How prevalent is 3D printing? And is it affecting the hobby?

[dickyelsdon]

3D printing is great to get something unique or customised, but my print queue (and supporting STL that dont come pre-supported for that matter) is already beyond what I have time to print/clean/cure, I cant print 24/7 so it can only do so much unless I buy a second machine.  Its such that I dont even bother printing that 'exact copy of X' and instead buy it because id rather print something else instead.  Its easier for me to just buy that unit/tank than spend a week of print time that could be printing something else, if i even have time to get it ready.

 

Not to mention, the quality of what a lot of people print is not 'as good as GW'.  Some of the Primaris prints ive seen make look like theyve been melted in a microwave. For sure there are excellent models out there but they are usually paid designs (some exceptions obviously) and the vast majority of stuff you see in the discord servers... are the not-paid.

[Borbarad]

I bought a resin printer to print custom made bits. I was astonished how much of a hassle 3D printig is. 
 

At the moment I can’t imagine to print anything more than bitz. Especially if you don’t have a dedicated room for printing. 

[The Yncarne]

I have dozens, if not hundreds, of .stls waiting to be printed some day. My buddy's printer never works and the local business charges prices close to GW retail per model. So all those files from Patreon are doing jack squat for me.

 

One topic I haven't seen mentioned is those with 3D printers may cut into GW profits, not by encouraging piracy, but encouraging alternative creators and creations. There aren't a lot of great indy sculptors that would encourage me to print for other games, but that number will grow.

[Joe]

Printing has the long-term potential to be a viable alternative market, however it's unlikely to replace the core market unless it's completely consumer-friendly and can fit the "plug, print and play" mentality that the vast majority of consumers abide by; at the present moment in time, the amount of effort that people have to invest in a printed model is far too high. Waste disposal is another long-term issue that's going to come back to bite people.

 

Prices for printed bits and models have begun to soar in the last year or so as well; to the point that they have near parity to or dramatically exceed Games Workshop.

[Scribe]

6 hours ago, Arkhanist said:

The same applies if they turned up with an army they bought from a different shop, or GW online though - either way, they haven't bought the models from the FLGS.

 

Its not quite the same. Now yes if someone bought directly from GW its not going to benefit the FLGS ecosystem, but if I buy from a FLGS, that is noted, tracked, and if the FLGS restocks it, GW continues to see product shifting.

 

If instead, I print, or buy a recast army (one of the guys I know bought a full FULL heresy force from China) nobody is seeing a dime from that other than some garage in China.

 

I'm not saying 3D printing is the devil. I'm not saying designing ones own models/bits/whatever isn't a cool addition, it certainly is.

 

I'm still thinking however that in mass application, its going to hurt FLGS more so than GW, and is a negative impact, in that specific sense. Thats all. :)

[AenarIT]

When I read discussions like these, I think that many people who comment on 3D printing have no first hand experience with it :)
Long story short: it's not going to put GW out of business anytime soon and at the same time it's not the bane of gaming stores around the world.

I'm part of a very large gaming club (70+ members), lucky enough to have its own place. Which means there's no store owner telling us what we can or can't play (from RPG games like DnD, obscure or dead tabletop wargames, Mordheim, 9th Age WHFB, Bloodbowl, Kill Team, AoS, 40K, Horus Heresy, LotR, ...) and which miniatures we can or can't use (official ones, 3d printed ones, recasts, 3rd party proxies, ...).
While we're not hosted by any specific gaming store, we have a (new) FLGS nearby which we use to purchase a good portion of our miniatures and hobby supplies. The store is perfectly fine with us playing in the store (with any kind of miniatures), as it even has a few 3D printers available and sells other miniature ranges alongside GW. It's a relationship that goes both ways: the store provides new products with a great discount, our club provides clients (us), tables, terrain and even manpower for store events or intro games. 

The store owner knows that banning miniatures or games altogether would be bad for business, as clients would simply not play there anymore. 

