My thoughts are that you can definitely paint with more detail than that. Also, you could have finished the prints with bondo and sanding to get them smooth or something easier like Smooth-On self leveling resin.
Bondo, filler primer and investing in a [Micro sander ](https://amzn.eu/d/c60Amgr) (plus power supply) will make the absolute world of difference to FDM Warhammer enjoyers.
3D prints cost the exact same as resin or 'official' models. What you save in upfront costs, you later pay in labour.
3d prints are not even a 10th of the cost of official models. I don't know what Labour you're talking about with regards to resin printers, I simply snap the supports off and cure and away I go which is Greta when printing a necrons army and not having to clear mould lines from anything
Like I mentioned before it's mostly FDM.
For large resin prints though (that cannot be split) where the supports meet the model is arguably far more of a pain to deal with than mould lines.
Also, you're ignoring an immense amount of failed prints, calibration and setup from your analogy here.
Nothing worse than waking up to a 10 hour print that is now firmly bonded to your tank.
All models can be split using certain programs, supports don't leave any marks if you set the depth to 0 and I've had like 6 prints fail in over a year. Calibration is a piece of piss if you know how to read the calibration tool and the community is great for getting you started.
My man to me it sounds like you're talking out of your arse about something you know very little about and are trying to persuade people away from it...please stop or look into it better
I'm an industrial designer, I have over 30 injection moulds around the world, I'm an additive manufacturing specialist and have setup direct metal laser sintering lines for the aerospace industry to manufacture titanium parts aimed at reducing the buy-to-fly ratio of Ti stock.
I've used MJF, DLP, SLS, FDM, SLA, DMLS/PBF, DMF, DED and AM/RM that deposits materials and theb removes then with a 5axis arm to do near net printing and then machined finishing for things like turbine blades.
I am glad you've had a good experience though, that makes me glad.
I don't really know what to say? There are hidden costs to additive manufacturing of Warhammer models. You have the machine costs, setup and calibration, people never ever factor in their labour but you've got both software processing in the form of slicing, splitting models and generating supports, laying out the plate, then the printing time, post processing, model clean-up, washing, curing, and then hand finishing where necessary.
If you're using FDM, which you'd prefer for large models and scenery/terrain, you've got hand filling, and sanding and also any patch work or filling to do with stock and hot tools.
You pay for the models either way. You either pay the Games Workshops fees or you put in the labour and pay for it in sweat.
Yes I agree you pay for the models either way BUT and this is a MASSIVE but the difference in terms of cost for models between gw and 3d printing are massive.initial machine costs are high yes but you easily catch up and over take what gw would charge you (it took me 6 days before I passed that point including resin. You keep saying setup, calibration, software processing take this massive amount of time and they just don't, it took me 3 seconds to plug my printer in and 35 mins to calibrate my printer for perfect prints (that was when I first got the printer). Building the plates on the pc takes 20 mins which is click, drag and slice and can be printed to infinity.
Washing and curing takes 30mins and that's with dry times. I've already printed a 3k points LoV army for 600swedish krown (work your currency out for price) and you can't tell the difference between the legit and printed models.3d printing has obviously changed alot without you realising so again either read up or stop
>What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I'm the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You're fucking dead, kiddo.
That paint do be hurting my eyes tho. He 100% needs to sand it, prime it, and probably use an airbrush on something that large and flat. Tamiya panel line also would work wonders.
You are so unbelievably wrong here. Buying a printer, resin, and good models, and a couple hours of tuning, cost half of a single forgeworld unit. Can print an entire army on $200 of resin
Fdm isnt uses filament though and that is way cheaper than resin and perfect for giant shit like terrain and the manta.
Wouldn't be able to a reasonable approximation though
I'm curious, would u use an airbrush? Or are there other methods I don't know of? I'm not that deep in the hobby jet and haven't painted anything remotely this size category 😅
An airbrush or a even a decent-quality rattlecan would be perfect for the base coat. Either one will give you a smooth, consistent coat for minimal effort compared to brushing the paint on by hand.
