Ye Olde Inn

They've already reached their goal practically on the first day. I guess we'll be seeing a lot of stretch goals, too.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/her ... miniatures

I checked this out! It looks pretty cool. Once they get up and running, how much do you think each custom mini will go for? Nevertheless, it's an exciting time to be a tabletop gamer!

GimmeYerGold wrote:it's an exciting time to be a tabletop gamer!

You THINK?

very cool! there was a thread here about 3d printers and the future of them - this is very similar to what I was talking about. next step is someone will be selling this software for use with peoples home 3d printers!

People paying $25 for a custom mini
Wait 2 years
People paying $5 for custom mini

And for more detail, at that.
I understand the fuss, but nope, not for me, this ain't.

Hell yeah.

Ok this is very interesting, but I wonder how durable these minis are gonna be. The 3d printed objects I ve seen so far, are pretty fragile, at least for gamming. If you drop them even from a small height they are breaking really bad. I think that the mini companies that use 3d sculpting normally produce just prototypes. Im sure that this direction is the future though.

The plastic is fragile, but not brittle. Miniatures of no type are made to withstand any kind of impact. Metal ones are worse, actually. Plastic miniatures only break from an impact, metal ones can distort. You can't glue back on a smashed face. These would be the same as if you purchased a new Reaper miniature, and would likely require cleaning and preparation to be paint-ready. The rule with miniatures is that you store them only with miniatures of the same material (if you care). When friction enters play, the softest material will always yield first, so storing these with metal miniatures is a bad idea.

...normally produce just prototypes...

Exactly correct. They produce a master in printed material, and then have it squash-molded in rubber and a master is made out of brass or bronze. The master is replicated enough times to create a production mold. I have barely any idea why they use brass instead of white metal for plastic masters--they just do.

Goblin-King wrote:People paying $25 for a custom mini
Wait 2 years
People paying $5 for custom mini

You don't play much D&D, do you? I have customized hundreds of miniatures for PC's. There's just no waiting.

You're right, though, in two years' time the cost will be down (maybe not $5 down). Bones is the only way Reaper can compete with this, actually. Sculptors that I know are moving into digital left and right.