While we have club members who only buy official products, members who only 3d print their own miniatures, etc, the vast majority of us dabbles a little bit in everything. 
10+ club members have one or more 3D printers at home, on top of the ones available at the nearby FLGS, so whenever any of us wants something 3D printed, it's easily done.
At the same time, whenever we want to buy something from a 3rd party company from the other side of the world, we put in a group order to save on shipping costs. Whenever we want to order new GW products, we have a store where we can order them from, at a great discount. 
At the end of the day, 3D printing is just another option available to us hobbyists. We use 3D printing whenever it's the best option (ie it gives the best results in terms of quality, price, convenience, availability, ...). Plastic miniatures have some pros and cons, 3D prints have their own, recasts and 3rd party proxies as well. 
 

I have two printers at home myself, an old one which I don't use anymore and a €200 4K resin one I've bought a few months ago which works great. Great means it consistently puts out miniatures with crisper details than official ones, but I admit it takes a bit of skill to fine tune a 3D printer like that.
And yet I have been buying official plastic miniatures as well. It's just a matter of picking the best option available.

If GW puts out a nice kit that I want, great! I'll buy that. 
If GW doesn't sell (or can't stock) a kit that I want, or does so at prices I'm not comfortable with, I'll look at some other options like 3D printing. 

 

Just like piracy with videogames, 3D printing re: miniatures is "almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem". A hobbyist simply chooses the best option available. 
I'm convinced that having more options available is good for us hobbyists and also good for the hobby itself.

Edited July 4, 2023 by AenarIT
spelling

[Noserenda]

Yeah plastic minis will have a solid role for years, but resin is doomed in the right now, certainly in my group and extended circle there are plenty of people printing and actively offering to print for other people and you can get equal or better quality than FW for pennies, even the miscasts have uses! :D 

Oh and old OOP games! I see someone trying to sell old Battlefleet gothic stuff on fb was £60+ per ship when our group bought a bunch of STLs for like £20 per faction, ran off a bunch of fleets and played the hell out of them for near nothing.

It was ace :) 

[Guest]

 

This cost me about £40 from a friend. 

[Rain]

This is the “oh no Napster will kill music” thing all over again. Except that Napster, Limewire, and Pirate Bay/uTorrent were all free, and so easy to use that a child could set it up (and thousands of children did) and yet the music industry was and is alive and well.
 

On the other hand, pressure from online piracy helped push through the movement toward streaming platforms, and away from CD’s or individual download purchases; a business model which is more convenient for consumers, and support the labels/artists just fine, along with concerts and merch sales.

 

So, instead of ing and trying to fight 3D printing directly, GW should consider how it can offer its goods in a way that makes 3D printing overly burdensome by contrast to the vast majority of gamers. Fighting market disruption of this kind directly almost never works, what works is adjusting one’s own business model, just as music did.

[Bung]

14 hours ago, JayJapanB said:

Why don't they just print cards on a 2D printer?

 

Cause WotC Business Model is based on official Events like tourneys, Friday Night Magic etc. and official Tourneys Ban copies, much like official GW Tourneys Ban third party models.

 

 

I think the only stuff GW is hurt already are upgrade parts from Forgeworld.

 

Considering HH and the number of Miniatures you need for a lot of people the Despoiler or SW Greyslayer upgrades are simply to expansive.

 

4 Grey Slayer Sets each 38€ + 60€ for the Plastic for one (1) max sized Troops choice.

 

Thats the point we are for some armies.

 

And thats where GW needs to rethink their Business Model.

 

As people that arent afraid to use third party stuff are the ones that jump on the printing train (if there arent other limitations).

 

 

 

[Noserenda]

Yeah upgrades are where 3d printing has a brutal advantage, its cheaper, you can customise more precisely and you can pop them on official models without having to worry too much about differences.

