Tools and Materials
Check out some of my recommended tools and materials for building miniatures that I have personally purchased and am using:
I bought the Elegoo Mars 3 3D Resin Printer as it was at the time a great beginner printer. Easy to use and reliable.
However Elegoo came out with the Mars 4 which is a better printer for about the same price so I’m linking that one here.
The USB port and power button are conveniently located on the front for easy access.
I started off using water washable resin and so far it’s been great not having to use flammable isopropyl alcohol for washing my resin prints. The smell is supposedly also better, although I still use a respirator and other safety equipment (see the Safety tab above for what I recommend).
Keep in mind however this does NOT mean you can rinse off prints under running water in your sink. The residue from washing is still toxic and must be properly disposed off. Letting the water evaporate and then cure and dispose of the solids as per municipal guidelines.
FEP sheets that serve as the bottom of your resin vat in a 3D resin printer are consumable items. You will need to replace your FEP occasionally if it’s starting to get worn out.
This set of 5 will last you a while, especially if you take good care of your FEP. For the same Mars 4 printer linked to above
After printing and cleaning your 3D resin printed miniatures you will need to cure them.
You can do this in sunlight but you’re then dependent on the weather and curing only during the daylight hours.
This UV curing lamp works well and has a bracket for convenient mounting.
Check out my video here of how I built a simple curing box using this lamp.
A flexible build plate for your 3D resin printer is almost a must! It makes removing prints so much easier with less chance of damage.
The magnetic sheet is glued to your printer’s build plate with a strong 3M adhesive and then the spring steel build plate attaches magnetically, easy to remove and then flex to get your prints off without much struggle.
For the same Mars 4 printer linked to above.