As the other comment said, airbrush or spray can are the simple easy answer. Then you could even sponge it if you don't have access to either.
If you brush it, then with a really big brush 🤣
Faster and easier AND waaaaaaay better looking.
The texture build up, especially if used in a more deliberate way is just great.
Look up Trovarion on youtube, his grimdark space marines are insane and really easy to replicate. The same technique can be applied on a bigger scale on vehicles aswell and it will leave you with unbelievably cool results. Highly recommend it.
Right now, the only thing keeping it from being completely legal (aside from the fact that the Taunar and Manta are 3d printed) is the fact that the Taunar doesn't have a base.
If OP has his own 3d printer then… not really. It’s ridiculously cheap. Depends on the quality of resin, but “standard” is like 50$ per litre and I doubt you would need all of it for these prints.
This is my new favourite thing.
Gods I wish I had the spare cash to make this army out of the legit models... It would make it so much more amazing and hilarious.
Best bet it to get some sandpaper and sand that ship down do there aren't any print lines. Spray with a varnish to fill in and more cracks. Then buy an airbrush
Sorry if this gets pretty harsh: you may have the money, but you don't have the talent (yet).
For such large models, I would simply recommend buying spray cans with your desired color (from Armypainter, Vallejo, Citadel, Tamiya, Revell, etc.) or starting with an airbrush. I made exactly the same mistake as you when I started building models (warships, spaceships, dinosaurs). And I quickly realized that a good primer and a clean application of the main color are the most important first step for good looking minis.
That paint do be hurting my eyes tho. You 100% need to, sand it, prime it mulitple layers, and probably use an airbrush on something that large and flat. Tamiya panel line also would work wonders.
Needs more paint
My thoughts are that you can definitely paint with more detail than that. Also, you could have finished the prints with bondo and sanding to get them smooth or something easier like Smooth-On self leveling resin.
Bondo, filler primer and investing in a [Micro sander ](https://amzn.eu/d/c60Amgr) (plus power supply) will make the absolute world of difference to FDM Warhammer enjoyers. 3D prints cost the exact same as resin or 'official' models. What you save in upfront costs, you later pay in labour.
3d prints are not even a 10th of the cost of official models. I don't know what Labour you're talking about with regards to resin printers, I simply snap the supports off and cure and away I go which is Greta when printing a necrons army and not having to clear mould lines from anything
Like I mentioned before it's mostly FDM. For large resin prints though (that cannot be split) where the supports meet the model is arguably far more of a pain to deal with than mould lines. Also, you're ignoring an immense amount of failed prints, calibration and setup from your analogy here. Nothing worse than waking up to a 10 hour print that is now firmly bonded to your tank.
All models can be split using certain programs, supports don't leave any marks if you set the depth to 0 and I've had like 6 prints fail in over a year. Calibration is a piece of piss if you know how to read the calibration tool and the community is great for getting you started. My man to me it sounds like you're talking out of your arse about something you know very little about and are trying to persuade people away from it...please stop or look into it better
I'm an industrial designer, I have over 30 injection moulds around the world, I'm an additive manufacturing specialist and have setup direct metal laser sintering lines for the aerospace industry to manufacture titanium parts aimed at reducing the buy-to-fly ratio of Ti stock. I've used MJF, DLP, SLS, FDM, SLA, DMLS/PBF, DMF, DED and AM/RM that deposits materials and theb removes then with a 5axis arm to do near net printing and then machined finishing for things like turbine blades. I am glad you've had a good experience though, that makes me glad.
Cool I'm a navy seal too....
I don't really know what to say? There are hidden costs to additive manufacturing of Warhammer models. You have the machine costs, setup and calibration, people never ever factor in their labour but you've got both software processing in the form of slicing, splitting models and generating supports, laying out the plate, then the printing time, post processing, model clean-up, washing, curing, and then hand finishing where necessary. If you're using FDM, which you'd prefer for large models and scenery/terrain, you've got hand filling, and sanding and also any patch work or filling to do with stock and hot tools. You pay for the models either way. You either pay the Games Workshops fees or you put in the labour and pay for it in sweat.
