Shapeways 3-D Printed Dice, Bits, Minis, and More
The BoLS Crew highlights some of the 3-D printed goodness from Shapeways.
We live in the future, basically. The internet can order your a pizza, and one day soon, a flying robot will bring it to you. You can literally download the plans for and then print up pretty much anything you can think of. From Iron Man masks to cars (the vehicle, not the Pixar movie) to literally anything you see walking down the street, like plants or gardens.
So of course you can go online and find a 3d-printed marketplace that brings you stuff you need for your roleplaying games, or custom designed bits you can use to make your little plastic dudemens 37% cooler than they are straight off the shelf. Whether you’re looking for some unique dice, miniatures, little plastic weapons or whatever, Shapeways has got you covered.
The thing I want to stress the most is the level of detail that’s present–you’ve probably seen some of these models done up in translucent plastic–that’s their Frosted Ultra-Detail, which is a combination of layered plastic with an acrylic skeletal structure kind of thing, which basically means that they can work in a ton of fine details in their printed sculpts. There are a couple of places where it’s super prevalent.
First up is in their minis. As you might have seen yesterday, they make some amazing bits–but take a look at these miniatures. They’re gorgeous. I know it’s hard to tell from pictures alone–but look at this sweet tiefling-looking lady. There are modeled eyebrows on her face. And all this detail is subtle–like it’s not big or overdone, but it’s still prevalent enough that as you paint it, it’ll pick up the paint. That’s one of the things that impressed us the most.
You can also see the Frosted Ultra-Detail in action in their futuristic bits as well. Check out the rivets on the shoulderpads and the designs on the guns–right above the trigger in particular. These bits were made by Pop Goes the Monkey (who also produced the shields you see featured here).
I wanna talk about another of the D&D minis real quick though, they sent us a Dragonborn Sorcerer done up in Hi-Def Black Acrylate, which is just stunningly gorgeous. Take a look:
There’s a ton of detail baked into this thing. It’s a fantastic quality–and you can find many many more like this. But just to give you idea, here’s what a painted version of this guy looks like.
There’s also a ton of dice–we had both metal and plastic to take a look at–I will say, the plastic dice feel surprisingly light. I prefer the feel of the metal ones myself, but there’s something for all tastes.
These metal d20s are amazing!
We liked that you can find a ton of variety both of miniatures/dice/whatever but also the materials. Metal dice, plastic minis, or vice versa–whatever your preference, Shapeways has it.
Check out Shapeways
Check out Pop Goes the Monkey
Use the promo code now through October and get free shipping on your first order.
BoLSSmr17
If only they could 3d-print a cure for this fever–oh hey look a cowbell.
