I have a couple of friends who print what they say is.. it is cheaper, and it isn't cheaper.
To sum it up, printing is another hobby in itself. It's time consuming, has a learning curve, and multiple bumps along the road.
Sometimes it's just easier to pick up the actual kit from you FLGS.
They have both pretty much given up on printing now and just buy the kits for convenience and the quality. Printing conversion bits mostly.
Let me just say as a 2 year printer. It’s just blanket way cheaper. The learning curve isn’t that hard. The only way it gets expensive is if you suddenly decide to start another second/third/fourth army as a result of printing. So far I’ve kept it to just knights as a second army and a one off warhound titan lol.
>It’s just blanket way cheaper.
I think monetarily in the long run yes.
However having the space and time, splicing, adding supports, failed prints, vat cleaning, cleaning and curing in general makes it more time expensive.
Not even close.
I printed 3 armigers, tyranid monsters, marine weapons and models. I couldn’t even calculate how much I’ve saved since I got my printer.
Plus all my friends hit me up for parts when the meta changes, which saves us all buying a box for weapon parts.
That's why I said in the long run yes.
I would love to get into printing but I don't have the time or the space for it I don't have a PC that can run the software either.. Plus I like building kits and kitbashing also.
I bought two used Anycubic photon monos for 200$, I've printed over 20kg with those and I can with ease say that they made their money's worth back within the first week of printing.
That said, you've got a point. The money saved I spend on Time instead (finding models, preparing models, printing, cleaning and of course the random fails) Printing is for those who have limited money to spend but alot of time on their hands.
I've heard a lot of people say that, but I can say that's definitely not my experience. With modern printers and all the big stl makers having presupports its very quick and easy.
it's really not that big of a learning curve if you get a good printer. much of the tinkering comes from having an unreliable printer. Spoken from someone who had to learn so much to even use a cheap printer, then got a good one and now never has to use any of that knowledge.
Sure your just missing, environmental factors, optimizing post processing, keeping workplace safe/clean, learning and understanding what the print settings are and what they mean, (exposure time, lift speed, etc) & how they affect a print.
Not to mention the can of worms that are supports of you want to leave the world of auto supports.
Hind site is 20/20 mate, it’s only easy for us because we went though the slog of trouble shooting failed prints that had no obvious reason why at the time.
Agree. None of that is more than an afternoon or 2. It's all the pesky stuff that doesn't make much sense that you get from a cheap printer which requires the many knowledge deep dives.
It has upfront costs. Especially if you get a massive, really nice printer like I did. But from what I’ve printed just in this current army I’d have spent more than $500 (that’s the amount the army could cost pre-tax) which is nearly the cost of the printer.
And that doesn’t include the custom characters and heaps of personal customization I’ve done - which that part is a hobby on its own. Because I’ve been a 3D modeler for a long time and use those skills to make my army perfect for me.
A single army is cheaper than a 3d printer / cure station / other stuff you need / resin and waste handling.
But if you are printing for 2+ armies then it’s a nobrainer as 1kg resin cost roughly as a single 5m squad from GW.
Another option is look for print for me resin kits they are aprox 50% GW prices.
Dude, a wash and vure station can be made for $20, and if you want to me a nice one $50. Look up Poor Hammer, they did a breakdown on the cheapest you can build a valid 2k army, an elegoo Mars 3 and the resin plus all the other stuff is still cheaper than the vast majority of armys.
Well it’s everything.
Anycubic photon mono 2 - 2380:-
Anycubic Wash and cure 2.0 1120:-
5 l isopropanol 625:-
M3 face mask + gloves 500:-
2 l resin 800:-
1l flexible resin 680:-
——
~6000:- or 550usd
Honestly Paying 50$ more for a wash/cure station and don’t have to fiddle is worth it.
Let’s take I want to start a bretonia army for ToW
2x army boxes 1860x2 3720
From that I got ~ 2k army already but it’s not optimal.
But add 2 wizards and a trebuchet and 5 mounted yomen.
That’s 5220:- or 475 usd
In other words < the price of a 3d printer.
And I got a spare rule book I can either sell or give to a friend.
The Bret box is a good box. That’s why I got some spare items. It fits my style
Then when you get to hoard armies the GW value goes down the drain. Example orc/goblin.
