Hero Forge - Custom Figures 3D Printed for D&D

All,

I've placed my first order of four figures. I'll let you know what I think of them when they come in. I ordered four and if I think they're good, I'll order some more. I have about 12 made up in my account now.

The four I ordered were:
Kennedy w Spear (wearing a tank top and shorts)
Pax - Art's Female Half Elf Ranger
Belledonna - Brad's Female Seeker Archer

* These first three I selected the "Strong Plastic" with the slightly rougher texture but probably better for gaming.

Sonya Moorecut (Female Warlord - chainmail and battle axe)
* Ordered in the high detail plastic, due to the armor. As a side note, right after I placed the order, I change her armor on my account, but not in the order, to a breast plate. I'll let you know if she comes with a chain shirt (like I ordered) or a breast plate (which will probably be how she will appear on my account when they 3D print her).

I'm interested to know how long it will be until they arrive. Also curious if the Steel or Bronze materials are that much better than plastic.


Other characters I'm working on or thinking about are:
The (blind) Elite Guard of Buzzard Bait (looks Great on the screen)
Archemidies (my githanki artificer)
Bannor (Terry's fighter)
Red Eye Knight Archer (I have a set of nine and always wanted a 10th one)
Kennedy (w pistol and rifle)
Onyx (Brad's new Goliath Barbarian)


Best,
Stuart

The bronze figures are pretty sweet.

Yeah, great detail and very sturdy but also very expensive....

Okay, they're here. Fifteen days from hitting "Order" to the box showing up at my door. Packaging was very good. Each wrapped separately in padded wrap and box was well padded.

The "Strong Plastic" ones... the figures have some slight give so arms and swords and bows can be broken but it would take a pretty good blow. There is a noticeable size difference between Pax and Belladonna. Even though they are both female archers in the same general pose, Pax is more than a head taller, just as she should be. I can see all the detail that is suppose to be there, but the detail is not "sharp" as there is a very fine texture, almost like superfine sand on the entire figure. I can already tell you that I will not be able to achieve all the painting effects I'd like, but the figures will probably be "good enough to game with" after they're painted. Pax turned out the best.

So, for Sonya... the level of detail is what I would expect and the surface is very paint-able. The limbs and weapons have very little give and the plastic seems more brittle than the others, but I'm thinking it will hold up for gaming just fine.

I'm going to order more, but they are all going to be the high detail, more expensive plastic. Also, I've learned that when adding hair and overlapping clothing you have to be careful as the 3D printer can do very lifelike work, making it very difficult to get your paintbrush into some areas, especially behind capes and underneath arms.

I'm happy with my purchase overall and can't wait to get painting...

Okay, Pax and Belledonna are done and look outstanding! Was going to paint Sonya but discovered that her cape is too close to her body so that it is almost impossible to paint her back and the inside of the cape. I'm going to have to cut off the stand to get an angle for the brush. Be wary of making the figure paint-able when designing.

I'm going to order another batch, I'm going to include a figure for Tamsin. Anyone else want someone?

Raistlin would be cool. Even if I make a new character it will be the same character as Raistlin just different powers.

Will need a description... male human, elf, half elf ? Robes or adventurer's clothing like shorts and a tunic? Equipment ? Cape ? Casting a spell ? Long hair, short hair, bald ?

Lets see... Male elf, Staff or Rod whichever is more convenient. I shall adhere to Edna's rule of NO CAPES! Long bleached white hair down to mid back preferably in a ponytail. Blue eyes and brown eyebrows. Dragon tattoo on the back of his right hand. For general build: On the skinny side. slightly taller than the average human so 6' and casting a spell sounds good like he is in the middle of a battle. If possible his expression should be a sort of disinterested sternness, but absolutely no smiling.

Okay, will see if I can find something in my inventory first...

Put in another order -
Tamsin 1 (hand wraps)
Tamsin 2 (two weapons, stick and reverse grip dagger)
Archemedies (my Githyanki Alchemist in Ross' Slave Ship series)
Sonya (the fantasy version fr Ken's old on line series)

...and a week later another order -
Nekk (Kobe's fighter from Brad's old Dragon series)
Raistlin (Arthur's character from the WAR 2! series)
Kennedy (w pistol and M4 - could double for Sonya in Ken's Stargate series)

ST

You should just buy a 3D printer and print your own figures & terrain.
You can find tons of free or low cost 3D models for just about everything.

Ross wrote:You should just buy a 3D printer and print your own figures & terrain.
You can find tons of free or low cost 3D models for just about everything.

Here is a directly link to the Free 3D Printer D&D Figures.

So you can print your own figures, however you're using CAD models designed by someone else. I'm not sure how this is different than buying already made figures on line from Ral Partha...

The difference w Hero Forge is the ability to design your own figures.

As a DM you could print 30 of the same soldier or creature for cheap.