[Brother Sutek]

On 7/2/2023 at 6:40 PM, Vassakov said:

I think people are talking a little bit at cross purposes here - to a degree, I think 3D printing is rapidly becoming the norm, but supplementary to the main hobby rather than replacing it. 

 

When I started, 20 years ago (Russ' fangs, I'm getting old) if you wanted custom bits, you essentially had to make them yourself, or maybe something existed online but there really wasn't much. Green stuff and kitbashing was basically it, and I've got the slightly derpy Space Wolves to prove it.

 

Now, though... well, I've probably dropped the better part of £1000 on GW Horus Heresy plastic and resin (admittedly mostly from a FLGS with a good discount ) and then I've picked up plenty of 3rd party 3D printed bits, either online or from a friend, to customise them as Word Bearers- books, candles, parchment, a couple of gnarly weapons and some shoulder joints for a resin Contemptor to utilise the spare plastic weapons. 

 

Sure, you'll get a few  who proudly proclaim they 3D printed an entire force, but they are (at least for now) a noisy minority. But I wouldn't be surprised if a substantial minority - maybe even getting towards a majority - are using it as another tool in their hobbying to make a collection theirs.

 

But hey, just my two Imperial Crowns. 

If it makes you feel better I have son in his late 20s. Wargaming since 2nd edition so yeah feeling the age lol. On the topic of 3D printing as a hobby the set up and learning curve is a thing. I'd love to have one for terrain but I have lots of more important things I need and not just want. I've seen more recast in the wild than 3D printed but it is growing as the printers get better.

[Orion]

6 hours ago, Bung said:

 

Cause WotC Business Model is based on official Events like tourneys, Friday Night Magic etc. and official Tourneys Ban copies, much like official GW Tourneys Ban third party models.

 

 

I think the only stuff GW is hurt already are upgrade parts from Forgeworld.

 

Considering HH and the number of Miniatures you need for a lot of people the Despoiler or SW Greyslayer upgrades are simply to expansive.

 

4 Grey Slayer Sets each 38€ + 60€ for the Plastic for one (1) max sized Troops choice.

 

Thats the point we are for some armies.

 

And thats where GW needs to rethink their Business Model.

 

As people that arent afraid to use third party stuff are the ones that jump on the printing train (if there arent other limitations).

 

 

 

 

If GW sponsored more/most events would 3D printing go away though?

Do unofficial events or clubs for MTG exist?

I think it's more of a culture than a thing the company controls. MTG players put a value on authenticity. 

 

As for FW stuff, some kits are better than others. There's honestly a lot of newer stuff I don't like. Things like the libby and the despoilers upgrades.

Destroyers and Assault Marines still hold up great though as models. Phallanx too. As long as you're not allergic to anything slightly old.

I've considered getting them just to make some dope looking FB Crimson fists. 

[Bung]

3 hours ago, JayJapanB said:

 

If GW sponsored more/most events would 3D printing go away though?

Do unofficial events or clubs for MTG exist?

I think it's more of a culture than a thing the company controls. MTG players put a value on authenticity. 

 

As for FW stuff, some kits are better than others. There's honestly a lot of newer stuff I don't like. Things like the libby and the despoilers upgrades.

Destroyers and Assault Marines still hold up great though as models. Phallanx too. As long as you're not allergic to anything slightly old.

I've considered getting them just to make some dope looking FB Crimson fists. 

 

Difference is, in the WorldChampionship of MTG you can win up to 100k USD for first place.

 

Thats why they provide a certification system for judges etc.

 

Long way to go for GW.

 

And GW already tried to hurt third Party and 3d printing with their combined rules and models design, where you can only play the stuff thats in the box.

 

 

 

 

[Evil Eye]

16 hours ago, AenarIT said:

Just like piracy with videogames, 3D printing re: miniatures is "almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem". A hobbyist simply chooses the best option available. 

