1 yr. ago • 95%

What is the level of detail possible for 1:72 figures with PLA? (obsolete)

(I've been informed that I had been told complete BS by the person trying to tell me that resin printing 1:72 wargame minis would be stupidly expensive. As such, my question here is no longer relevant.)

I am considering the option to get back into miniature painting by starting with 3D printing my own custom figures.

Given the price difference, it would have to be plastic (I read PLA is a good option), and for my purposes it would mostly be 1:72 scale figures.

The deciding factor is whether at such a small scale PLA can achieve a level of detail that doesn't look completely terrible. I'm used to 1:72 injection mold figures, and my previous paint work in the past was always so thick that much of the detail present on those would disappear anyway. So I'm really not looking for much.

But looking for existing images of such prints is very much not search engine friendly and I mostly just come up with Chinese soldier figures made out of some mystery material or figures of unknown scale.

Can anyone help me to find some reference pictures of 1:72 PLA figures so I can take a look if this level of detail is acceptable for me?

30 comments

Not answering your question exactly, but consider this:

Creality Ender 3 Pro (common entry level PLA printer) - $236

Elegoo Mars 3 Pro (common entry level resin printer) - $194.99

I own both for different reasons. As many will tell you, resin for minis, PLA for terrain.

Here is the best PLA mini I ever printed:

You simply cannot get the level of detail you would desire for mini painting from PLA. I know others out there have done better than I have in the above photo, but it still pales in comparison to an entry level resin printer.

Edit: I have a photo of the same model printed with resin, but having a hard time uploading it for some reason.

10
- What nozzle and layer height were you printing with? I’ve printed a few minis with a 0.2mm nozzle and 0.08mm layer height and the results look much smoother than what you had…
  
  2
  
  Exactly this. I still use a 0.4 nozzle and the results are more than satisfactory.
  
  These figures were all support-free designs by EC3D, and are a joy to print.
  
  At 0.08mm layers, you can feel the lines with a fingernail, but can't see the from more than a few cm away.
  
  2
  
  This was probably 2 or 3 years ago, but I had a .2mm nozzle and .08 layer height as well most likely.
  
  My pla prints have always looked rough, no matter what tutorials or tweaking I do.
  
  1
  
  Dude, that looks rough as hell compared to any resin print. I don't get why some people just have to cope so hard over this, resin is just better for detail, it's not a comment on your print skills or whatever.
  
  1
- Microcenter usually has a new customer deal that has an ender 3 pro or v2 for $100 btw
  
  1
- Did you print him on his back with a 0.4 layer or what?
  
  1
  
  On his back, but 0.2mm
  
  1
1:72 of what? A 5’9” man?

You can get decent detail out of PLA filament printing but if you are talking really small the better option is to use a resin printer.

6
- But resin printers also seem like they are 10 times as expensive. Which is why I am asking if anyone can help me to find out how detailed PLA actually gets at that scale.
  
  3
  
  This is a popular misconception, resin has become very affordable in recent years; see my other comment.
  
  10
  
  It doesn’t.
  
  You could make a figure where you can see that it’s a man, but you’re getting no face. You’re getting no sword, no details at all
  
  2
For what it’s worth, I would bet finishing an FDM print with paint will be more annoying due to the layer lines before the scale would get in the way with a modern 3d printer as FDM does not produce a smooth surface finish like an injection molded part without further post processing like vapor smoothing which would also eat the details. I don’t have a resin printer though so I could be totally wrong.

5
I have made some figurines 4-5cm in height, with some random PLA, maybe it can serve as example for you... Btw, what do you mean by 1:72?

3
- 1 length unit on the model is 72 length units on the real object. Figures are about 2cm tall.
  
  2
  
  Huh, 2cm in height.. I have twice as much height there and it was very difficult and time consuming to remove supports, also the figurines are very fragile, I can imagine that 2cm figurines would be even more difficult. If you have two nozzles on the printer you could use the second to print water soluble support material
  
  2
  
  You're going to want to consider layer height. The layer height on FDM printers can be set usually between .12mm to .28mm. You need to look at your models and their actual sizes and see if any features will fall within that range. Depending on the print orientation, those will likely not resolve.
  
  If you want higher resolution, you probably want a resin printer. They have more fidelity through screen resolution and the layer height can generally be between .025mm and .1mm. But they're more expensive and the resin is more expensive than just about any filament.
  
  For 2cm model with a .2mm layer height, you're looking at like 20 layers with an FDM printer. With a resin printer and 0.5mm layer height, closer to 50 layers.
  
  With a 2cm tall figure, in my opinion, you'll have issues getting the resolution you want on any printer. Expect to spend a lot of time troubleshooting and calibrating and troubleshooting and recalibrating.
  
  I'll be happy to be proven wrong!
  
  1
The main problem i have had with printing minis has been getting the supports off of the print. FDM seemingly generates more support material than resin printing, and because the figure is as small as it is, it is quite difficult to get any tools in there to get the support material out.

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