3D printing Warhammer miniatures in the hobby is at an all-time high, but did you know that Games Workshop has been doing it for years already?
You might have been following along in the hobby news that 3D printing is becoming more and more accessible to people. And with all the jumps in printing technology, people can get sculpts almost as detailed as plastics. It turns out that GW also understands the speed and ease of using 3D prints.
Even Games Workshop is Using 3D Printing for Faster Minis
You may not know this but it looks like GW has been using 3D printing to produce most of the painted models that they have been showcasing for at least 7 years. These models can be seen everywhere from previews, to digital files on Warhammer Community, and even in the supplement books themselves.
The reason? It is so much easier to just print out a file instead of waiting for all the plastic to get in. With all the minis getting such great paint jobs, they need to get the miniatures to the painters early to get it ready for previews, etc. So, they just print a few out for them, and the perpetual cycle of GW releases continues on.
But, if they can print out 3d minis that also means they have the files hanging around somewhere.
Turns out they definitely have some 3D model files archived in their computers that could, at some point in the future, be transformed into sellable downloadable products. Obviously, this isn’t happening soon, because they would first have to find a way to control how the files were used and distributed.
Check out some of the stuff that GW looks to have 3D printed in the past, present, and future…
The First 3D Printed Model We Noticed: Taurox Prime
Back in 2014, the Taurox Prime was previewed and released. We think this is the first time we saw GW use 3D printing for their finished model prototypes. You can tell by clear issues on the model that is still posted on GW’s Webstore. The quality of the model in the picture appears to be much less than what their plastic injected models can produce.
First off, you can tell that the tracks are slanted at something like a 15-degree angle to the right. On top of that, the autocannons on the sides look to fit a little wonky. You can see a clear gap on the right gun even.
At the front of the vehicle, you can still see the tracks angled completely off from the rest of the chassis and the assault cannons have something in some of the barrels.
Finally, the track guards are bent and malformed. You can see a clear bowing of the back guard compared to the front. Now keep in mind, they never sold a model like this. This was just used to preview their product ahead of time.
3D Printed Minis We’ve Spotted
Picture from Garro at GSC Showcase From Warhammer New Years Open Day
Looking at the Locus in a case from an event preview, you can see striations at the top of its hood. While this could be just some weird kind of drybrush, it is a bit odd that the effect doesn’t appear in Warhammer Community’s preview online?
Looking at GSC’s official picture of the Locus, it looks like the striations from the top of the hood are gone. Could this be the fact that the pictures have been “cleaned up” with some simple editing? Some striations still appear on the robe next to his staff which is indicative of 3D printing, however, are a lot more subtle than what was spotted in the display case. Better 3D printing technology and painting techniques help to keep the printing lines to a minimum.
This is definitely a lot better than the Taurox from 2014.
Next, the new exclusive Sister of Battle Sister Novena also appears to have some of the same tell-tale 3D printer striations that indicate the painted model was also a 3D print.
And lastly, looking at the newly previewed Iron Hands character, you can see striations all over his weapon.
First at the top of his axe where the flat area behind the blade is as well as the vice-grip-looking counterweight on the other end. Looking at the bottom of the weapon, the battery pack that makes the thing a power weapon is also showing some striations on its side.
The Latest Minis We’ve Spotted
You can see some of the lines on this look very 3D printed, but with the Ad Mech stuff still, a while away, it only makes sense they would just print a few out instead of making a bunch to paint up.
The mold lines on this are very strong in the highest points compared to the rest of the mini.
Lelith was one of the most obvious of newer releases with the random hard mold lines, some things off-kilter, and the issues in the dagger. This one used for the preview was definitely 3D printed.
Why 3D Printing Makes Sense
Without going too far into detail, 3D printing makes sense because it’s just faster for rapid prototyping. Looking at GW’s standpoint, they have to get their models ready ahead of time so they can have pictures for their codex, box kits, previews, etc. It takes a fraction of the time printing off a 3D sculpt in-house vs having materials sent off for plastic injection.
It seems like GW is printing off a “master-prototype” model that they use in all of their promotions while the main product is getting amassed.
Obviously by the time these products make it to market they are the actual material(s) they are supposed to be and do not have the 3D print marks on them (well except Forge World, which a whole separate post altogether).
Essential List of 3D printing Hobby Supplies & Products
So with GW seemingly using 3D printing methods more than ever, does that mean we are looking at the future of “model-making”?
At what point could we just download files from Games Workshop themselves for 3d Printing like a sort of iTunes type store?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