This, a thousand times this. It's also worth noting that people actively not buying from GW, be they buying recasts, 3D printing or just buying exclusively from aftermarket sites, can barely be called lost revenue because they weren't going to spend their money on GW anyway; this might be because the model they want is not available from GW (hell, I recall a staffer in the Norwich GW saying recasts for long-OOP FW models like the Trygon are hardly worth getting upset about because, in his words, "we literally can't sell you that anymore!") or because they're part of the growing group of people sufficiently annoyed at GW that they won't give money to them and do not care what happens to them; whilst I'm not actually in this camp myself, I do understand it, especially given the utter disaster that 10th seems to be already. GW's solution to 3D printing taking off (and it can only get more accessible; not too long ago I was in awe of these wonder-machines and dreaming of being able to use one and now I OWN one and am considering getting more!) needs to be a hearts and minds one. Because whilst yes, 3D printing is definitely less convenient than just putting together a plastic (or metal or cast-resin) model and the fact it exists isn't an existential threat to GW, the fact that an increasing number of people are willing to deal with the hassle of using them solely because it means they DON'T have to give GW their money is. That's the issue; the fact GW keeps alienating people and making people less willing to buy their products. There being a (somewhat) easy and accessible alternative to their products isn't a problem if people aren't actively seeking one out because they don't want to give GW their money.

 

It's also worth saying that upgrades and parts, printed or otherwise, don't harm GW because you still need the base kit to use them (hence why Tamiya is hardly going to be foaming at the mouth over Eduard putting out a photo-etch fret for their tank models; if people are more likely to buy their kits if there's aftermarket upgrades available, then yay!). Case in point, I acquired the tragically OOP Mk. IIB FW upgrades for the Land Raider* from, uh, "Forge World Russian Branch"; I then went and bought a plastic Land Raider I otherwise wouldn't have bought. The existence of someone selling an upgrade for the kit made GW a sale. Yes, said upgrade was a recast, but again, I couldn't buy a legit one from FW anymore. And GW still sold a Land Raider!

 

Finally I will say regarding resin printing, on my Mars 3 Pro at least, printing very large models like bigger tanks isn't hugely practical due to limited build plate size. I do want to get a Saturn 2 at some point, and technically with proper parts breakdown you CAN print some tanks in multiple print batches, but it's certainly less practical than just buying a kit.

 

*I actually would have bought a legit one but as soon as they went LCTB they sold out. Boooo.

[Orion]

Kinda depends on how you go about it. If you buy 6 recast krieg infantry "firing" squads because "they're OOP, bro" I'm not gonna pretend that you're doing that because you have no choice, and you can climb down off the horse. Sometimes people will even say they bought something because it is OOP when it straight up isn't.

 

Otherwise, I'll give it to the recasters on that, and only that. They do provide an archival service.

[AenarIT]

4 hours ago, Evil Eye said:

This, a thousand times this. It's also worth noting that people actively not buying from GW, be they buying recasts, 3D printing or just buying exclusively from aftermarket sites, can barely be called lost revenue because they weren't going to spend their money on GW anyway; [...]

 

It's also worth saying that upgrades and parts, printed or otherwise, don't harm GW because you still need the base kit to use them [...]

Exactly. 3D printing widens the population (in statistical terms) of possible hobbyists, who may even become (or be once again) GW customers in the future. 
All things considered, it makes the hobby more popular since it allows more hobbyists to take part in it, be if for availability, quality or pricing reasons.
If the hobby is more popular, the largest company operating in a quasi-monopolistic position could very well benefit from it. They might have to adapt, but they are still a multibillion pounds company so they have the resources to do so.

