3D Printer Musings

Just a couple of quick updates as I have been away from the hobby desk for a bit.

So, after experimenting with various models and printer settings I find there is still a lot to learn. Whilst most models now print nicely without much fuss, occasionally there are hiccups.

I have been printing some 15mm tanks for my WW2 Japanese, and while the body prints OK, the turret and main gun have been problematic. Picture below is of a Chi-Ha medium tank.

One thing I have learnt is to think out of the box a bit when deciding the orientation of models during printing. Unlike the Jadgpanther printed previously, this one was printed vertically. This reduced the number of supports needed, making clean up quicker, and also improved the overall quality, especially around the tracks. The turret is a different proposition. Will need to try a different orientation as the main gun looks awful.

Also on the production line are some modular terrain pieces like this hobbit hole, scaled to suit 15mm.

The Blitz and Jadgpanther from previous posts have now had some base coat applied. One thing I have noticed is that painting can make the print layers more obvious in some places.

On The Desk

Just a quick update on a long time project - A 48 point Minecraft themed HOTT army. Been buying up these little figures for a quite a while now, however only when the local Coles or Big W have them on special. Too expensive otherwise.

So here is the first 20 points based and ready for action. They are mounted on 60mm wide bases. I blame a certain gentleman gamer now based in Thailand for coming up with the idea of using figures like this to make HOTT armies, it becomes addictive. Wonder how they would go against his Simpson's?

Skeleton Hero leading Pigmy zombie chicken jockeys - all armies need a unit or two of those!

Just a few more to base up

My First Post

So this blog will be my attempt at showing off my various painting attempts, and also my venture into the world of 3D Printing. Might even post about any games of note that I play.

So we start this post with the new toy, a Flashforge Finder 3D Printer.

The figure sitting on top was something I found on Thingiverse, and thought would make a good god figure for my Dalek Hordes of the Things army. Printed in PLA and stands about 40mm high.

I painted this before deciding on writing this blog, so no "before" photo. Not the first thing I printed, as I did a few test prints of basic pieces before moving on to the more complex prints shown here.

Here are some figures, also from Thingiverse, that were an experiment to see if 28mm figures could be printed. The results are what I would call adequate, but not up to the standard of most commercial figures. I have since learned some techniques to improve the print quality, and will post those latter.

And something a bit more ambitious, an Opel Blitz in 1/144, 1/100, and 1/72 scale, along with a Jagdpanther in 1/100.

None of these have been fully cleaned up yet, with the Jagdpanther and 1/100 Blitz straight off the printer.