3D Printing - "Station Forge" - Tarion Assault Squad

"Station Forge" WIPs - Three Tarion Assault Troopers primed, shaded and dry-brushed

All of these models were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Station Forge" on "MyMiniFactory". The armoured aliens are part of a ten-figure multipart collection entitled Tarion Assault Squad which were released in December 2024, and have clearly been heartily inspired by a certain "young race of technologically-oriented beings from the Eastern Fringe" in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

This 32mm set was one of my main motivators for joining this particular creator, as I wanted to paint up a handful of different science-fiction based 'kill teams', and "Station Forge" seemed to readily scratch that itch rather quickly due to releasing "four main factions and bonus models" every month as part of their Tribe. As a result I already own a considerable amount of their other STL files, ranging from infantry, through to armoured suits and massive vehicles, so hope to get a fair few forces printed, assembled and made tabletop ready over the coming months.

"Station Forge" WIPs - A Tarion Officer assembled from the multi-piece STL collection

Producing these miniatures was also an absolute breeze due to all the bits and pieces coming pre-supported. This meant it really was just a case of picking the torsos, heads, arms and backpacks which I liked and slapping them on my build plate. The only failures I experienced were where I tucked up some of the larger hand-weapons into the centre of the plate, making it a little difficult for the resin to reach the odd support - and thus causing the part to disagreeably flatten. However, even these pieces are useable either by cutting away the spoilt parts or using them as base debris.

To begin with I thought I'd begin with a reasonably straightforward ensemble of Tarion holding what seems to be the squad's 'go to' firearm. However, I did include a couple of the other weapons released with the kit - most noticeably a long-barrelled gun which is somewhat reminiscent of the T'au Pathfinder's Rail Rifle. All of the figures went together perfectly with a dollop of super-glue here and there - even the team's leader, who 'halt stance' was created using a couple of individual arms, as opposed to the usual 'wishbone' sculpt with both hands already holding their blaster of choice.

"Station Forge" WIPs - Three (more) Tarion Assault Troopers primed, shaded and dry-brushed

The only extra detail I added was to one of the poses which was standing on a piece of terrain. For this particular individual I hooked out a plastic tyre from the NSPIOC05 - Implements of Carnage One sprue for "Gaslands" by "North Star Military Figures", and used that. Despite being a different scale to the extra-terrestrial, as it is actually designed to "customise your die-cast cars into instruments of death", the piece slotted underneath the trooper's foot perfectly.

Colour scheme wise I plan to go with a predominantly brown affair, something similar to the original T'au Sept Fire Warriors palette I recall from my youth, though not quite as ochre as that 'iconic hue which is worn across the Empire as a sort of dress uniform.' This should help me get a fairly significant-sized squad on the tabletop in a reasonable time, as well as help make the models a bit more interesting to pigment as opposed to the predominantly "Vallejo" Heavy Red or "Citadel" Sons Of Horus Green I currently seem to be working with...

3D Printing - "Lost Heresy Miniatures" - Vulgorn Guards

"Lost Heresy Miniatures" WIPs - Three of the Vulgorn Guards currently being progressed

All of these models were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Lost Heresy Miniatures" on "MyMiniFactory". The rotund extra-terrestrials are part of an eight-figure collection, whose sculpts have clearly been heavily-inspired by the Vogons as seen in Garth Jennings' 2005 movie "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

I've actually had a bit of an 'on-off' relationship supporting this creator on Tribe in the past, as I've found their (predominantly science fiction) range to be a bit smaller than most modern-day models - probably being 25mm as opposed to today's 28mm scale. Happily however, I'm a bit more knowledgeable about the data preparation software programme "Chitubox" Basic than I used to be, so these days tend to upscale most of the smaller STLs I print out by 108.41% (measured using the Colonist Marine Cyborg Hero E-900 Exterminator figure by "Papsikels Miniatures" as the new eye-line height - also known as 'Arnie Scale').

"Lost Heresy Miniatures" WIPs - Three more Vulgorn Guards which have been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

This did admittedly make the aliens somewhat larger than a normal-sized human. But having viewed several photographs of Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, it's clear that in the film (at least) the intergalactic civil servants are a lot bigger than mere Earthlings anyway. Regardless, as soon as I saw the set I simply had to get some printed out, especially as they're appearance was something of a welcome surprise - considering that up until this point recently "Lost Heresy Miniatures" had been focusing upon producing a splendid range of characterful Napoleonic Russians for "The Silver Bayonet" rule-set by "Osprey Games".