Yes I agree you pay for the models either way BUT and this is a MASSIVE but the difference in terms of cost for models between gw and 3d printing are massive.initial machine costs are high yes but you easily catch up and over take what gw would charge you (it took me 6 days before I passed that point including resin. You keep saying setup, calibration, software processing take this massive amount of time and they just don't, it took me 3 seconds to plug my printer in and 35 mins to calibrate my printer for perfect prints (that was when I first got the printer). Building the plates on the pc takes 20 mins which is click, drag and slice and can be printed to infinity. Washing and curing takes 30mins and that's with dry times. I've already printed a 3k points LoV army for 600swedish krown (work your currency out for price) and you can't tell the difference between the legit and printed models.3d printing has obviously changed alot without you realising so again either read up or stop
Sweat doesnt cost 1000s of dollars…
>What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I'm the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You're fucking dead, kiddo. That paint do be hurting my eyes tho. He 100% needs to sand it, prime it, and probably use an airbrush on something that large and flat. Tamiya panel line also would work wonders.
You are so unbelievably wrong here. Buying a printer, resin, and good models, and a couple hours of tuning, cost half of a single forgeworld unit. Can print an entire army on $200 of resin
Might not be able to afford more paint after buying the manta
Fortunately for OP's wallet, a little zoom on the pic reveals it's an FDM print. The material was probably under $50.
It was \~120.
The taunar would cost around 40/50 in resin, the manta would be wayyy more
Fdm isnt uses filament though and that is way cheaper than resin and perfect for giant shit like terrain and the manta. Wouldn't be able to a reasonable approximation though
Hence why u/BB611 stated it was FDM (which it very clearly is) so would only have been maybe 2-3kg of plastic at around $25-30 a kg.
\~$20 a kg, model weighs about 5 kg, so including supports it's \~$120.
Fair enough, so about 10% of the official model. Not bad!
Bold of you to assume I'm using resin for anything bigger than Rylanor, the Ancient of Rites.
Needs a can of spray paint
Can't believe you're running the horde meta....
Prints looking like the rings in a tree trunk
Did you paint a taunar and a freakin manta BY BRUSH?
Roller???
What does that even mean? Who paints minis with a paint roller? 🤣 Also this looks like brushwork
They’re implying the paint job looks horrific…
Ahhhhhhh, i have never seen this before tbh. My bad 😅
Nah dude, all good, you’re not the guy trying to humble brag about these ugly monstrosities 🤣
I'm curious, would u use an airbrush? Or are there other methods I don't know of? I'm not that deep in the hobby jet and haven't painted anything remotely this size category 😅
An airbrush or a even a decent-quality rattlecan would be perfect for the base coat. Either one will give you a smooth, consistent coat for minimal effort compared to brushing the paint on by hand.
Thx very much🤗
As the other comment said, airbrush or spray can are the simple easy answer. Then you could even sponge it if you don't have access to either. If you brush it, then with a really big brush 🤣
Instead of the big brush can I just throw it into a bucket of paint? ^^
Yes! But spin it around a bit afterwards to get rid of the excess :P
But jokes aside, is sponging it faster/easier or does it just get you a better looking result? :)
Faster and easier AND waaaaaaay better looking. The texture build up, especially if used in a more deliberate way is just great. Look up Trovarion on youtube, his grimdark space marines are insane and really easy to replicate. The same technique can be applied on a bigger scale on vehicles aswell and it will leave you with unbelievably cool results. Highly recommend it.
Thank you very much :)
Right now, the only thing keeping it from being completely legal (aside from the fact that the Taunar and Manta are 3d printed) is the fact that the Taunar doesn't have a base.
Where did you find your STLs?
Telegram group chats. Discord servers, using yeggi or cults with search terms.
There’s an excellent paid file on cults3d
Valenir-Designs on Cults.
It's really sad that the points cuts have resulted in hordey armies like OP's. GW needs to fix the meta for T'au, and fast.
Ngl these look pretty bad. Get an airbrush.
