Before you get up in arms about 3D Printing at AdeptiCon please read the whole model policy, and this clarification on the rules!
These days everyone seems to love 3D printing (we even have a store for it…) however, we understand why some tournaments want at least some Games Workshop parts present on models, for you know, GW events. People were recently quite upset about the new AdeptiCon rules, but perhaps a bit unfairly…
First off, The Adepticon model policy is fairly lenient (in our opinion) for a major tournament sponsored by GW. regardless they have to lay down some rules to avoid very sticky situations either way.
We also got some confirmation from the TOs themselves on their policy and here’s why.
Before You Get Mad at AdeptiCon About 3d Printing Read This
Let’s start with the section of the Adepticon model policy rules that got people all worked up:
Boycott? Come on bro…
This comes from the 3D Printing 40k Facebook Group and you can tell by the title, people were quite mad with over 500 comments already.
Problem is, the OP was pretty irresponsible by only showing a portion of the policy, with no link to the whole policy itself, so folks could read the entire thing.
When you first read this, it is a little frustrating, as they do say no fully 3D printed models that are direct 1:1 models. This prevents recasts and direct 3D prints. However, when you take the rest of the rules into account, it’s not as bad as it first seems.
We reached out to Adepticon to clarify the situation and here is what they said:
We have two rules
1. If you are using FW rules you need FW models
2. You can have 3D bits, parts, upgrades, etc …
Alt heads, shoulder pads, knight upgrades, etc …
But some parts of those models should be GW
That seems pretty fair to us, as you’ll see below, there can be some really interesting situations that pop up if you just allow everyone to run wild with whatever models…
Plus, they allow tons of 3D printed parts, they just want some of the original model to be there.
When you read the highlighted statement from the rules, which you can download here, it gets a lot better for players who want to convert, add effects, or use 3d bits. It says right there you can supplement your army with them.
They just don’t want entire armies of non-GW or Forge World minis and mainly for two reasons. First, it can be very hard to ensure an entirely alternative model army is up to standards for height, weapons, etc…
The second is to stop something like the below from happening. When you compare this to GW’s rules (who don’t even allow for resin bases…) Adepticon is about as lenient as you’ll get.
A few years ago, someone won a tournament here in North Carolina with neon green printed Caladiuses and paper bases (you can see the full article on it here). If there are no rules in place, it can lead to some really silly things that leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. While it was legal according to that event’s rules then, it’s simply not respectful of other hobbyists’ efforts.
Overall for a major tournament of this size, at least to us, Adepticon has fairly lenient rules. They don’t want to stop you from 3D printing altogether, just 1:1 recasts and if you play with Forge World models, you have to have the actual models to use them. Really not terrible when it comes down to it in our minds.
What do you think about the 3D printing policy model policy at Adepticon?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
