We're not quite there YET but it's definitely getting closer. Of course one of the other ways to metal cast is the older spin casting method. I remember when I was in my 20s I was absolutely flush with cash and planned on buying a spin casting machine that was being sold off by a miniature company and I was seriously tempted but it was £1,500 at the time, which was just a little bit too much cash for me however I did have contacts in the industry through inquiring about it, namely some folks at Pendraken Miniatures (though I'm not sure if the person I spoke to is still there this was 20 years ago). Through them I could send the sculpted masters of the minis, pay £50 for a mould to be made and then it was 50p per casting + postage and packing. If you can find older companies that still do spincasting, inquire with them about sending your resin 3D print to get a mould made, especially if you've got multiples like a full team in a single spincast, though I imagine the prices have gone up with inflation these days. This was also how I learned how much GW were making on a 'per miniature' basis considering they were also using spin casters at the time.
That's really interesting! Super affordable for mass model making. I'll have to do some looking around for those spincasting companies and see how difficult (and expensive) the process would be. Yeah the GW prices start to be pretty irritating when you look into the per mini cost of casting models after mold making. Granted they have a larger payroll than a small team of model makers do.
@@iPaintSmallThings Yeah this was before the 3D design of miniatures was a thing so the biggest cost was actually paying sculptors, each miniature could be between £100-£250 depending on the detail, scale etc. However with the uptick in 3D printing and 3D design, the cost, well I wouldn't say it's gone down dramatically since hiring a GOOD 3D sculptor for miniatures is still going to cost you about that.
@@luketfer Not having to go through the whole mold making process is big. Yeah it seems the same in terms of sculptors-- just now it's digital. I wonder how "on demand" physical models are these days or if they have to have a certain amount of orders before doing a batch
Before I start watching this, I'm gonna try to guess how was this possible. It's either: a) a service that 3d prints with powder filament and then bakes the metal mini b) printing a resin mini and coating it in metal flakes c) It's just some kind of metal looking glitter in the resin
I didn't thinm powdered printed manufacturing needed supports. The powder becomes the support. Ive never need to add support's and the price was volume based so it came down to how many parts you could fit in a volume. Detail is the main issue with metal printing. Would love to see how detailed it can get
I think there are a few different ways to 3D print metal-- but I thought the same. Yeah I wonder what's the smallest possible detail! The fingers on a good amount of the little hooded guys turned out pretty well-- not too shabby!
I love Printed Encounters! The random weapons his kobolds wield are a favorite at my table.
Same! haha those are great models
Thanks!
hehehe, toady bumps on toady rumps.
learning how the metal 3d printing works was intriguing
heueheu toady rumps.
I thought so, too! Thank you!
That Tonberry has had ENOUGH.
haha I can see the resemblance
this is awesome bud, really cool custom creature.
Thank you!! He's a fun lil' guy
That's pretty cool.
Thank you!
We're not quite there YET but it's definitely getting closer. Of course one of the other ways to metal cast is the older spin casting method. I remember when I was in my 20s I was absolutely flush with cash and planned on buying a spin casting machine that was being sold off by a miniature company and I was seriously tempted but it was £1,500 at the time, which was just a little bit too much cash for me however I did have contacts in the industry through inquiring about it, namely some folks at Pendraken Miniatures (though I'm not sure if the person I spoke to is still there this was 20 years ago). Through them I could send the sculpted masters of the minis, pay £50 for a mould to be made and then it was 50p per casting + postage and packing.
If you can find older companies that still do spincasting, inquire with them about sending your resin 3D print to get a mould made, especially if you've got multiples like a full team in a single spincast, though I imagine the prices have gone up with inflation these days.
This was also how I learned how much GW were making on a 'per miniature' basis considering they were also using spin casters at the time.
That's really interesting! Super affordable for mass model making. I'll have to do some looking around for those spincasting companies and see how difficult (and expensive) the process would be.
Yeah the GW prices start to be pretty irritating when you look into the per mini cost of casting models after mold making. Granted they have a larger payroll than a small team of model makers do.
@@iPaintSmallThings Yeah this was before the 3D design of miniatures was a thing so the biggest cost was actually paying sculptors, each miniature could be between £100-£250 depending on the detail, scale etc.
However with the uptick in 3D printing and 3D design, the cost, well I wouldn't say it's gone down dramatically since hiring a GOOD 3D sculptor for miniatures is still going to cost you about that.
@@luketfer Not having to go through the whole mold making process is big. Yeah it seems the same in terms of sculptors-- just now it's digital. I wonder how "on demand" physical models are these days or if they have to have a certain amount of orders before doing a batch
How awesome, such a great work 😍😍
Thank you! :D
They look awesome brother! This is so cool!
Thank you m8!!
Before I start watching this, I'm gonna try to guess how was this possible. It's either:
a) a service that 3d prints with powder filament and then bakes the metal mini
b) printing a resin mini and coating it in metal flakes
c) It's just some kind of metal looking glitter in the resin
Those are great guesses! A is basically correct-- they use metal powder and then zap/melt it with lasers.
I didn't thinm powdered printed manufacturing needed supports. The powder becomes the support. Ive never need to add support's and the price was volume based so it came down to how many parts you could fit in a volume. Detail is the main issue with metal printing. Would love to see how detailed it can get
I think there are a few different ways to 3D print metal-- but I thought the same. Yeah I wonder what's the smallest possible detail! The fingers on a good amount of the little hooded guys turned out pretty well-- not too shabby!
At least magnetizing would be easy.
haha I tested it and I think the way it's melted makes it non-magnetic! I wonder if you could get it to be magnetic somehow though 🤔
It's stainless steel, which is naturally non-magnetic depending on the blend.