What I was not prepared for though, was just how difficult it would prove to print out some useable models to paint - and much of this frustration was unfortunately down to me as opposed to anything else, though it took quite a few failed attempts over an entire week before I realised what was happening. To begin with I thought that my upscaling had caused the pre-supports to become unstable, as several appeared to break away from the print mid-way through the production process.

The Vulgorn Guards pre-supported, then supported by "Chitubox", and finally with my (Large) supports

I'm always a bit sceptical of pre-supported files at the best of times, so subsequently tried adding some additional Large supports to the sculpts where-ever I felt there was a weak area. This helped produce a couple of working figures, as well as two which required some Green-Stuff repair work to make right. But was still largely creating failures. Indeed, having initially envisaged a plate of five nicely printed Vulgorn Guards every time I was now almost down to trying just a single miniature in case there were any resin flow issues occurring with an over packed plate.

I even tried completely doing my own supports and repositioning the models at a 35 degree angle - my failsafe placement. But even this caused repeated fails. Fortunately, I then spotted that the FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene) was actually touching the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) mono 4K screen by the end of the printing process - indicating that the FEP's tension was no longer as taut as it should be - not a surprise considering that I last changed it almost a year ago. A quick swap of the resin bed for a factory-made one, and things finally started to work...

3D Printing - Replacing The Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) Sheet

My twelve-month old FEP film is badly scratched, scuffed and starting to crack

Recently I've noticed that the number of failures with my trusty Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer have started to increase. In my experience during the past twelve months, this issue usually boils down to the "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin getting too cold (during late night sessions), the build plate being unlevel/overloaded (preventing the resin from flowing into the gaps between each exposure), or the models having insufficient supports.

The underside of my Resin Tank showing the wear and tear upon my FEP Sheet

However, the fact I was simply getting shapeless splodges where my miniatures should have been, especially when the figures were positioned close to the centre of my build plate, made me think it was probably down to my Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) Sheet finally 'giving up the ghost'. This non-stick transparent film stretches across the bottom of a 3D Printer's resin tank, and needs to be scratch-free so as to best ensure successful prints. It's replacement is arguably one of the scariest pieces of maintenance a user must carry out, so I thought some might appreciate a guide as to how I do it.

To begin with I simply wanted to ensure my current FEP sheet was as clean as possible so I could visually check it over for faults. To do this I used the Mars 3 Pro tank clean function to create a thin film of cured resin on the bottom of my resin tank and then simply peeled it off. This operation not only showed that the FEP was so badly scratched in places that they had created non-transparent, smudge-covered areas. But that the plastic was actually cracking in places too. These faults didn't come as much of a surprise though, as it's probably been close to a year since I last changed it - having really struggled to complete the task the first time round.

My Resin Vat with its four large corner screws removed

With my mind made up I unfastened my resin vat and set about freeing the FEP film from its bottom by removing the four large screws which sit in the rectangular-shaped tank's corners. I currently use a sheet from the "Elegoo" Five Piece Release Liner Film PFA for the Mars Series LCD 3D Printer as it can supposedly last up to "50% longer than the regular version of release film." I don't know about that, but this last piece has been merrily mullered over the last twelve months without too many woes so definitely has stood the test of time.

My Resin Vat with its ten medium-sized screws removed

I also utilise a set of hex screwdrivers by "Engineer", which come in the required sizes of 2mm, 2.5mm and 3mm. In addition, the kit contains a useful 1.5mm head too, which is great for piercing the new FEP whenever a screw struggles to penetrate its surface. These are so much better than the Allen keys which come with the 3D printer, and make disassembling/reassembling the resin vat so much easier - albeit I do like to still use the Allen Keys at the end to really tighten up screws.

With the four main screws sorted, it's time to remove the ten (slightly smaller) screws which fix the squash in place. This should then allow you to completely remove the FEP sheet and its two-piece metal frame from the bottom of the resin tank, before tackling the fourteen (even smaller) screws keeping the structure together. Once this has been completed you can now separate the film from its mounting and replace it with a fresh one.

My FEP Film after I've removed the fourteen small screws and separated the Squash.

