How would you like to make your own Warhammer terrain, props for D&D, cosplay items, or downright cool/useful shit at any given moment? 3D printers can make it happen. OK, I know what you're thinking - aren't those expensive? They certainly used to be. But these days, and thanks to deals like the ones in this weekend's Anycubic sale, they're surprisingly affordable.
I'm lucky enough to review 3D printers as part of my job here, covering everything from Warhammer to D&D, and it opened up a whole world of hobbying that I hadn't even considered before. I was definitely bitten by the bug; I've made entire Warhammer boards using 3D-printed pieces, have constructed props to use in my Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, and even printed out entire board games. The latter I did partially with the help of the Anycubic Kobra X, a multi-color printer that's easy to use but also pretty reasonable in terms of cost... especially at the moment, where it's $120 less than usual via Anycubic.
Despite what you might think, 3D printing isn't quite as intimidating to get into as it may once have been either. Machines like the Kobra X are really easy to set up and start, largely because they handle a lot of the tricky stuff (like levelling, something that used to be the bane of my life) automatically. With this one, all you need to do is get it out of the box, attach the necessary pieces, and then send over the model file (chosen from free sites like Thingiverse or premium sellers at MyMiniFactory) you want to print. It'll handle the rest.
The results are fantastic. I found prints on this machine to come out with an incredibly high quality, to the point that I couldn't always tell it was from a filament printer (for context, filament tends to be used for larger or sturdier models while resin machines are better for small minis with a lot of fine detail, e.g. D&D characters). Actually, the Kobra X laughs in the face of old filament devices; it's miles ahead of what they used to be able to do, and can even give some resin machines a run for their money. When you throw in multi-color capabilities (useful for making tokens to use in everything from Kill Team to Magic: The Gathering) and an impressive speed, you're left with a gadget I have no trouble recommending in the slightest.
In other words? This is a great place to start if you've ever been tempted by 3D printing. And if you haven't, well... proceed with caution, because once you realize all of the cool stuff you can make, you won't wanna go back.
- See all 3D printer deals at Anycubic
For inspiration on what to print, why not check out the best board games or the best tabletop RPGs?
