FEP screen and not the plate so were just coming out as flat spludges. I’ve called them that as it makes them sound more cute than the failed bit of trash I just wasted two and a half hours waiting for. With it sticking to the clear FEP screen at the bottom of the tank it wrecked the screen. And you have to unscrew 32 screws with an allen key to replace it. So we’ve calmly realised that mistakes were made, it’s a learning curve blah blah BLAH!!!! Sort of.
I replaced the screen and had another go. It did the same thing. There was swearing. Though now there appears to be resin IN the screen. Turns out I hadn’t taken off the protective layer. Easy mistake to make as half the instructions are in Chinese and it was easy to miss. So out come the 32 screws again….. There was swearing. Maybe even a little despair. MORE research and someone mentions using a PTFE lubricant. Never heard of it. More research and a trip to town to get some. Seems to work a treat. Would have been nice to know before the failed prints and the swearing.
After 3 failed prints I finally got Vulpea Whitebranch from Artisans Guild printed! A model in GW of this size and quality would probably cost about £15. I’d spent, in total, about £350 to get to this stage. As exultant as I was in my minor victory, the entire story carried on in a similar vein. I actually wasted about half the resin on failed prints.
THEN I got some Elegoo grey resin and every print has been perfect since then.
I’m getting better at putting in supports, scaling, and finding new ways of doing things and it’s becoming more and more intuitive.
So is it good? Worth it? I think so. The learning curve is impressive. It’s just like sword fighting and wargaming. You have to get the shit kicked out of you 20 times before you know enough of the game to be able to start fighting properly. I can’t deny, this has kicked the shit out of me. But the utter joy at that first print might have been worth it. And I’ve learnt a lot since then too.
And man, if there’s one thing I love, it’s cheap toy soldiers….. Thats enough for now. I’ll write another blog about what impact this influx of new toys is having on my hobby and the industry at large another time!
Get older. Don't grow up. 