I use the Ultimaker 2+. Yes, it was quite expensive, but it’s working flawless since I got it in 2016. So I can totally recommend it.

I use Cura. It’s free, it’s good, it has come a long way. I can recommend it.

I use Ultimaker Silver metallic PLA. I really like the shiny finish, that lets the miniatures look good even when they’re not painted.

Filament is the thin plastic, coiled up to a spool, that feeds the 3D printer. It gets attached of the backside of the machine and feeds into the printer by a set of small gears. It gets transported to the nozzle where it gets molten, so the printer can write with it like a mechanic pen.

I use Cinema 4D. Since I touched the program during my studies and also since I am a motion graphics designer by profession, it was the logical choice for me to use it also for creating my miniatures. But there are certainly cheaper alternatives out there, that you can use, like Blender or Fusion 360.

Here are some of the settings that I use and also recommend when printing my miniatures:

QUALITY

Layer Height: 0.1 mm
Initial Layer Height: 0.26 mm
Line Width: 0.4 mm
Initial Layer Line Width: 100 %

SHELL

Wall Thickness: 1.2 mm
Wall Line Count: 3
Top Thickness: 0.8 mm
Bottom Thickness: 0.8 mm
Top Layers: 8
Bottom Layers: 8

INFILL

Infill Density: 15 %

SPEED

Print Speed: 30 mm/s
Infill Speed: 30 mm/s
Wall Speed: 24 mm/s
Outer Wall Speed: 30 mm/s
Inner Wall Speed: 40 mm/s
Top/Bottom Speed: 20 mm/s
Travel Speed: 120 mm/s
Initial Layer Speed: 18 mm/s
Skirt/Brim Speed: 18 mm/s

I have a so called ReMarkable graphic tablet. It’s awesome, I love it.

First I make some sketches on my ReMarkable graphic tablet. Then I switch over to the PC to boot up Cinema 4D for the modeling part. I start with the rough shapes, and once everything feels right, I add the details. After that I export the 3D model as a .STL file and load it with Cura for the pre-visualisation. There I usually discover a few things that need changes to print properly. So I had back to Cinema for adjustments, rinse and repeat. When I can’t make out any more flaws, it’s time for a test print. And if that turns out fine, the model is done. If you want to catch a glimpse of that whole process, there’s a „Behind the Scenes“ tier over at Patreon.

I play mostly Command & Conquer (in fact I am a huge fan), but I also really enjoy Cities Skylines, Anno 1404, Dungeon Keeper or Desperados 3. I also recently discovered some small relaxing strategy building games like Islanders, Dorfromantik and Townscaper.

Yes, of course. You simply set the scaling with the slicer software of your choice.

My miniatures are primarily designed to be printed at a scale of 1:350. If you want to go bigger to let’s say 1:72, the calculation goes like this: „Smaller scale“ devided by „bigger scale“ equals the „factor“ that you need to enter at your slicer for upscaling. In our example it would be „350 : 72 = 4,861“. That means, when 100% size equals the original 1:350 scale, then you need to tell the slicer to print the miniature at 486,1% to get to the desired scale of 1:72.

There are multiple reasons for choosing that rather small scale. For once smaller prints reduce the printing time, enabling me to do faster iterations on the models. Moreover smaller prints require less space, which is good for people with smaller printers. The miniatures also take up less space when you display them at your desk that way. Only being able to put 2 or 3 buildingsnext to each other before running out of space is only half the fun when wanting to construct a huge base. And last but not least I find the size actually pretty fitting as it just feels like playing a stretegy game and looking down on your base from a bird’s eye perspective.

Yes, I do. I will make bigger versions of all the vehicles with more details especially designed for that purpose. I will also look into cutting the buildings into smaller pieces, so that they can be printed at the scale used for tabletop/wargaming.

That depends on the size of the model. Smaller ones take less time, larger ones take more time. I keep that in mind when designing the miniatures. So I end up with something in between half an hour and up to 10 or 12 hours of printing time per model.

Because I’m just not good at it! No, jokes aside, I always felt more comfortable with a pen or pencil (and later with a mouse and keyboard) compared to using a brush. I know, it’s all a matter of „practice makes perfect“ and I already got a set of colors, brushes, even an airbrush and a compressor, but I just can’t find the time to practice properly. I hope that changes at some point in the future though.

That’s simply because I couldn’t deliver on that kind of mass production with currently only one 3D printer. Let’s assume somebody orders a set of 10 different buildings, that would take me already around one week of printing for only that one order. Now think about having multiple orders at once. And during that time I can’t test print new prototypes. So in short it’s just more practical if Shapeways handles that part for me.

After downloading the files you are allowed to print as many physical miniatures as you like and give these miniatures to up to 5 people such as your close friends and relatives. Exceeding this number is forbidden. I am thinking about adding a dedicated „Reseller“ tier to the Patreon campaign, which will grant you the right to sell / redistribute the printed (and possibly painted) miniatures (not the files) if there should be a demand for that.

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