3D Printing for Wargamers: Choosing a Printer

So you're intrigued by the prospect of using 3D printing for your wargaming hobby, but you've never owned a printer before. Which machine should you buy as a beginner? In part two of this series, Steve walks you through his 3D printing journey as a complete novice, breaking down exactly how you can start printing miniatures and terrain at home. In this second episode, Steve discusses what factors to consider when choosing the right printer for you and digs into the pros and cons of two popular machines.
If you missed part one of this series, be sure to check that out first right here: • 3D Printing for Wargam...
Stay tuned to Little Wars TV for the next part in our 3D printing series and go to www.LittleWarsT... for all our latest news.

[@mattblowers]

Thanks for this video. My wife snuck into my account and watched this video. Based on your recommendation, she bought me the Prusa instead of the Ender for my birthday. Thanks! She's a keeper.

[@LittleWarsTV]

No kidding! You are a lucky man! The Prusa is fantastic, so you scored a big upgrade there.

[@a7i20ci7y]

Great video. I've run the crap out of my Ender over the past year. In that time I have added a glass plate, linear rails on X and Y, and stepper dampers and replaced the springs, the nozzle, the hot end fan, the pneumatic fittings, the bowden tube, the extruder, and after blowing up the extruder stepper driver, I replaced the main board with an MKS Gen L using 2208 drivers in hybrid mode. All of these upgrades were to address problems, not just upgrades for the heck of it. The printer is now whisper quite and very reliable. But I'm also probably in for $500 and many frustrating hours. Again though, this thing has run almost 24/7/365. If you don't print as much, you won't wear those wheels out as fast. I have an IT and electronics back ground with some experience in controls and automation, but otherwise I knew practically nothing about 3D printing this time last year. I have learned a lot.

[@MoragTong_]

Wow...you are an anomaly, most do not have that degree/number of issues. Your software/settings will do more to resolve issues than the hardware, more often than not.

[@a7i20ci7y]

Yeah, not these issues.

[@gregorypriebe774]

I know we're just two episodes into the series, but I'm really finding this information useful. Thanks for going over the pros and cons of both the Ender and the Prusa, those were the two names I kept encountering while researching my future purchase. Great work, Steve!!

[@lwtvsteve4975]

Gregory Priebe thank you!

[@stevengrayson9238]

instablaster...

[@MrBizteck]

I only own Prusa MK2. I can confirm the aftersale Coustomer support is fantastic.

[@PrimarchX]

I've been printing with an Anycubic Vyper FDM printer for several months now, with a goal of running an all-printed-terrain game at a local con this summer. Other than learning curve issues on my behalf, it's been flawless. I've had no failed prints for months now, while churning out 28mm buildings, walls, street sections, vegetation, scatter terrain and more. At the moment I'm waiting for an Anycubic Ultra resin printer to arrive for small-scale, high-resolution work. The only problem I've run into is that FDM is going up in price!

[@scottpankonin1068]

I also started with an Ender 3. They have gotten much better in the years since this video was posted. The bed in the v2 KE auto levels, the build plate is magnetic, but it never gave me the print quality on figures I wanted. Changing the nozzle out I managed to break the heating element (Extruder) and then it no longer worked. Long story short, I had gotten the Ender for free and I decided I liked 3d printing so was willing to spend a little money on it. I got the Bambu A1 mini which like the Prusa is a much better machine. It prints 15mm figs with more tha adequate detail (on a 0.02 mm nozzle). Night and day difference between these and ones that had come off the Ender. It is also quiet enought to sit behind my desk and I don't even notice it most of the time.

[@Reducer]

My Christmas present to myself was an Ender 3 Pro, with some quality of life upgrades compared to the original Ender 3 you have. I've since upgraded it a lot - I put in an MKS Gen L control board with TMC2208 stepper drivers, and now the actual printing is completely quiet - the stock hardware uses cheaper stepper drivers to keep the price down, with noise as a side effect. It does require some technical know-how to swap control boards and modify the firmware, but Teaching Tech is a great channel with excellent guides for how to do it. My next upgrade will probably be to replace the fan in the power supply - right now that's the loudest part when printing.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Thanks for the tip on the "Teaching Tech" channel! Excellent advice for everyone watching these introductory videos.

[@Nightmare-cr3iw]

As someone who owns 2 Ender 3 Pro's and uses the crap out of them for generating both terrain and minis, I agree 100% with your analysis. For me the Ender 3 was a learning experience in robotics and engineering that I was very glad i got. I laughed, I cried, i resurrected one of them from being dead for 6 months. But it is certainly not for everyone (especially those who this video is targeted at) That being said, being able to save money on them has been a HUGE advantage as having multiple printers going at once you have the know-how to keep them going. (Which for people like me is half the fun!) I am even looking forward to getting #3 and #4 soon (I won't tell your wife if you don't tell mine!)

