Into Another Dimension
So I recently got back into playing D&D with a group of guys I know. It’s been decades since I’d played and I’m finding it to be a lot of fun. This ultimately led me into getting myself a 3D printer so I could start printing my own miniatures.
My modest work area. I’ve added to it since this photo was taken.
I started off with an ANYCUBIC Photon Mono 4K, which is a (relatively) inexpensive model that can handle the miniatures and some other things. Soon after that I got the ANYCUBIC Wash & Cure Station so I could properly finish the prints. It turned out to be a lot of fun, but there was a pretty steep learning curve. While I still can’t say I’m anywhere near mastering it, I’m able to print what I want on it without stressing too much anymore. There was a week straight when I couldn’t seem to print anything but blobs on the printer, which was very frustrating. I did some research and managed to learn how to print successfully most of the time. After using it for a few months I began to find myself disappointed that I wasn’t also able to print anything too big and that resin printing doesn’t produce very strong objects – even though it really prints detailed models quite well.
This is one of the miniatures I printed for one of the guys in the group.
This lead to my newest addition to the 3D printing game: The ELEGOO Neptune 4 Pro. Printing with filament really changes what I’m able to make! Very strong objects and a lot larger. I figure that this will allow me to print useful items and not just silly stuff for D&D. One thing I realized very quickly was that this type of printer is a lot easier to get started with than resin printing. I still have plenty to learn, but it’s been a fun hobby.
This tower has space for dice and a miniature figure in two different compartments.
As you can see in the above photo, I’ve also got model paints, which I haven’t even started doing yet. The red paint holders were printed on the FDM printer, too. So that’s another part of the hobby that I need to learn to do. It’s been ages since I’ve done any painting, at least in an artistic way. Should be fun!
This entry has more hobbies than time on its hands.