I’ve shared my exploits as a 3D printing loser. It was an abject failure, mostly because I simply don’t have the stick-too-it-ive-ness to make it work. I offer nothing but plaudits and praise to those who do. I passed along my Elegoo and all its bits to my friend Mark, and I think he’s gotten his money’s worth.

Though I am not printing my own stuff, I do see a ton of value in buying 3D printed goodies. The cost and the detail available from the printed goodies is often cheaper and better in what one might find in cast metal or resin. Molds don’t wear out, the prints are often cleaner than the castings. The downside is fragility. Though I have purchased some, I tend not to buy printed figures. Swords and spears simply break. If you drop ’em they might shatter. I’ve received printed horses that often arrive without tails and sometimes without legs. I think figures are where I draw the line.

Sadly I can’t remember who printed these two delightful figures of Edward, the Black Prince of Wales in 28mm. Edward is a legendary hero in SAGA and he might help my doddering English HYW army. The same printer also did an excellent Edward III figure, mounted and dismounted. The miniature is well cast, and none of the detail, including the raised sword, seems particularly breakable. On the right a well printed Rohan horseman, Erkenbrand of Westfold.

I have a fair number of printed ships. Mark has printed some beautiful War Time Journal models for me. Chiefly German pre-dreadnaughts, but also some very nice Fletcher class destroyers in 1/1250. WTJ used to print their own miniatures, but now they just sell their STL’s. Either you have to print them yourself, or they do have a couple of reliable printing services they work with. Neither the Germans or the American DD’s are completed, but I’m hoping I might have a shot at them this year. Matthew Lawson likewise does some great work for the American Civil War at his Brown Water Navy site. He is branching out into lesser known 19th century ships as well. I occasionally add to my ACW stuff which has grown obscenely large, and almost all of my Spanish ships from the Spanish American War come from Matt. Finally, David Manley and his Long Face Games designs have also done some terrific ACW stuff. These are printed by Iron Horse Collectibles and other in the U.S. and I am extremely satisfied with the quality of the designs and the prints. I often have to make masts for my pre-dreadnaughts, which isn’t a big deal (I have had lots of practice.)

From the top, the three above are David Manley creations through Long Face Games. The ships are the Double End gunboat Cimarron, a Mississippi snagboat, and the ferry Hunchback. They are printed by Iron Horse Collectibles The magnificent Blackhawk tinclad below was David Dixon Porter’s flagship for his various operations in the Mississippi Valley campaigns. It is a great example of Matthew Lawton’s work over at Brown Water Navy.

I’ve also done some work with printed 1/300 scale planes. Back in the day when Shapeways was a thing, I ordered some planes from them. I think it’s very unlikely I’ll ever buy another metal plane. I have lots and lots of them, from tiny fighters to really big ol’ B-24D’s. The printed planes have several tremendous advantages. One is their light weight. It has always been a challenge to plunk a big plane on a stand and not have it be dangerously top heavy. I have a few printed B-17E’s and they are so much easier to manage than the big metal Liberators. I have a friend who is doing some 1/200 Pacific War games and has a PBY that is just really big. But light as a feather. Another advantage is the prints are so much cleaner than the metal castings. Some of these molds are old, they are in desperate need of cleaning or replacement. I recently ordered some A-7 Corsair II’s for Vietnam and they were dreadfully cast. I also really like the detail the designers can build on to the model. No more trying to stick on racks of expensive bombs or other underwing stores. The down side is I found myself cutting off some centerline fuel tanks for my mounting posts. Finally, the printed planes are so much less expensive than metal. Better detail, quality prints, lighter and easier to play with, more detail, I paid about $5.00 each for some beautiful F-4C’s that would cost fourteen bucks from GHQ and probably wouldn’t be as good.

Printed planes from Flight Deck Decals. From left, F-4C Phantom II, B-17E, PBY Catalina, and bottom, P-40B’s.

My maker of choice for planes is Flight Deck Decals. They provide good service, generally have what I’m looking for, and they fit in my budget. Plus, I can get my decals from them. They have WWI, WWII and modern planes from P-26 Peashooters to B-52G’s and newer. WWI planes are offered in 1/144. The other planes are available in 1/200 and 1/300. They will tweak some things for 1/285 but it’s more expensive. They also sell STL’s if you want to print commercially. Other makers are out there too.

Perhaps the real genius of 3D printing, isn’t the figures, ships and planes, it’s all the cool terrain bits. It doesn’t matter what one is doing in miniature wargaming, there is a ton of cool terrain bits to meet your needs. I’ve gotten a number of cool pieces. First on my list is a spiffy steam train with tracks. I haven’t used it yet, but I see a number of possibilities for the revolution in Cuba in the 1890’s or in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish put in a train north/south in Cuba and guarded it with blockhouses. Could be cool. I also got from the same maker, Guardian Hobbies on Etsy, a super collection of Spanish Houses, again for use in Cuba and Spain. For the train and the buildings the cost was, to me, reasonable. Not only that, but I’ve painted them and the buildings have made their way on to the game table.

These are some terrain bits I’ve had printed from Etsy sellers for my table. Top left is a Spanish village with three buildings. Small, but just right for my purposes. I have some larger buildings if I need them. Upper middle and right is my train with five cars. I added the water tower. Came with six feet of mostly straight track. Below are my Rohan hills. They seem quite Peter Jacksonish and I really enjoyed painting them.

I’ve picked up some great items for my Lord of the Rings projects. I have some super spiff Rohan hills. A variety of different but very usable hill for any skirmish project. I also have a few Rohan buildings that seem very Dark Agey in appearance I could use for other purposes. Those I haven’t finished yet.

The list of possible terrain pieces or bits and accessories just seem endless. Buildings, trenches, very cool rocks, or just rocky spaces have caught my eye, but for now, I’ll leave well enough alone. Regardless whether I’m currently in the market or not, compared to alternatives, the 3D prints compare at least equally with the laser cut pieces, and so much cheaper than pre-finished options like MBA. Just in the interest of transparency, I have both.