[nippoo]

The author (and many others) assume that quality 3D printers are expensive, as a throwaway note in the last sentence.

A plastic soldier set is on the order of $20, and collectors will often purchase dozens.

A Bambu A1 mini (which is sufficient for the level of detail needed for these figurines) is about $200, which breaks even after 10 sets.

[throw3e98]

An A1 Mini requires a smaller nozzle, a customized profile, specific filament, and quite a bit of work in Blender and the slicer to successfully print 32mm figures (approx. 1/56 scale). Even those larger figures aren't anywhere as good as the quality of injection molding you get from a Games Workshop, Archon Studio, Wargames Atlantic or Bandai kit. You typically need an SLA printer for that - which requires PPE and ventilation due to the hazardous materials.

I don't think my A1 Mini would have success trying to print at 1/72 at the same detail as an injection molding process. I've done 28mm figures on it, but it was a lot of work and had a high failure rate.

more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7pBUk8AvJ8, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldkW5nXRXN4

[PunchyHamster]

Better comparison would be prices in various 3D printing sides.

But either way, margins for some companies like mentioned GW are huge

[markild]

A bit besides the point, but an FDM printer is definitely not good enough to reproduce these somewhat convincingly. That being said, a cheap-ish resin printer will probably do the job, and they are generally in the same price range.

[sho_hn]

Please don't resin print at home, especially if you have kids, unless you really know what you are doing. And by that I mean professional experience handling hazardous materials and provisioning a work environment for them.

The internet is rife with influencer content that makes these look OK and "not that dangerous", along with people who want to believe that rather than face buyer's remorse.

It's more dangerous than you think. It's messier than you think. The process steps are more ennui than you think. If you don't respect it you will make unsafe mistakes out of lack of knowledge, or impatience, or lazyness.

This shouldn't really be consumer gear. You can also fuck up on health and safety with FDM printers, but the default beginner lane (printing PLA in common colors) is a lot less risky on zero knowledge entry.

[Aurornis]

For hardcore army man enthusiasts, FDM printing will never satisfy their standards.

For my kids, swapping a 0.2mm nozzle into the printer, setting layer height to sub-0.1mm, and reducing print speed to 50% produces surprisingly good results.

[dragonwriter]

> A Bambu A1 mini (which is sufficient for the level of detail needed for these figurines) is about $200, which breaks even after 10 sets.

$200 for a printer does not break even at 10 sets if the sets are $20 unless the cost per unit printed is $0.

[PunchyHamster]

Also resin printer would be better comparison, far better for printing small detail models

[moffkalast]

Well you can get a roll of PLA for 10€, which is 1kg. I'm not sure how big these sets are but the material cost per unit is basically zero for things this small.

[brulard]

And time of the operator is $0 per hour as well

[awesome_dude]

Sorry to nitpick at your math, but the breakeven point will be (slightly) higher - factor in the plastic, electricity, and designs (plus any failures)

[throw3e98]

At 22mm scale the cost of filament is basically negligible (literally pennies), but yes, you would have to either buy STL files or make them yourself in Blender.

[BoredPositron]

Need another napkin?