How Best to Use 3D Printing for Warhammer 40K? Beginner Guide with Elegoo

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Let's talk the applications of 3D printing for Warhammer 40K, with a look at the pros and cons and some best uses!

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0:00 Intro
1:20 Why 3D Print for Warhammer?
7:18 Choosing Printers
8:17 Elegoo Printers
10:24 Print Process
13:17 Finding STL files
14:28 Playing with Printed Proxies
17:28 Owning a Printer vs Buying Parts
19:49 Pros and Cons for 40K
23:24 Outro

[auspextactics]

This one's an affiliate link that helps support the channel if you did choose to pick anything up :)

[tommccarthy]

I have shamelessly printed whole 40k armies for myself and friends for no payment. Adapt or die GW. I wouldn't want them to go under, but I would love to see them get hurt enough to wake up and make some major changes

[mtgmac]

I'm an owner of one. Just... make a mental note to stop when you'll notice the unpainted pile is getting to unbearable levels. I know it's cheap. I know you just found a new power and you want to go crazy using it. Just... please paint that pile.

[bobbycrosby]

I got a 3d printer so I could print miniatures for my kids to paint with me. As much as I love them, spending $5-20/mini for my 5 year old to put giant blobs of paint all over it just makes me cry on the inside. I paint my armies, they paint the stuff I 3d printed - it makes for great family fun.

[RadioEnnui]

I've started printing this year, just a fair warning to everyone else considering giving it a go:

It's not as easy as a lot of people say, there's a lot of handling nasty chemicals and the fumes are pretty bad. If you don't have a dedicated workspace with airflow available, it's better to reconsider.

[jens]

Bought mine 6 days ago.
Already own a ghazkull thraka and a warbike squad.
Best decision ever!
Edit:spelling

[bryal]

Just want to say that I purchased an Elegoo Mars 3 last year and it was well worth it. Currently using Siraya Tech Fast ABS-Like resin and the models turn out great. The most surprising part of this hobby was just how many models are readily available. Searching "Blank" STL can often net you several great choices let alone the many hub websites that are dedicated to 3D modelers selling their work. Cults3D and Myminifactory have been a godsend for proxies.

There's definitely troubleshooting involved and the clean-up is a chore (Filtering IPA through coffee filters for re-use and to properly cure/dispose of resin gunk is the messiest part of the hobby.) but I'm really glad I took the dive. (And so are my friends who play the "guest armies" I've printed off!)

[ianjhobbies]

All I can say is this video has amazing timing. I have had a Mars 2 Pro for a couple of years and I have printed bits and bobs really outside the GW range of miniatures.

I am upgrading to Saturn 2 8K as a number of pre-supported creators are getting more adventurous in the design space. Larger miniatures are becoming available. It is great to see so many options now thriving across the community.

Highly recommend water washable resin if you want to remove the complexity of dealing with isopropyl alcohol/white spirit.

Once you have dialled in the settings and get two or three good prints done, it becomes all about printing, cleaning, maintenance, paint, go again.

[TheThewhatnow]

I have used it a lot for spare parts, I buy second hand armies and the amount of models I have been able to save after they arrived broken or with missing parts has been invaluable.

[monkeyinapanzer]

The biggest practical application I have is to print out designs for minis GW either couldn’t be asked to update or even produce anymore. Likewise printing designs that run circles around GWs is one of my big factors.
Just printing copies of GWs designs is extremely boring to me, but something like Geargutz mekshops badass broozer ork alternatives or Total Wars rips of nurgle demons just look so much better then GWs offerings.

[zuko]

Honestly it would fascinating if GW opened up selling the files to print them. Obviously not to resell the models you print, but would be interesting.

[viciaoalwow]

I'm working as 3D Environment Artists for videogames and in the last year 2 friends leave their companies not for other videogame companies but for 3D print tabletop companies! This "hobby" is becoming an industry. In my free time I design props, bases and terrain elements/buildings for fun but I'm sure that people with basic knowledge about modeling/sculpting (pref ZBrush) can do their own projects! This is a plus for Warhammer!

[barbos]

Before everyone says 3d printing kills hobby, just think that GW has brought it on themselves. Overpriced models, fixed unit loadout, no converions or 3rd party allowed, blatant p2w rule design and unfinished, ovepriced annual rulebooks. The pricing is wrong when you can buy 3 new tanks or a whole 3d printer and print the whole army instead.

[BDR]

Lovely Overview! As a concept artist for Makers Cult, I endorse the use of printed models, but I really dislike full-on copies or almost identical recreations of GW models, I try to make designs that wouldn't look out of place, inspired but not copied.

[frannyfranfrancis]

I suck at sculpting with green stuff, but i can 3d print accessories and bits to make my Salamanders look legit. I have about 1500 pts of Primaris that Im slowly converting. I would love to make Lore dioramas for them eventually!

[vinceallocco]

One thing I love 3d printing for in the Warhammer sphere is custom bases. I even designed my own for the Dominion box minis so to accomplish some cool basing ideas I have.

[tehgriefer]

Back to the Hoby this year after 20 years of abscence and planning on 3d Print (Specially terrain) next. thanks for this video long time waited!

[polyquaternium]

Some tips I learned through experience:

Buy a lot of Paper towels, throw away paper funnels with filters, isopropanol, stainless steel funnels, Trays (one to set you printer in case of catastrophic failure, resin wont leak al over the place. And one to remove your prints on from the buildplate from), plastic spatulas, spare containers to wash your models in and recycle your Isopropanol.

Buy a screen protector for your printscreen !

Buy spare FEP Sheets.

Calibrate your buildplate with the papermethod, not your FEP. Yes you can use the FEP but you cant pull the corners to check if the pressure is aligned in all the corners of the buildplate.

A lot of free and even payed models have a lot of errors.

3DBuilder is a free microsoft program that works great to repair models. (a lot of models aren't checked for errors, this program helps to fix it!)

Never assume (even for payed models) the supports are correctly placed.

After slicing your model, run it through UVTOOLS. this program helps to detect island, pockets and suctioncups. It can also autocorrect small errors. This will reduce your print errors by a lot.

TEMPERATURE! a lot of print failures tend to happen because the ambient temperature is to cold. Resin works best between 25 -30 degrees celsius for most brands.
invest in a vat warmer or a small heater for your printer.

Removing supports from models works best in a tub of warm water. After cleaning the model with ispropanol ofcourse. Hot water helps to soften the resin. Make sure to dry it thoroughly before curing.

clean your FEP with micro cloth only, dont use papertowels as this will scratch the surface and make the FEP a lot duller with micro scratches.

You can recycle isopropanol by pouring it in a clean transparent soda bottle and leave them in the sun. The resin particles will harden and sink to the bottom, filter the remaining isopropanol in a new bottle and repeat until clear.

Hope this is useful for anyone!

[jb]

A tip for you if you are getting into resin printing: shell out the extra for more durable resins. I started with standard and this is an inflexible and brittle material. Things were breaking all the time from even just the tiniest of pressures. Swapped to ABS-like and the quality has been night and day. Do yourself a favor and make the long-term investment in your prints. There are a lot of durable resins out there.

Another tip: Taking care of the contaminated IPA is a pain. Be prepared for going through quite a bit and having a rough time trying to figure out what to do with it. I still have 4 large jars sitting out in the sun that I don't know what else to do with because everything I have done to recycle or clean them for disposal has not worked.

[OmegaLittleBob]

For me 3D printing is the only way I’m ever going to afford to have more than two armies.