[@danielweitz6632]

Excellent; I would add two comments; 1)I have checked my MonoPrice 10P Mini with a sound meter, low 50's in decibels; I also have a Monoprice Delta Pro. There is no toxic or evil fumes from PLA; at times I run an air meter next to it to check. The truth is, that many of the machines are like autos around 1909; you learn an awful lot trying to keep them running....I am encouraged to get the Prusa kit, which says a lot about the other two printers....

[@wurrkop]

That Ender motor stopping could be the stepper driver for it overheating, you could try adding an active cooling fan and see if that clears it up.

[@gkspain1]

Enjoyed these videos, however costs between the 2 types of printers has really levelled up a lot now, all the best Garry

[@giorgioclavelli1757]

Very well presented and useful 3D printing for wargamers and the rest of us. Liked and subscribed!

[@avejst]

Totaly agreed Thanks for sharing :-) Have a Ender 3, love it, but has put a lot of time and hardware on it too (BL touch, WhamBam flexplate and new FW in the mainboard)

[@TheOleGreyGamer]

The Prusa MK3 has new firmware that utilizes 7 x 7 bed leveling which pretty much infinitely improves the 1st layer quality.

[@andyoertig2007]

Enjoyed your Video.... I'm fortunate in that my Gaming Club we have 6 other guys with 3D Printers. my friend Larry bought a Tevo Black Widow over 2 years ago & is only now starting to get decent Prints. I bought a CR-10 for Christmas & have been printing my little butt off (12 Spools & counting)! I have had failed prints, but nothing is perfect! (Ask your Wife & watch her smile back at you!) I wish I would have gotten the Auto Bed Leveling, but my son is pretty darn good at it... Even if you get a "Almost" kit like the CR-10, you'll learn your machine... I prefer the "instant gratification" when that 1st print after the "Test Print Cube" comes off the plate! I've replaced nozzles, bowden tubes, the Heating Block. I've Up-grades to a MK8 Extruder Aluminum Alloy Block as well as other mods! AND "Evil Thingiverse" has mods for your Printer. Have FUN with your Printer & expect your Gaming Buddies to "bug you" while wanting "Stuff!" (everything from building to vehicles & scatter terrain!) Keep up the good Work!

[@celticht32]

I have ended up with 5 printers total in my hobby room... 4 are FDM and one is a SLA printer... for the SLA I would recomend the Anycubic Photon... its around $300-$300 but can often be found on sale.. But agree with what you said... know your printer.... know how it works..

[@TheAndreeon]

what was your FDM printer for miniature size pieces?

[@idc5025]

Informative. Good vid. 👌👍

[@Mikewazza90]

Great video mate, very informative and listenable! :)

[@johnmumby532]

Thanks, Steve! Great report!!

[@vzeitsev8652]

Hi Steve - I just came across multi-colored printing capability using something called Palette 2. Perhaps there are other tools as well. Please consider doing a video on your experience using this, and perhaps one with a focus on printing miniatures at the 6mm, 3mm and 2mm scales. Thanks.

[@splatsma]

Great videos bud. Love to learn about things like this

[@stephenbriddon5065]

This is good information. I just received some ‘mad money’ and was thinking about getting a 3D printer. I am now certain that this would be a bad idea, given my low frustration tolerance, pitiful mechanical skills and cats. Also, I don’t think I could justify the expense for the amount of things I would use it for. Sincerely, thank you for helping me decide.

[@JeramyKelton-lv3pf]

See you soon!

[@puretoronto]

Well done sir!

[@gordon-davidfilbry9516]

Awesome information!

[@smoothvirus]

10:55 I just got an Ender 3 Pro two weeks ago; mine is in the basement, I can't hear it upstairs, usually I can't even hear it from the top of the stairs. It's not silent but not very loud, they may have updated something since you got yours.

[@lwtvsteve4975]

smoothvirus They very well may have. Creality is constantly updating their models, which is great as they are regularly improving the design. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to tell if the one you’ll receive is an “old” iteration or a new and improved one. The exception would be getting the “pro” model you did as it has documented upgrades over the vanilla model I bought.

[@garyrich1000]

Hi, love the vids , very helpful even now 2020. I have a problem though, i am paralyzed all my right side due to a stroke in 2017. The PRUSA looks good and would seem my price range ( once i saved up for it lol) . I Need to have a pre-made one as i have little movement to build one of these !!! Have friends , but their more painters than Tech people. So with all you said about quality ,noise, cost , etc etc and what i want it to do, where can i get a pre-made Prusa ???

[@ravener96]

allthough im not going to advise newcommers to 3d printing that they get a resin printer first thing, i would asolutely recommend resin for miniatures. the detail is so high it's competing with cast plastics. i have printed with FDM for a few years, and you always have the subconcious thought that it's a little DIY looking. the resin gets a bit more of a heft, and has the sharp corners to trick your brain into not realizing you made it if it makes sense.

[@tropicalwargaming688]

I have the Ender 3 and sometimes I dont know what happens when it cause errors in the prints. Once it works is ok.

[@killercollblue]

Love this, " update the firmware on the Ender or you might start a fire, hmmmm."