[Magos Takatus]

22 hours ago, Evil Eye said:

 

It's also worth saying that upgrades and parts, printed or otherwise, don't harm GW because you still need the base kit to use them (hence why Tamiya is hardly going to be foaming at the mouth over Eduard putting out a photo-etch fret for their tank models; if people are more likely to buy their kits if there's aftermarket upgrades available, then yay!). Case in point, I acquired the tragically OOP Mk. IIB FW upgrades for the Land Raider* from, uh, "Forge World Russian Branch"; I then went and bought a plastic Land Raider I otherwise wouldn't have bought. The existence of someone selling an upgrade for the kit made GW a sale. Yes, said upgrade was a recast, but again, I couldn't buy a legit one from FW anymore. And GW still sold a Land Raider!

This is true for me too. I had enough Questoris Imperial Knights for sure but after seeing parts from sites like Iron Wolf Minis and Taro Modelmaker I was convinced to make a more Mechanicus themed Knight using an aftermarket saw arm, a banner and new head and hatch parts. GW will be laughing all the way to the bank when they see my miniature stride off the pile of shame. I think people expending their energy to make variant parts to breathe life into existing kits if far more valuable to me than piracy of a current model. 

 

I also agree with the discussion earlier comparing the scene in the Blood Bowl community and the 40k one explaining why 40k is different. For the most part  I have to agree. Blood Bowl certainly does exist in a situation where there are teams that had models that have been out of production for years, since Specialist Games was a label and a lot of those models were of... questionable quality.  I really like the Lizardman and Tomb King/Khemri team but their old metal models were pretty low tier for GW sculpting quality. They haven't aged well... I'm love a Tomb Kings team but GW have not provided yet and I am sitting on the fence about getting a third-party team. This to me feels very different to 40k where a lot of the models are more up to date than Blood Bowl so I'm not quite so comfortable with the idea of using third party printed models for 40k (Though some of those old models in need to restoring like the Phoenix Lords feel like fair game to me). 

[Domhnall]

On 7/4/2023 at 7:37 PM, Rain said:

This is the “oh no Napster will kill music” thing all over again. Except that Napster, Limewire, and Pirate Bay/uTorrent were all free, and so easy to use that a child could set it up (and thousands of children did) and yet the music industry was and is alive and well.
 

On the other hand, pressure from online piracy helped push through the movement toward streaming platforms, and away from CD’s or individual download purchases; a business model which is more convenient for consumers, and support the labels/artists just fine, along with concerts and merch sales.

 

So, instead of ing and trying to fight 3D printing directly, GW should consider how it can offer its goods in a way that makes 3D printing overly burdensome by contrast to the vast majority of gamers. Fighting market disruption of this kind directly almost never works, what works is adjusting one’s own business model, just as music did.

 

At first I was like "using streaming of music as a comparison isn't the best argument", but the more I think about it, the more it does make sense.

 

The music industry isn't anywhere near as lucrative as it used to be before streaming. Don't get me wrong, the big companies still rake it in, but the artists not so much. . When Spotify only gives 1/3 of a cent per stream (there are others who pay more, but spotify is a big player), and as not all of that goes to the artist, it's only the big boys and girls who get any decent amount of money from it (mostly the song writer rather than performing artist). This will probably be the same thing with the hobby. The big players will still rake in the money, but the small fry will get pennies, but it's the printers themselves who'll be quids in. They're the providers, even though they may not be the ones spending time/money creating the files.

 

So, let's make the assumption 3D printing becomes more mainstream (I'm not sure it'll become quite as prevalent as some make it out/want it to be, but that's not for me to predict). 

Are people going to get mini's printed out somewhere, or do at home? I'd expect in most cases the former, because of a) Convenience trumps all, b) having a printer is nastier than not having a printer and space c) upfront costs people can't /don't want to afford. d) easier to maintain the pile of shame if have a monthly model stream.

 

So, I've now bought an STL of a marine from "Big Dave's STL emporium". Say the going rate is £2 for a file and (a number I plucked from the sky btw), and another £2 to print it.

So say I want 1 marine, I pay Big Dave £2 for the STL, I then pay the local printer £2 to print out.