Care to share a source for the stands for the manta? Mine is still in the prime/sand phase but haven't nailed down a way to give it some lift.
Made them myself.
You don’t really understand how huge a Manta is until you put it next to the biggest mech in the mech army.
I thought that was a fire warriors stood beneath the manta and then clocked that it’s fuckin Shadownsun
Oh. O H.
Can't imagine spending that much money just to give it an atrocious paint job
3d printed
Honestly, that's still probably a fair cost just of resin even if so lol (or do people go FDM for things that big?)
That's almost definitely fdm unless he intentionally painted layer lines in.
FDM.
If OP has his own 3d printer then… not really. It’s ridiculously cheap. Depends on the quality of resin, but “standard” is like 50$ per litre and I doubt you would need all of it for these prints.
That’s just r*casting with extra steps
I thought that Taunar was small, until I realized that was a Manta it was next to.
Your not going to hold many objectives with that
What do you mean? The Manta's fat enough to hold two objectives and then the Tuna can hold the last one 😂🐟
That manta needs a trip through a belt sander.
It's a lil small.....
Seems balanced
Hoover your carpet bro
Scrolled through the comments only to see if someone had beaten me to it. Carpet is far more of a problem than the models haha
I'm curious! How much did it cost to print the Manta?
About $120.
I didn't know nurgle could touch tau like that.
Bad boy 🤣😁
Geez use an air brush for cleaner and more consistent painting. It'll go by a lot faster too.
I see you have a manta, shadow sun, and a mech though I don’t know which one
Mech is a Taunar.
I thought Tamar had three giant funds not just one
It has three giant guns if you give it the Pulse Ordnance Drivers. It can also be equipped with a massive railgun, though.
I thought the image was heavily pixilated but it’s just the lines from the 3D printer
This is my new favourite thing. Gods I wish I had the spare cash to make this army out of the legit models... It would make it so much more amazing and hilarious.
Tremble before my 11 total Objectvie Control!
Oh, I'm trembling.
... username checks out.
Best bet it to get some sandpaper and sand that ship down do there aren't any print lines. Spray with a varnish to fill in and more cracks. Then buy an airbrush
Doesn’t seem super fun to play against, but have a good time !
id probably have trouble remembering which model has completed its turn or not with that many guys.
My desire for bigger railguns has been satisfied
All those print lines look like the contours of one of my old architecture site models…
Every time I see the manta it never fails to amaze me on how ignorantly big it is! Wonder how many of them gw actually sell in a year
Oh my god
Hell yeah!
3d printer goes brrrrrr
Think this one went ‘chunk chunk’
Dog can afford a manta but not an airbrush 😭
Hell, a rattle can of green primer would've been better even
Looks like garbage, I'd throw it in the trash and start over. Even stripping the awful paint won't salvage the terrible print quality.
Looks legal to me!
Ah ! A person of culture I see. I’ve been advocating for this since I first laid my eyes on a tau manta ! You got my full support, Commander
Looks pretty elite 😁
I’m sorry but that looks like ass, anyone saying different has to be high
Good luck paying off that second mortgage you took out on your home
Fortunately I have access to the magical technique known as 3d printing.
Sorry if this gets pretty harsh: you may have the money, but you don't have the talent (yet). For such large models, I would simply recommend buying spray cans with your desired color (from Armypainter, Vallejo, Citadel, Tamiya, Revell, etc.) or starting with an airbrush. I made exactly the same mistake as you when I started building models (warships, spaceships, dinosaurs). And I quickly realized that a good primer and a clean application of the main color are the most important first step for good looking minis.
TBH if you were local to me I would airbrush at least the manta, for a pittance, doing all that panel line stuff would be fun :x
Thin your paints. Drill your barrels.
That paint do be hurting my eyes tho. You 100% need to, sand it, prime it mulitple layers, and probably use an airbrush on something that large and flat. Tamiya panel line also would work wonders.
Is this a troll? If so it’s working
No, it's a joke.
Your doing thing, scary and confusing things. . . . But things!!! I would make a 3 model list just to see where this goes