[@e-4airman124]

thank you again

[@paulmccullagh4130]

In a complete noob I have a balco I3 and know it's supposedly a clone of the Prusa i3 However we have never managed to get it to work with Cura and it has now ended up in the cupboard because we got so disheartened I would love to get it up and running but being "new" technology I am decidedly out of my depth

[@emielsegers7971]

what fillament do you use?

[@crhkrebs]

Steve, excellent series. I know you are concerned with FDM printers, but I’d like to add some comments on resin printers. One is that the safety of the resin has been somewhat overblown. The uncured Resins shouldn’t be handled by bare skin, but all resins are like that. Even the two part epoxy resins shouldn’t be handled by bare skin, but most of us don’t heed that. An aside: my day job is as a Dentist. I’ve been putting UV and light cured resins in peoples mouths for almost 45 years now. A bit of new technology has Anycubic coming out with an all natural plant based resin that is non toxic and eco friendly. Tests on this resin and traditional resins show no differences in print quality Sounds great, right? The down side is that the eco friendly biodegradable resin is even more expensive, appreciably so, compared to the traditional resins. Also, if the uncured resin is biodegradable, how does that impact the longevity of the prints using this material? Ok, I know this is beyond the scope of what you are doing.

[@tmbacz]

Bowman Stringer, Wouldn’t these bio resins still have some issues with VOC? I can deal with the proper handling of uncured resin. My biggest issue lies with toxic vapors, and some elaborate ventilation system.

[@crhkrebs]

tmbacz The volatile compounds in traditional resins are toluene, polyols, naphtha, acetone, phenolics, uncured monomers, etc, etc. The Anycubic plant based resin is made from soybean oil and has no VOCs or BPA. It is also biodegradable. The material is just out and the videos using it as a printing material are also very new. So some skepticism is warranted.

[@tmbacz]

Bowman Stringer Interesting, and good to know. It appears that eSun also has a bio resin as well. $29.00 / 0.5kg. Not sure how that compares in cost to other resins. I think the big question is could you use bio resin in an apartment, an office, safely?

[@crhkrebs]

tmbacz sorry, I have no idea. The resin could still smell funny or bad, but the noxious volatiles shouldn’t be there. I only have the Anycubic resin that shipped with the Photon S. I’ll bet that if the print quality is the same, these organic resins will become very popular. And the price will come down. So the jury is still out, but these resins look promising.

[@tmbacz]

Bowman Stringer Thanks for the thoughts. Should be interesting. I’ll probably get one at some point. I have a FDM on order. Going to grind out the learning curve on that for a while.

[@fhuber7507]

Ender 3 works fine. the only major modification I have is a glass bed. Using the glass bed and hair spray trick solved all of my adhesion issues. A little goop n the bed leveling thread to prevent them slowly vibrating out of adjustment and it ha been 4 spools of filament since I last needed to adjust the bed. FIND THE "MAGIC NUMBERS" for your printer's layer height. 1.2mm height is faster and looks better than the default 1.0 for the Ender 3 in Cura. .8 is better detail for minnies fr D&D. Really for most figure used in gaming, you don't need the detail. The figure has to look good enough to do the combat. Then it goes n the shelf fr 6 months before anyone looks at it again. Buy the high detail cast figure for your PC. Print everything else. Spend hours painting your personal mini... spend 15 min or so on DM's creatures.

[@corneliuscorcoran9900]

How much electricity does it take, to do a model, if it takes 10 hours to print?

[@spudnickuk]

Really you should of mentioned the Anet A8, a Prusa clone, i have an Anet A8 and i use it everyday with very expensive filament at around £80 per reel of Polymax ,anyway it may make some noise depending on print and is ok even when im watching tv in same room, but other than that it is brilliant, as long as you have built it correctly (Square & level ) price of one is about £130 and a this price its worth buying 2 :) more prints less time ,,

[@lwtvsteve4975]

spudnick1uk I’ve heard good things about the Anet A8, but since I don’t own one I didn’t feel comfortable discussing it. I’m hoping owners like you of machines other than the Prusa and Ender will chime in just as you have to let people know there are other good options out there!

[@squigs1917]

very informative I'm still debating ender3 pro or Prusa !

[@chriscollett6875]

Very helpful, I’m looking forward to future instalments. Many thanks.

[@acsmith70325]

Great info. Thanks!

[@rapscallion3506]

I am so much smarter now. Really. Thanks!

[@kodiakwdj]

Where can u get the Prusa i3 mk3 for under $200??

[@LittleWarsTV]

We wish we knew! The Prusa i3 is over $750 and--at least for now--can only be ordered directly from the manufacturer in Europe. They have excellent shipping and customer service.

[@MoragTong_]

Lol...those minis you showed are FAR from the quality a FDM printer can produce. If you are going to show examples, do it accurately. The Ender 3 (and others) are currently printing minis that approaches the crap WizKids is pushing.

[@xhonken]

Have the Ender 3, its shit. Have the Mk3, love it!