I have paid £4, Big Dave recieves £2 for his time/work, and the printer gets £0.50 (materials/time deducted). 

 

But then why do I need to buy another one ever? If all I'm wanting is a quick army, I've paid my couple quid from the guy who created the file, and now I can get as many prints of that for me and my mates as I want.

5 of my mates liked Dave's print very much (he spend a long time on it, and it's nicely detailed), and we all want 50 marines each.... 

We now each pay a total of £100 each (no discounts on volume for ease of use) for 50 marines each. The printer gets £125. Dave still only got his £2. 

 

Does Dave then raise the price of the files to comensate? Do you need to sign up for a monthly subscription for prints, even if you don't want that many? etc etc

 

What I'm trying to say is, the GW's of the world are fine, they'll be making money as they're one of the big player who people will go to for convenience/ease of use. 

It's the people printing the figures (ie. the Spotify of the hobby) who will be getting the most out of this. The artists, again will be the ones to be screwed over. 

 

 

Not to mention the other poplular thead around here of "We want all the rules for free" and how that will play into a world where the income stream of any games makers is getting reduced by the 3D printing market. The money has to come from somewhere to keep a venture afloat (and this isn't just GW). D&D seem to be eying a move away from tabletop onto online (bleh!) and charge a subscription for the privelege. It'll be interesting to see how any company adapts to the wholesale shift in the market that this will bring.

[Arkhanist]

5 hours ago, Domhnall said:

 

So, I've now bought an STL of a marine from "Big Dave's STL emporium". Say the going rate is £2 for a file and (a number I plucked from the sky btw), and another £2 to print it.

So say I want 1 marine, I pay Big Dave £2 for the STL, I then pay the local printer £2 to print out.

I have paid £4, Big Dave recieves £2 for his time/work, and the printer gets £0.50 (materials/time deducted). 

 

But then why do I need to buy another one ever? If all I'm wanting is a quick army, I've paid my couple quid from the guy who created the file, and now I can get as many prints of that for me and my mates as I want.

5 of my mates liked Dave's print very much (he spend a long time on it, and it's nicely detailed), and we all want 50 marines each.... 

We now each pay a total of £100 each (no discounts on volume for ease of use) for 50 marines each. The printer gets £125. Dave still only got his £2. 

 

Does Dave then raise the price of the files to comensate? Do you need to sign up for a monthly subscription for prints, even if you don't want that many? etc etc

 

 

This has already been somewhat developed - 40k is not the only target market for 3d printing by any means.

 

Generally you get patreons who do exactly as you describe; they design new models each month along a theme. Some are for D&D expansions, some for armies compatible with existing games like 40k/fantasy/onepagerules, or a whole team for say bloodbowl, while some just for making very intricate standalone minis that people mostly get cos they're cool. The cost of subscription varies, but is often around £10 a month; early subscribers get it cheaper.

 

For those who miss out on a given month, the models/units within it then usually go up on one or more of the STL marketplaces; C&G, MMF, cults3d etc. The individual units/models tend to be significantly more expensive depending upon artist and complexity; £10 - £20 is about as much as a single unit goes for, but combo releases for the whole month can be £40-£50. Heroes infinite go for the very high ~£150 per month you miss!

 

So you're heavily encouraged to subscribe to the patreon of designers you like, because the price is FAR cheaper. But of course, you only tend to know what's in the preview for the month ahead. But recurring revenue is considerably more useful than one-off purchases.

 

The other big method for 'one off' projects tend to be kickstarter; e.g. a whole bunch of terrain or base designs, with buy-in later being higher than at the time.

 

If you're a commercial printer who wants to sell the models, as opposed to for personal use, then usually you need to sign up for a merchant licence on that patreon/kickstarter, which is considerably higher; anything from £50 to £100 a month for patreon. But then, apart from marking where you got them from, you can generally print and sell as many as you like on your own store.

