The Dragonlock Miniatures Kickstarter by Fat Dragon Games is the very first “massive project” i’ve decided to do for the website, why you might ask? Well for one they are a company that I wish I knew about when I started FDM printing in 2017, and was the perfect project to get back into printing with after a long break from the hobby.
In this project I set out to print every single model from the Dragonlock Miniature Kickstarter which launched February 5, 2019. I did not get to work on the models at that time due to life’s distractions and something called starting a family. Sure enough it wasn’t until June 2020 that I decided to tackle this project and finished printing them all September 2020. It has taken me some serious time to compile all the images and data from that time but finally ALL my data is here. All the images below in “The Collection” link to the data and images specific to each and every individual model printed organized in over 25 themed sets. You can see the high and lows of each model as well as my thoughts and impressions of each one. Or just click on the list below!
Angry Ball of Eyes, Cube O Snot, Giant Rats, Giant Slug, Giant Spider, Giant Worm,
Goblinoids, Goblins, Great Dragon, Hill Giant, Kobold Warriors, Minotaurs,
Octopus Warriors, Ogre Warband, Orc Warriors, Owlbears, Oxidation Beast, Roper,
Snake Warriors, Tentacles, Trash Beast, Turdle Adventurers
Project Summary
This project was done on my FDM printer the Prusa mk3s, using a majority of print settings from the Fat Dragon Games miniature profile for Cura 4.6. The entire collection was printed using Hatchbox 1.75mm PLA in silver as I just love the look on miniatures and it is easier for me to see the detail. All models were printed in the orientation of which the model loaded into the slicer which was predominiately with the base flat against the build plate. The only exception to this rule was if the model was printed in several pieces and weapons, wings, etc were typically pointed with the most detailed portions facing upwards.
The models were straight forward and easy to print. Overall my favorite models were ones that really stood out in detail or more rare in sculpts in terms of availability to the community such as the Octopus Warriors & Mushroom Folk. I also really appreciated the Giant Worm and how well and smooth the main piece assembled. So far I have already jumped in and started painting the Purple Worm and it might be my favorite paint job to date! Fat Dragon Games was great in providing guides, tips and tricks on how to assemble and even advice on how to print the more difficult models. These models are also focused on providing miniatures to FDM owners since not all own a resin printer or might choose not to have one. Overall I think this is a much needed niche in the hobby and should be praised.
My least favorite models were ones that were either too small, Kobold Warriors, to really play with or had the monster scale off just enough to drive my number and scale focused brain nuts. For example the Oxidation Beast is just a hair too wide for a standard 1″ grid and I really wish consideration of monster scale for classic monsters such as an oxidation beast/rust monster was taken into account. Models like the Minotaurs although not accurate base scale were smaller than their size which makes it easier to play with, alas I admit it can drive me nuts too. Of course these are issues unique to my crazy and technical personality and limitation on having bases attached to the models upon printing. The largest model I have issues with is the Hill Giant. I feel like the Hill Giant was lacking in detail and creative cuts such as other models to make it easier to assemble and hide the lines better. For such a large model there also could have been so many more details.
Overall this project was a ton of fun to do and might have begun a terrible trend of attempting to print all models from kickstarters. I am currently in the process of doing another FDM focused kickstarter, Monstrous Encounters as well as two Resin focused kickstarter, Fantasy Props and Hold my Dwarf. Stay tune for info at a later date.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Incredibly Easy to Print Massive Collection for your Money Each miniature set comes with a PDF getting started guide For more difficult models tips were given such as “Print with Brim” Access to not as common models such as a Trash Beast or Giant Slug Gives a miniature focus to the FDM user | Some Models lack more detail Assembly from printing in multiple parts sometimes lead to large gaps Pre-Support placement was not always ideal leading to holes in elbows, Hill Giant, or bottoms of weapons Monster scale was non-standard to itself or standard to a tabletop game.. |
Lets talk the Data!
I am a mad scientist after all. So why wouldn’t I keep the data.
How Long? This project took and estimated 12 Day 13 hours and 5 minutes of printing
How much material did I use? Successful filament usage (yes I had failures) of 908.1g.
How many miniatures? Over the course of this project I estimated 92 miniatures.
Total Cost: At time of Kickstarter I paid $60 for the collection and used Hatchbox PLA in Silver using approximately $17.99 in filament. Leading to a total of $77.99 or 84.75 cents a miniature!
This comes from 65.2 cents per miniature for files and 19.56 cents in material usage.
What is Dragonlock and Fat Dragon Games?
Tom Tullis and his crew at Fat Dragon Games is all about making the hobby accessible, educational, and robust for all of your tabletop roleplaying needs. Their focus is to provide completely supportless models primarily for FDM printers for the consumer and practically wrote the book on how to do so. Tom even runs a YouTube channel, Tomb of 3d Printer Horrors, to teach users how to use and maintain a FDM 3d printer with a significant focus on the Creality Ender printers. On top of that they also maintain a print profile collection to help users on providing settings that work for their models. This is incredible for the 3D printing community as a way to not only sell a product but also nurture it to see it thrive and succeed.
For those of you who do not know Fat Dragon Games, they are a company that has been “in business since 2005” and I remember hearing from them through their paper craft terrain years ago. They are one of the very first companies to develop a 3d printable snap-lock dungeon tile system called “Dragonlock”, hence the Dragonlock Miniature Kickstarter branding. Check them out below and all the places to find them.
Fat Dragon Games Website: http://www.fatdragongames.com/
Fat Dragon Games Facebook: Dragonlock & Dragonbite 3D Printing Gaming Terrain
Available Products: Found via DriveThruRPG.com
Youtube: Tomb of 3D Printed Horrors
