What's an FDM Print? What's PLA?

Many items in our shop are 3D printed using a process called "fused deposition modeling" or FDM. FDM printers work by slowly building items up from layers of melted and extruded material. Most of our FDM prints use PLA (polylactic acid) filament, a renewable, biodegradable, and nontoxic plastic typically created from corn or sugar starches. FDM prints are durable, and the process is well-suited to items with moving parts (such as articulated toys) or tight tolerances (such as items that screw together). While FDM prints can show plenty of detail, they also tend to have noticeable layer lines and other artifacts as an unavoidable part of the printing process. PLA filament comes in numerous colors, allowing for plenty of customization.

SLA (stereolithography) is another 3D printing method. Unlike FDM machines, SLA machines use UV light to cure liquid resin layer by layer. SLA printers usually offer smaller build volumes when compared to FDM printers, but they can produce exceptionally fine details. In most cases, SLA layer lines are small enough to be completely unnoticeable, especially on painted items. Most of our gaming and display miniatures are printed on SLA machines. This process ensures a high-quality surface suitable for painting to a tabletop standard, display standard, or anywhere in between. We use high-resolution SLA 3D printers so that the surface quality of our miniatures looks great when painted or unpainted.

Are 3D Prints Paintable?

Yes! Painting 3D-printed items is straightforward and doesn't require special techniques. Keep reading for a few tips specific to each type of 3D print. FDM: Always use a good quality primer before starting, as craft paints may soak into the print without priming. Textured spray paint is an easy option to bring out details and hide layer lines. Gesso is another great choice since it can prime the surface while reducing the appearance of layer lines. Once primed, paint as normal with regular craft paints. SLA: Resin prints don't require any special preparation, and you can paint them as you would any other miniature. Priming your miniatures first is always a good idea to improve paint adhesion and provide better base color consistency.

Do Resin Prints Require Clean Up?

No. The majority of miniatures we sell are SLA (or resin) prints. The process of printing and preparing these miniatures requires a substantial amount of clean-up, but we handle the dirty work on our end. The miniatures you receive will already be cleaned, cured, and ready to paint or use on the tabletop. However, some resin miniatures do require support for proper printing. While we will always remove the majority of supports before shipping, you may find a few small ones on the models you receive. You can easily remove these with tweezers or a hobby knife. Very minor cleaning issues may also sneak by our inspection, which can leave small amounts of discoloration, but these should be rare and a quick layer of primer will cover them.

Are Resin Miniatures Durable?

The honest answer is that it depends. We know most of the miniatures we sell are destined for tabletop usage, so we use a custom blend of ABS-like resin mixed with high-durability flexible resin. This mix provides good durability without sacrificing quality or detail. However, resin miniatures are still somewhat fragile so you should handle them with care. We've had our miniatures survive long falls onto hard floors, but that doesn't mean that breakage is impossible. Fortunately, resin bonds readily with normal superglue, so repairs are easy using standard hobby tools and techniques. Resin can also scratch fairly easily, so we always recommend priming and applying a protective clear coat for maximum durability.

Do You Need to Paint Resin Miniatures?

It's entirely up to you! Our resin miniatures are fully cleaned and cured, so you can handle them like any other miniatures in your collection. However, the resin will continue to cure with exposure to UV light, which can eventually cause the miniatures to become more brittle. If you plan to store your miniatures in an area exposed to sunlight, a quick coat of primer (any spray paint will work!) can be a good protective measure. Priming also does a great job of highlighting the details of these miniatures, even if you don't intend to paint them fully.

What Are Layer Heights?

3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing that builds products layer by layer. Each layer has a certain thickness, which is typically referred to as the layer height. The layer height is the resolution of the print from top to bottom. The larger the layer height, the more visible the layers will be. FDM prints typically use larger layer heights (200-300 microns or more), while resin/SLA prints use much smaller layer heights (typically 20-50 microns). Layer height alone does not determine the level of detail of a print. For resin miniatures, the resolution of the screen is also critically important for resolving small details on the model. Print orientation can also affect detail and the visibility of layer lines.

What Layer Heights Do Your Prints Use?

The prints we sell typically have layer heights between 30-50 microns (0.03-0.05mm). We choose the layer height based on the detail of the model and the need to complete prints in a reasonable amount of time. For smaller, human-sized miniatures at 28-32mm scale, we almost always use a 30 micron layer height, while larger prints typically use a 40-50 micron layer height. We may print custom orders at smaller scales (such as 16mm and below) with as low as a 20 micron layer height to preserve as many details as possible.

