Compared 3D printing minis vs buying plastic sprues for my D&D campaign

Printed 20 custom minis for about $12 in resin over two weekends, but the detail just wasn't there compared to a $35 WizKids pack I bought last month. Anyone else find printing isn't worth it for the really intricate sculpts?

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wells.reese4mo ago

My first print was supposed to be a cute little goblin that ended up looking like a melted candle with a spear. I spent two hours with a file trying to clean up its face and just ended up making it look like it got into a bar fight with a cheese grater. For big dumb monsters like ogres or bear-things I'll still use the printer, but anything with actual fingers or faces gets bought from the store now.

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alice8084mo ago

Same boat here. Painted up a batch of 12 printed kobolds and one of them basically melted into a blob when I tried to clean it up. The store bought ones just have that crisp, clean look you can't fake. I spent more time sanding and filing down print lines than I did actually painting. For a big, simple monster like a bugbear it's fine, but for anything with tiny claws or teeth I'd rather just pay the money.

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