Miniatures, Need help finding the right way

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mickeyt500

New member
Hi Guys, I really like these forums and all the people on it are super helpful. We are in the process of developing some miniatures and are trying to look for the best way to produce high quality and cost effective miniature prints and also get a few painted. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We have tried shape ways and personal 50 micron layer printers, we couldn't reproduce the quality like we have seen online. Such as in this kickstarter campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...ron-kingdoms-adventure-board-gam?ref=category
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
What about sculpting by hand and then casting? There's plenty of very skilled casters around, and I can recommend a resin caster if you want one.
 
M

mickeyt500

New member
gohkm said:
What about sculpting by hand and then casting? There's plenty of very skilled casters around, and I can recommend a resin caster if you want one.
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We had thought about the hand sculpting, but figured it will be time consuming as there will be a total of 22 miniatures that we would need produced, in your opinion what method do you feel was used to produce the miniatures in the referenced kickstarter campaign?
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
They look 3D printed to me, but I'm no expert. I had all of my stuff hand-sculpted; as you noted, this does take quite a while.
You could also contact Max Cexwish from Massive Voodoo; he's got a new service of printing new models, you just need to give him the STL file.
 
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mickeyt500

New member
gohkm said:
They look 3D printed to me, but I'm no expert. I had all of my stuff hand-sculpted; as you noted, this does take quite a while.
You could also contact Max Cexwish from Massive Voodoo; he's got a new service of printing new models, you just need to give him the STL file.
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Thank you, I will shoot him an email. If anyone knows of any other services (incase Max has a busy schedule), please do let me know
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
Ah, OK, now I see, you need a high end digital printer. Cexwish is the only guy I know of, as I stick to traditional methods.
 
MAXXxxx

MAXXxxx

Well-known member
you could try this: https://www.3dhubs.com/ Just be sure to check the HD filter. those without are usually makerbots and others that are not good for minis (and sadly even a lot of the HD ones are bad too).

altough I was pretty annoyed by the AvP KS, but you could try prodos games too, they do 3d printing too (no idea on price though, some said it was just a $100 a figure, some that it was cheaper to buy a pro machine)

also: https://www.meltwerk.com (quality looks promising, no idea on price and everything)
 
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M

mickeyt500

New member
Thanks a lot for all the help, I found someone with a Form labs 2, so he is printing the miniatures for me at 25 micron quality :). Next step is getting them painted. There will be 12 of them, I was looking for a decent rate, cause of budget constraints. Any recommendations?
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
Contact Lyn Stahl (Metalhead Minis) or AJ Thornton (Exiled Miniatures) on Facebook. They will do reasonable quality for reasonable price. Joshua Van Zane is pretty good, too (he's in Japan, and is usually clogged up, though). Jah-Joshua is also reasonable, but I haven't heard from him in a while.

Or you can go all out with Ben Komets, Francesco Farabi, and Banshee.
 
M

mickeyt500

New member
gohkm said:
Contact Lyn Stahl (Metalhead Minis) or AJ Thornton (Exiled Miniatures) on Facebook. They will do reasonable quality for reasonable price. Joshua Van Zane is pretty good, too (he's in Japan, and is usually clogged up, though). Jah-Joshua is also reasonable, but I haven't heard from him in a while.

Or you can go all out with Ben Komets, Francesco Farabi, and Banshee.
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Thanks a lot gohkm, how much on average do you think is reasonable for painting the miniature as shown below (this is one of them) its roughly 1.75 inches tall? Just want to make sure I have enough budget before approaching them.

View attachment 46479
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
1.75 inches translates to about 45mm. It's quite a bit larger than standard size (which is normally 30mm).
I honestly couldn't say how much it would be, because there is no standarized scale. It would be best to contact the respective artist and ask them directly.

Francesco Farabi would probably have one done up pretty darn smart for about 400 euros.
Ben Komets is dependent on both size and quality required. A 120mm kit would be done at Ben's highest standards for about 2000 euros.

One other bloke you could try is James Wappel. He's got a really good quality of paint, but around the $100 USD mark. Your mileage may vary; he's in Chicago.
 
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mickeyt500

New member
gohkm said:
1.75 inches translates to about 45mm. It's quite a bit larger than standard size (which is normally 30mm).
I honestly couldn't say how much it would be, because there is no standarized scale. It would be best to contact the respective artist and ask them directly.

Francesco Farabi would probably have one done up pretty darn smart for about 400 euros.
Ben Komets is dependent on both size and quality required. A 120mm kit would be done at Ben's highest standards for about 2000 euros.

One other bloke you could try is James Wappel. He's got a really good quality of paint, but around the $100 USD mark. Your mileage may vary; he's in Chicago.
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James Wappel looks like my guy, his work will definitely compliment our miniatures very well and we can afford his services. I can't find his email on his blog, would you be having it?
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
BloodFather of Kharnath said:
I know I am late to the show, but there are dozens of award winning artists right here on CMoN that would love to paint your minis for next to nothing.
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No.......a good workman is worth his wages!
This expectation that painters will paint simply for the love of the hobby is wrong, if you want something painting to the best quality pay a proper fee otherwise go to an "eBay Pro Painter" and see what you get.
 
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mickeyt500

New member
Hi Guys, Looks like I am back in need of a painter. The person I sourced has managed to only complete 5 miniatures out of the 21 that i sent them and its been 2 months, so if anyone is interested, do send me your portfolio images and rate. The remaining 16 miniatures are base coated and prepped up so they are ready for painting.
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
Out of curiosity, who did you go with? What quality are you after?
Shoshie Bauer (get her on Facebook) is highly reliable, but she's only free in Jul (sorry, I chewed up her June schedule). She's in Chicago.

You could also try Steam Powered Painting (also on Facebook) - tell him I sent you, but again, he's only free in Jul (yes, I ate his June schedule, too). SPP is in Newcastle, NSW.

I know Yeji Kim is free at the moment, she's in the States somewhere. Her standard isn't quite as good as the others I recommend, but she's a solid operator. Reliable, but she charges on time-and-materials basis.

The other 2 blokes who may suit you are Ivan Radovic (Poland) and Scott Hockley (UK). Scott is always busy, so it could be challenging to pin him down, but he's just finished a Kingdom Death commission - if you hurry, you might be able to catch him. Get them all on Facebook.
 
gohkm

gohkm

Active member
If you get in a bind, I can do a model or two for you right now, to get you started. Have a look at my gallery for ideas.
 
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