Oct 28, 2015 | By Kira

Fantasy lovers, RPGers, and wargamers rejoice: Imagine 3D Miniature’s first line of customizable, 3D printed miniatures, Mounted Heroes, as arrived. The online shop, which allows you to select a race, customize its pose, mount, equipment and size, and then order a 3D print in your choice of materials, has finally opened and judging by the site, the customization and ordering process looks to be as fun as the actual gaming itself.

We wrote about Imagine 3D Miniatures back in May when the Spanish startup had launched their ambitious $30,000 Kickstarter campaign. Surprisingly, this may be one of the rare cases we hear of a crowdfunding project that didn’t reach its funding goals, but was still successfully launched on the marketplace. “The Kickstarter campaign didn’t reach it’s funding goals but…helped the team to understand and, above all, listen to the audience and redefine the line that from that moment we are following,” said the team which is led by David Pérez and some very talented modelers, illustrators, designers and programmers.

It turns out what their audience wanted was beautifully crafted characters, a variety of races and mounts to choose from, and a range of 3D printing materials, among other great features. As of now, the Mounted Heroes line consists of three races: Humans, Orcs and Elves—while back in May only the Humans and Orcs had been designed, the addition of Elves this summer represents their first line of female heroine characters. Each race has the option of three difference mounts. Humans have horses, griffins and dragons; Orcs have boars, lizaordon and wyverns; and Elves have lions, deer, and eagles. Customization options, which you can select and try on directly via the online real-time viewer, include various armor, boots, shoulder pads, capes, helmets, and weapons. The Heroes can either be purchased standing, or on a mount, which must be paid for separately.

Next up, you can select the scale of your 3D printed miniature, ranging from 28mm to 90mm for the heroes, and 28mm to 54mm for the mounts. As for the 3D printing materials, Imagine 3D has expanded the range of options from the last time we wrote about them. Now, users can choose from three levels of 3D printing material to best suit their needs.

The first is Strong & Flexible Plastic, the most durable, least detailed, and lowest priced. This one is recommended primarily for 3D printing the mounts of Mounted Heroes. The second level is Frosted Ultra Detail Plastic, which has a higher definition finish and amount of detail, while being slightly more fragile. This semi-transparent option is great for painting, and therefore recommended for painting enthusiasts. Finally, Frosted Extreme Detail is the highest quality plastic material available—with a proportionally higher price.

I tried my hand at creating my own customized 35mm Elf warrior, which I customized with a massive bow, braided hair and chest armor.  As a standing hero, she came to $18 in Frosted Ultra Plastic or $27 in Frosted Extreme. The addition of an eagle mount lowered the price of the elf, but would cost me an extra $27-$95 for the mount itself depending on which material I choose.

Screenshot of my own Mounted Elf fantasy miniature

For now, the site is still in its beginning stages, and even with all the customization options they offer, there are just as many limitations. The Frosted Extreme Detail material, for example, can only be selected for smaller scale miniatures (28 and 35mm) and the mounts aren’t very customizable. However, the company plans to continue developing up to 14 races, with additional options such as selecting the gender for each race. They also want to expand beyond Mounted Heroes, and eventually launch a second line of fantasy Monster Miniatures (think giants, trolls, demons, centaurs, etc), and potentially even a sci-fi inspired line and their own gaming system. One thing’s for sure, is that Imagine 3D has an extremely talented team of designers, who are passionate about fantasy gaming, and are committed to taking the time to understand just what it is their audience wants.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

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