Designed a couple...
Not sure if I want to buy them just yet.

https://www.heroforge.com/load_config=980820
https://www.heroforge.com/load_config=980837

I think those look great. Also, unlike some of mine, you did not incorporate any features that would make them super hard to paint. Capes that are slightly away from the body and very close to belts or other equipment worn near the back are very difficult to paint.

Stu,
What material should I go for on these two figures?
I tried not to make them too detailed. Do you think I can go with the Strong Plastic, or is the Ultra that much better?

Blackguard
Monk

Ultra for sure. The cape on Danilo will have access problems. See if you can try different base shapes, maybe the Hex shaped one. You will have troubles when you turn the figure upside down to paint the back of his shirt and painting the inside of the cape that is close to the body. You won't be able to hold the brush straight up and down to get in that small crease because on some bases, the base will be in the way. I have three figures with round bases that all had to be chopped down so that I could paint that area.

With the Ultra material, the paint glides on a lot easier which off sets the access issue somewhat.

I ordered the two I have listed, though I'm not sure on Bea's height.

Deva's are suppose to be tall
Average Height: 6'1" - 6'6"
Average Weight: 175 - 280

Wasn't sure if she's going to turn out looking like a giant compared to other miniatures since I set the height to 90% for the figure.

Bae looks like a bad ass with a hot ass. Great figure!

Yes, she will turn out fairly tall, but not so huge that she will be "Large" size.

Bae and the dwarf look great! I've got a super good start on the dwarf and his face and hair turned out really good. I received your electronic files and I can print them so I think I should be good now. Thanks Ken

Okay, I've painted about 14 Hero Forge figures to date. About half of the less expensive plastic and half with the semi-clear but expensive plastic. The expensive plastic does have a lot more detail and is easier to paint.

Then, I ordered two more of the expensive plastic and they changed it on me. It is now black. Very smooth with high detail, but lots of little studs. You can remove all those little studs cleanly with a razor blade or hobby knife. Easy but time consuming.

I've tried painting one of the next black figures. Hmmm... these need either primer or two coats of paint. I'm not a fan so far. Let me finish these two figures and I'll post my final decision.

Okay, I've made more progress on the two figures made of the new black plastic. If you use oil or water based paint, the paint does not stick nearly as well as the prior materials. If you use water based paint and your first coat is a bit on the thinner side, a second coat seems to cover 90%. You then have to do a third run with the same color but only doing the spots not covered by the second coat.

The level of detail is amazing. The lines in the armor and the lines on the faces are very well defined. On these figures, I have the ability to do much better faces than before as the details around the eyes and lips are done much better than prior materials. I have noticed that in joints like arm pits and where clothing or weapons get close to the body, the small black studs then to fill the voids and are hard, if not impossible to remove some times. Even after looking over the entire figure before you start painting, you don't notice all the studs until you start painting some areas.

Semi-final decision, it is added work to remove all the studs, but most come off without a problem. You need a good primer or multiple coats but if you make the coats thin, you have a finished figure with much higher detail. Conclusion for now is that the new black material can yield a much better finished figure than the prior high dollar clear material, but it will take quite a bit more work on the part of the artist.

...and for all you two handed weapon guys out there, there are six new poses that appear in the menu if your character has no shield and a large weapon that can be used w two hands.

I'm not seeing the new two-handed weapon poses?

Did you see the new project from HeroForge?
Chibify
I think they are using this to test their coloring technology.

The new two handed poses do not appear unless you make a mini that has a pole arm or a spear or other large weapon and he/ she is holding it in one hand. They cannot be holding anything in thier other hand. Save the mini then go to "Poses" and the new options should appear on the top of the menu.

Mick, Ibuki, Arthur, etc...
I think I've painted about ten (10) of the rough (inexpensive) Hero Forge figures (e.g. Pax, Bannor, Souldun, Bae, more) about six (06) of the clear premium plastic which they do not offer any more (Sonya, Nek, Raistlin, more) and three of the black premium plastic (Josie Spear, Josie Sword). I have only two Hero Forge figures remaining in line to be painted, a female monk and my Alchemist Archemedies for Ross' game. I've also recently painted about sixteen non-hero forge figures including Uskan, Cyrano, Gurd, Snow, and others.

If any of you want to design your own figure on Hero Forge for your PC, you can leave it with me and I may get it painted (someday). For characters with two handed weapons or pole arms, they do have some new poses. If you do order a figure or two, be careful of large narrow open areas, like the kind between the inside surface of a flowing cloak and the back of the character's armor, any area where it's going to be really hard to get a paintbrush into.

Ibuki - it would be cool if Uskan and Walster weren't the same guy... haha
Arthur - you can make one for your Avenger...
Mick - every time I see your figure, I think Ember is going to blast the monsters for 850 hit points...

Enjoy...

Ordered my last Kick Starter 3D printed colored figure from Hero Forge. Years ago I put in for a few and thought I should use them up. Ordered an armored Archer guy...

@Ross, how many more do you have credit for?

I have 6 still.  I just bought one for my Cyber Knight.
I'm going to buy a few more though. Just have to figure out which ones.

Oh man, that's awesome Ross... I love it!