But it’s like SoB for 40K unreasonable expensive.
Orc battalion box
Orc box
Wolf rider goblin box
Boar rider box
Blackorc box
Mage on boar
Lord on wyvern
Giant
Doomdiver
That’s ~2k army at 7000:- aka above 3d printing costs.
Out of interest how much did you spend on your 3d printer set up? Every enthusiast raves about how much money they're saving but never mentions how much they've spent on the printer or whatever.
I'm trying to get my head around the point at which you would start actually saving money vs plastic or resin.
Not op, but I have a an Anycubic M5s which is usually around $400 new and use a slightly more expensive resin for most projects. Last project I printed was a full 2000 points of guard for an event and I used maybe 3 bottles of resin so that'd be another $90. The wash and cure I use is $160 new so I'll add it to the cost just to be fair (you don't really need one they're just convenient) and throw on another $20 for isopropyl alcohol. All in the total cost to print was $670 assuming I bought the printer and wash and cure just for this project. To buy the same army from gw would be $1430. So by printing it out I saved $760.
However, this isn't the first project I've printed on this printer or the first time I'm using the wash and cure. I've easily already covered the cost of both with previous projects and if you cut them from the total I spent on the army it's closer to a $1320.
Ultimately it's a pretty big upfront cost but becomes absurdly cheap after you've done the initial setup.
It didn't take me long to learn, but there is certainly a time investment in printing.
Having said that, you'll save a fortune, especially for 30k blood angels.
Bet its cheaper than buying from gw 🤣🤣🤣
I have a couple of friends who print what they say is.. it is cheaper, and it isn't cheaper. To sum it up, printing is another hobby in itself. It's time consuming, has a learning curve, and multiple bumps along the road. Sometimes it's just easier to pick up the actual kit from you FLGS. They have both pretty much given up on printing now and just buy the kits for convenience and the quality. Printing conversion bits mostly.
Let me just say as a 2 year printer. It’s just blanket way cheaper. The learning curve isn’t that hard. The only way it gets expensive is if you suddenly decide to start another second/third/fourth army as a result of printing. So far I’ve kept it to just knights as a second army and a one off warhound titan lol.
>It’s just blanket way cheaper. I think monetarily in the long run yes. However having the space and time, splicing, adding supports, failed prints, vat cleaning, cleaning and curing in general makes it more time expensive.
Not even close. I printed 3 armigers, tyranid monsters, marine weapons and models. I couldn’t even calculate how much I’ve saved since I got my printer. Plus all my friends hit me up for parts when the meta changes, which saves us all buying a box for weapon parts.
That's why I said in the long run yes. I would love to get into printing but I don't have the time or the space for it I don't have a PC that can run the software either.. Plus I like building kits and kitbashing also.
I bought two used Anycubic photon monos for 200$, I've printed over 20kg with those and I can with ease say that they made their money's worth back within the first week of printing. That said, you've got a point. The money saved I spend on Time instead (finding models, preparing models, printing, cleaning and of course the random fails) Printing is for those who have limited money to spend but alot of time on their hands.
I've heard a lot of people say that, but I can say that's definitely not my experience. With modern printers and all the big stl makers having presupports its very quick and easy.
The main cost is time & learning curve.
it's really not that big of a learning curve if you get a good printer. much of the tinkering comes from having an unreliable printer. Spoken from someone who had to learn so much to even use a cheap printer, then got a good one and now never has to use any of that knowledge.
Sure your just missing, environmental factors, optimizing post processing, keeping workplace safe/clean, learning and understanding what the print settings are and what they mean, (exposure time, lift speed, etc) & how they affect a print. Not to mention the can of worms that are supports of you want to leave the world of auto supports.
The vast majority of that can be learned in an afternoon with YouTube. Unless you are tech illiterate, it really isn't that hard.
Hind site is 20/20 mate, it’s only easy for us because we went though the slog of trouble shooting failed prints that had no obvious reason why at the time.
Agree. None of that is more than an afternoon or 2. It's all the pesky stuff that doesn't make much sense that you get from a cheap printer which requires the many knowledge deep dives.