 

Printing costs vary; once you've bought a resin printer (around £200-£400 unless you're going REALLY big or fancy), it's about 10 to 20p a figure for electricity & resin & wastage. So if you're wanting to print a fair bit, and have the space and time to learn, then it's cheaper to buy your own printer and subscribe to a patreon or two, and you will have a steady supply of new minis to fit your interests. If you want to pay someone else to print your specific STLs, then you're still generally buying those STLs yourself, on a mostly indvidual basis (obviously sharing between friends is generally fine). If you're buying off-the-shelf prints from e.g. etsy, then that printer paid the merchant price, or is otherwise licenced by the designer.

 

So the designer is getting compensated, printing yourself is fairly cheap (past the initial investment), but you can also get a wide range of one-off bits from specialist sellers if you're not too invested. Overall, it seems to work quite well!

 

Obviously there's a HUGE amount of free STLs made by people who just like to share; these can vary in quality, but there's plenty there if you're on a tight budget and are primarily after bits. But the best quality 3rd party full model designs do tend to be charged for, one way or another.

Edited July 6, 2023 by Arkhanist

[Redcomet]

On 7/4/2023 at 7:38 AM, JayJapanB said:

Why don't they just print cards on a 2D printer?

You should try that, I am sure the lawsuit will be entertaining lol

[DemonGSides]

Plenty of proxy websites and plenty of printers who don't mind making Magic Cards.

You just can't use them at official tournaments or anything that's considered "Sanctioned" or able to be reported to WotC's internal tracking service.

Kitchen table you can do whatever you want, much like with Warhammer.

[Noserenda]

Its also worth mentioning that collecting cards isnt the same as minis psychologically, you dont have to buy swathes of chaff models to get the ones you actually want, or go third party and pay a significant mark up. We used to play a bit of magic at home with extensive proxies because we were broke and that offended some people far more than doing so with minis ever has, i suspect precisely because of their own investment.

[Doghouse]

For me it's opened up far more opportunities in terms of models. From a conversion perspective it is so much easier to be able to make models with the ability to be able to alter the models on a computer and rapid prototype.

 

It took me a while to pluck up the courage to buy one because of all the horror stories I'd heard but to be honest I found it incredibly easy to use. I had expected it to be a massive labour in itself but it really wasn't, I had it set up and printing within half an hour with zero prior experience and a few youtube videos under my belt. Cleaning was a doddle as well.

 

I doubt for the time being it will impact the GW hobby greatly, I'd say it was more likely to effect third party bits companies more.

 

Pricing is another plus, I could do a company of infantry in an afternoon for the same price as a box of ten models in a lot of cases. I think it's a boon for wargamers in general, maybe not so much those companies that don't make stls.

 

I do still prefer hand sculpting though to be honest.

[Castlerook]

I spoke about this in another thread but it feels more appropriate to share here.

 

Ever since they came out, I have wanted a Solar Auxilia force, but the price always dissuaded me. €323 for a bare minimum force of one Command Section and 2 Lasrifle sections (€99 and €224 respectively). As you can imagine, I was not paying that...at least not without selling someone else's liver and kidneys... Where was I?

 

Oh yeah, Solar Auxilia. Well, as luck would have it, when the Navy Breacher team was released last year for Kill Team, I was inspired to look around for proxies. And came across a fantastic sculptor that not only did an amazing Breacher team, but did them in a style reminiscent of the Solar Auxilia. Not just the breacher squad, but so much more.

 

For half the cost of FW Solar Auxilia command squad, I got files for lasgun troopers, veterans with power axes, heavy weapon troopers, command squad and the commander, which resin permitting means I can print up my dream Auxilia army...right after I finish my current armies...

 

But the fact remains, I was forced to look for alternatives because GW forced my hand by pricing me out of their product. I'm not an isolated incident and I can only see this happening more and more until GW acknowledges they've created a problem and deals with it, or they get outdone by 3rd party sculptors. And the latter isn't that far off.