top of page
Writer's pictureBlaxkleric

3D Printing - Day Four - "Artisan Guild" And "Age Of Fantasy: Skirmish"

Updated: Dec 7, 2022


"Artisan Guild" WIPs - Gaki Yhimotto, an Apprentice Arcanist, and Gyros Shipwrecker

These miniatures were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Artisan Guild" on "MyMiniFactory". The figures are from the sculpting team's "Arcanist's Guild" and "Golemmar Gnomes" releases, as well as their "Patreon" (free) Welcome Box Bundle - Troubles In Taverns.


I decided to support this particular wargaming content creator because I already owned a number of their very characterful (some might say 'cartoony') miniatures, having previously bought them from a licensed merchant over on "Etsy". One of main motivators for buying a 3D printer was to stop me from paying others to produce the figures I wanted and having calculated what it would cost to just purchase the six Apprentice Arcanists as physical products, it was clear I'd be forking out more than an entire bottle of "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin - from which I could print approximately ten times their number.

Packing a build plate with Golemmar Gnomes and Depth Diggers. But doing the Giant Clay Golem on its own

In addition, I thought the company's range of models would really suit the Age Of Fantasy: Skirmish ruleset by "One Page Rules". I've had my eye on this PDF for quite some time, having been completely bamboozled by the latest incarcerations of Age of Sigmar by "Games Workshop", and resultantly would highly recommend supporting them on Patreon at their Tier 2 Miniature Collector.


Not only does this membership level grant you access to an astonishing number of STL files (currently covering Lust Daemons, Ratmen and dinosaur-riding space lizards), but it also provides you with digital copies of all their different rulesets. Furthermore, "One Page Rules" have a super-handy Army Forge builder which quickly enabled me to compile a 250-point Halfling force - or rather a Gnome mining party using a combination of the figures I received from "Artisan Guild".

"Artisan Guild" WIPs - Two Depth Diggers and a (troublesome) Orc War Shrine

Printing off my miners, their beasts of burden, and colossal golem was very straightforward, as all the miniatures come supplied with pre-supports. As a result, I initially thought it was simply a case of packing my build plate with as much stuff as I could and (im)patiently waiting until my Mars 3 Pro had done its magic.


Overall, this factory-line like approach served me well. But I did encounter some problems when tackling the large pieces of scenery provided with each release. As with the figures, these sculpts came pre-supported. However, I found the supports unable to resist the pull of my resin tank's FEP once the print was approximately a third of the way through, and this caused repeated failures. In the end I only successfully printed out the terrain when it was laid flat upon the build plate, and "Chitubox" Basic had provided it with sturdier supports.

110 views8 comments

8 Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
undercoat2670
Nov 29, 2022

Those Artisan Guild models are fantastic. I love the style of them.

I find these tales of using a 3D printer absolutely fascinating. A great read.

Like
Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Nov 29, 2022
Replying to

Cheers Undercoat. I was hoping this series of 3D printing pieces would prove informative and interesting. It's definitely a hobby within a hobby. I'm really impressed with the Artisan Guild figures, so expect plenty to be shown on this website in the New Year.

Like

planetmut
Nov 27, 2022

I've read goo things about Artisan Guild, and I've seen Facebook ads for them where the amount of free STLs is amazing for the money. It's another thing that is slightly pushing me to get a 3D printer.


The sculpts look great and like Roger and Dave, I'm surprised the scenery caused such problems. Was it just down to the supports not being strong enough?

Like
Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Nov 27, 2022
Replying to

Thanks Matt. I'm hoping to cover a number of the 'better' Patreon subscription services I've spotted over the next few weeks - funds allowing obviously. I will though be sticking with Artisan Guild as their stuff is just top class.


When you get your 3D printer I think you'll quickly find that no two machines are the same, even if they're the same model. Each seemingly has their nuances, and this is probably caused by the scratches building up on your build plate as you remove figures (think sole of your shoes as you walk over time etc), the tension of your FEP, the suction it causes and the temperature/type of your resin.


For my machine, the suction caused is…

Like

wsd50
Nov 24, 2022

Some nice looking sculpts again mate, as Dave said interesting that it's the scenery bits that are causing you more headaches, I would have thought it would have been the figures that were more finnicky.


Cheers Roger.

Like
Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Nov 24, 2022
Replying to

Cheers Roger. The scenery is a lot larger and heavier than the figures, so both its weight and surface area probably puts more stress upon its supports. But the Orc War Shrine has successfully printed once properly supported, so it clearly works with a little rethink.

Like

wargamesterrainworkshop
wargamesterrainworkshop
Nov 23, 2022

Some great looking models coming through Simon, interesting to read that the scenery is still causing you problems, I wonder if they are more suited to filament printers, do however like the fact that the resin printer doesn't have the lines in it.

Like
Blaxkleric
Blaxkleric
Nov 23, 2022
Replying to

Thanks Dave. Just the tip of the iceberg as far as Artisan Guild are concerned. They really do some superb minis imho. I think the issue with the AG scenic pieces is definitely the supports when using my printer, as the FEP is clearly winning the battle once the piece gets a bit heavy - maybe it's the suction of the resin tank too. However, I don't think it's simply because I'm using a resin printer as I have successfully printed it out once I've increased supports and changed the sculpt's angle in relation to the build plate.


Having said all that, I do have another posting due soon where I tackle Fat Dragon's dungeon tiles and they don't seem…

Like
bottom of page