It has upfront costs. Especially if you get a massive, really nice printer like I did. But from what I’ve printed just in this current army I’d have spent more than $500 (that’s the amount the army could cost pre-tax) which is nearly the cost of the printer. And that doesn’t include the custom characters and heaps of personal customization I’ve done - which that part is a hobby on its own. Because I’ve been a 3D modeler for a long time and use those skills to make my army perfect for me.
A single army is cheaper than a 3d printer / cure station / other stuff you need / resin and waste handling. But if you are printing for 2+ armies then it’s a nobrainer as 1kg resin cost roughly as a single 5m squad from GW. Another option is look for print for me resin kits they are aprox 50% GW prices.
Dude, a wash and vure station can be made for $20, and if you want to me a nice one $50. Look up Poor Hammer, they did a breakdown on the cheapest you can build a valid 2k army, an elegoo Mars 3 and the resin plus all the other stuff is still cheaper than the vast majority of armys.
Well it’s everything. Anycubic photon mono 2 - 2380:- Anycubic Wash and cure 2.0 1120:- 5 l isopropanol 625:- M3 face mask + gloves 500:- 2 l resin 800:- 1l flexible resin 680:- —— ~6000:- or 550usd Honestly Paying 50$ more for a wash/cure station and don’t have to fiddle is worth it. Let’s take I want to start a bretonia army for ToW 2x army boxes 1860x2 3720 From that I got ~ 2k army already but it’s not optimal. But add 2 wizards and a trebuchet and 5 mounted yomen. That’s 5220:- or 475 usd In other words < the price of a 3d printer. And I got a spare rule book I can either sell or give to a friend.
But is 2x army boxes a good army, or does it just meet the minimum points for a standard game.
The Bret box is a good box. That’s why I got some spare items. It fits my style Then when you get to hoard armies the GW value goes down the drain. Example orc/goblin. But it’s like SoB for 40K unreasonable expensive. Orc battalion box Orc box Wolf rider goblin box Boar rider box Blackorc box Mage on boar Lord on wyvern Giant Doomdiver That’s ~2k army at 7000:- aka above 3d printing costs.
Definitely the two tubs of resine should Come to around 60 - 80 € max ( don't know the Price in dollers )
My dumb ass thought that was a hat on the box.
I have 4k+ pts of BA models… so..many.. marine bodies
Out of interest how much did you spend on your 3d printer set up? Every enthusiast raves about how much money they're saving but never mentions how much they've spent on the printer or whatever. I'm trying to get my head around the point at which you would start actually saving money vs plastic or resin.
Not op, but I have a an Anycubic M5s which is usually around $400 new and use a slightly more expensive resin for most projects. Last project I printed was a full 2000 points of guard for an event and I used maybe 3 bottles of resin so that'd be another $90. The wash and cure I use is $160 new so I'll add it to the cost just to be fair (you don't really need one they're just convenient) and throw on another $20 for isopropyl alcohol. All in the total cost to print was $670 assuming I bought the printer and wash and cure just for this project. To buy the same army from gw would be $1430. So by printing it out I saved $760. However, this isn't the first project I've printed on this printer or the first time I'm using the wash and cure. I've easily already covered the cost of both with previous projects and if you cut them from the total I spent on the army it's closer to a $1320. Ultimately it's a pretty big upfront cost but becomes absurdly cheap after you've done the initial setup.
Fuckin go for it
Welcome to the Tribe brother! Let me know if you want an invite to where you can get the best STLs!
I would! I have unlimited access to Formlabs printers where I work
I would also love an invite. Need more STLs…
Be careful OP, it's a slippery slope. It starts easy enough with combat patrols, but then the idea of doing a full company is hard to ignore.
Hello OP's new Blood Angel army.
King
If you consider the time and effort required to print a whole army I am not sure it is going to be cheaper!
Heck yeah! I just started printing last month so that I could have even more Blood Angels!
Il play you 2000 points your anycubic blood angels vs my 2000 points of space wolves Sunlu Abs
I’ll add some pics in a bit, but I’ve just about finished the first squad of DC with jump packs and a Chaplain. The probably cost me about £5ish
Still, more of it's been assembled than your usual r/Tau collection.
It didn't take me long to learn, but there is certainly a time investment in printing. Having said that, you'll save a fortune, especially for 30k blood angels.