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The Secret to Perfect FDM Miniatures (It's Not Just Hardware)

MakerBuildIt

2,365 views

#3DPrinting #Miniatures #TabletopGaming
Can an FDM 3D printer actually produce tabletop-quality miniatures?

For years, resin has been the go-to choice for detailed miniature printing, but Loot Studios has taken a different approach by optimizing its miniatures specifically for consumer FDM printers.

In this video, I put their Ships Ahoy FDM collection to the test using a Bambu Lab A1, a 0.2 mm nozzle, Bambu PLA Basic, and Loot Studios' pre-configured 3MF files.

The results honestly surprised me.

Loot Studios didn't just provide STL files. Their FDM files include tested orientation, supports, slicing profiles, and print settings designed specifically for filament printing.

So how close can FDM actually get to resin?

Let's find out.

🏴‍☠️ Check out Loot Studios' FDM collection here:
https://lootstudios.com/fdm?utm_sourc...

In this video:
• Why a 0.2 mm nozzle matters for miniatures
• Why model orientation is so important
• How pre-configured 3MF files can improve your prints
• Tips for removing supports without destroying your miniature
• How visible FDM layer lines really are
• Whether FDM can actually replace resin for tabletop miniatures

The goal here isn't to beat resin.

It's to stop underestimating FDM printing.

For more 3D printing, DIY, electronics, CNC, and maker projects, subscribe to Maker Build It.

Keep on making!

0:00 The FDM Miniature Challenge
0:51 It Is Not the Printer, It Is the Workflow
1:42 The Power of Optimized 3MF Files
2:53 The Critical Role of Nozzle Size
5:07 Analyzing the Final Results

4 Comments

@LootStudios 1 day ago

We’re really glad the Ships Ahoy FDM results surprised you. We put a lot of work into making our files print well on FDM, so this means a lot. Keep up the awesome work, and happy printing!

@rederrorsuru3847 1 day ago (edited)

The only thing that resin can't do and FDM can is colors so I'm experimenting with printing some miniatures in FDM directly with colors (dual nozzles X2D) and it's been interesting. Mostly chosing models with few/flat colors that can be easily split in parts with color pairs to avoid lots of purges. Splitting using split3mf or the slicer. All that requires a lot of pre-processing (color in the slicer, split, rearange, regroup to reduce the prime tower size...) and manual post-processing (file and glue back parts). Lots of pieces lost due to using a smooth bed. Would probably be faster to actually paint them yet.

@itstruelovexo 1 day ago

Been subscribed to Loot Studios for over a year now. The resin models are phenomenal, I moved countries and had to sell my printer but intended to buy another resin printer in the new country... Havn't yet, but seeing these new FDMs I think it may be time to invest in a Bambu A1 (mini?)

@FlintStone-c3s 13 hours ago

The short answer is no, FDM is not perfect, but at about 4cents each for a 28mm fig you can make a low cost good enough army. You can do it with a 0.4mm nozzle but with a 0.2mm/0.25mm you can print 15mm armies.