Custom and personalized orders

We are more than happy to provide custom printing services! Typical custom orders include customer-provided STL files, custom scaling, or combinations of miniatures that may not be available in our standard listings. We'll always do what we can to fulfill custom requests, so don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions.

Report this item to Etsy

Only 4 left and in 20+ carts

Price:$2.96+

Original Price: $4.00+

26% off

•

Limited time sale

D&D Wild Animal Familiars Pets Companions Gift Starter Set | Pathfinder Frostgrave 28mm 32mm Fantasy Minis | 12 Unique 8k Resin Miniatures

Name: D&D Wild Animal Familiars Pets Companions Gift Starter Set | Pathfinder Frostgrave 28mm 32mm Fantasy Minis | 12 Unique 8k Resin Miniatures
Brand: sowingsaturn
SKU: 1747498990
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5.0 (2043 reviews)

sowingsaturn

Returns & exchanges accepted

Model Type

Please select an option

Base (See Description)

Please select an option

Quantity

You can only make an offer when buying a single item

Star Seller. This seller consistently earned 5-star reviews, shipped on time, and replied quickly to any messages they received.

Highlights

Made by sowingsaturn
Materials: ABS like resin

No Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, or fantasy TTRPG campaign is complete without a bestiary of wild animals, animal companions, and familiars. This set provides a great starting point for building a collection of animals to create encounters in forests, plains, tundras, jungles, savannahs, and more. These can also provide great models for druid wild shapes! The full set includes the following miniatures:

1x Caribou (Large)
1x Tiger (Large)
1x Panther (Large)
1x Giant Snake (Large)
1x Boar (Medium)
1x Bear (Large)
1x Crocodile (Large)
3x Wolves (3 Poses, Medium)
2x Hyenas (2 Poses, Medium)

Don't forget to check out our giant and dire animal collection to create even more challenging encounters:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1625502917/dd-pathfinder-giant-dire-animals-insects

SCALING NOTES AND OPTIONS:
These miniatures are offered in a single scale that should look great on the table with other miniatures in the 28-32mm range. This scale ensures that these miniatures fit on appropriately sized bases for Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop RPGs.

Please get in touch if you'd prefer these miniatures in a larger or smaller size. We can usually accommodate custom orders and most miniatures will scale without issue. The scale image (6-sided die not included) shows these miniatures at their "standard" scale.

BASE NOTES AND OPTIONS:
This set is available with five basing options.

Round/Oval: Medium miniatures ship on 1" round bases, large miniatures ship on 2x1" oval bases (pictured)
Round Only: Medium miniatures ship on 1" round bases, large miniatures ship on 2" round bases
Square/Rectangle: Medium miniatures ship on 1" square bases, large miniatures ship on 2x1" rectangle bases
Square Only: Medium miniatures ship on 1" square bases, large miniatures ship on 2" square bases
Unbased: All miniatures ship unbased. Basic FDM-printed bases are included separately.

If you need your miniatures on a very specific base size (such as for wargames that use movement trays), we highly recommend contacting us first or purchasing unbased miniatures.

MATERIAL NOTES:
All miniatures are printed in a custom-blended 8k ABS-like resin. This blend helps to increase strength and decrease brittleness, but it's still important to treat these miniatures gently to avoid breakage. Additionally, resin miniatures may show minor blemishes from cleaning, curing, or support removal. These blemishes are similar to sprue marks or mold lines on plastic miniatures and clean up easily with a standard hobby knife and file.

We print all miniatures in gray resin, but the actual color may vary from that in the images. The color of miniatures in a single order will usually be consistent, although there may be some minor variations in larger orders.

SHIPPING NOTES:
Note that all of our miniatures are fully produced in-house and made-to-order based on the options selected at checkout. As a result, expect processing times of 5-10 days for most orders, with very large orders potentially requiring additional time for editing, production, and packaging. Unbased miniatures will typically ship more quickly than based miniatures, although this isn't a guarantee.

If you need your order more quickly, get in touch either before you place your order or as soon as possible after ordering. We can often accommodate rush shipping requests, but it's more difficult once we've already moved your order into our production queue.

Order today to get by Jun 16-27
Returns & exchanges accepted within 14 days
Cost to ship: $6.25

Enjoy free shipping to the US when you spend $35+ at this shop.
Ships from: Shelton, CT

There was a problem calculating your shipping. Please try again.

Country

Zip code

Please enter a valid zip code.

Etsy Purchase Protection
Shop confidently on Etsy knowing if something goes wrong with an order, we've got your back for all eligible purchases — see program terms

Etsy invests in climate solutions like electric trucks and carbon offsets for every delivery. See how