Peel the protective film off of the new FEP sheet and place it over the squash allowing a little 'give' in the tension. This 'give' has caused some considerable consternation in the past as "Elegoo" themselves recommend deploying a 50x35x5mm piece of foam underneath the FEP film - a clearly useful item which doesn't come supplied with the 3D printer. I however, simply use 32 playing cards as my spacer, having picked up the tip from a fellow hobbyist. Whatever you use, ensure the FEP sheet is carefully placed between the two-piece metal frame and fasten the smallest screws back in position.

My new FEP Sheet being screwed in place over my 'spacer' and then cut to size

This is where the aforementioned 1.5mm hex head I bought can come in useful, as you're twisting the screws straight through the FEP film - something which is almost impossible to accomplish if you're just using the Allen keys supplied. So whenever I struggle, I just pop the 1.5mm hex head through the hole first and then fasten the screw. With the fourteen screws now in place, it's time to carefully trim the excess FEP sheet flat against the frame with a sharp modelling knife.

Next up is to attach the entire squash back to the bottom of the resin tank using the ten medium-sized screws. This is probably the most dangerous part of the process as sometimes I find the screwdriver can occasionally fail to push the screw straight through the FEP and resultantly its head will flail towards the pristinely taut sheet threatening to pierce or badly scratch it before you've even printed a single miniature. This part does produce a highly satisfying popping sound though, whenever a screw successfully penetrates the sheet. Lastly, fix the four corner screws back in position and the resin tank is once again fully assembled and ready to be filled for 3D printing.

3D Printing - "Wargames Atlantic" Tribe

"Wargames Atlantic" WIPs - Three of the six N’Glonhgk Infantry currently being worked on

All of these miniatures were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Wargames Atlantic" on "MyMiniFactory" under their "Atlantic Digital" umbrella. The figures are all from the company's "WW2 US Navy Landing Party", "Death Fields N’Glonhgk Infantry" and "82nd Airborne" releases.

To be honest, this is only the second Tribe on "MyMiniFactory" which I've ever followed, the other being a short-lived tenure with "Eli3D", and initially, I wasn't all that convinced by the rather range specific selection of extra heads, conversion parts and farm animals on offer. However, these somewhat haphazard objects were just the manufacturer getting started, and these days I actually regret not joining their subscription service sooner as I now need to purchase their excellent-looking Napoleonic Russians in Greatcoats, Victorian Policemen and German Treasure Hunters separately - amongst many other older sets.

"Wargames Atlantic" WIPs - These 82nd Airborne were all printed as single-piece figures

The N’Glonhgk Infantry are probably my favourite of their releases so far, and are actually the digital files which first made me decide to financially support their content. I don't admittedly own any of the Death Fields plastic kits, nor necessarily intend to in the future. But there was something about the frog-faced extra-terrestrials which cried out to me to buy them, and having recently acquired a copy of "Xenos Rampant" by "Osprey Publishing", I thought the bulky aliens would make for a marvellous science-fiction skirmish force à la "Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars!"

The number of poses possible from this kit is impressively diverse, with the STLs containing five torsos, numerous heads, eight different weapon-carrying hand/arms and a variety of open-handed left limbs too. Furthermore, one of the beauties of 3D printing is that the figures can simply be 'mirrored' in "Chitubox" to essentially double the possibilities. Assembly was also very easy for my squad of intergalactic amphibians, with the various pieces of "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin forming a stunningly solid bond with one another when adhered using superglue.

"Wargames Atlantic" WIPs - The join of the heads to neck seemingly creates each model's hairline

Perhaps the most modeller-friendly set I've so far encountered though, are the miniatures from the 82nd Airborne Division, which have an option of being produced as a small team of single-piece soldiers. Obviously, even with a bit of pre-processing software jiggery-pokery this does mean the poses are pretty limited. However, it has meant that I've been able to print, base and prime a handful of "All-Americans" in quick succession - potentially as opposition to a Weird War Two invasion by the N’Glonhgk.

Lastly, I've taken the time to assemble and undercoat a group of sailors from the WW2 US Navy Landing Party kit. These figures come with the option of already being stood on puddles; something which makes basing them an absolute joy, and are presented with an array of M1-Garande rifle-carrying poses. I was a bit disappointed that there is no option to readily print the miniatures with the heads already in place upon the shoulders. But I suppose it does provide that additional variety option I've already harped on about, and means that later on I may well be able to add some helmets to the landing party too...

3D Printing - Day Five - Trying To Replicate 3D Printing Services

"Splunjohnny" WIPs - Barnabas Collins, a Cyberman and a Judoon

These miniatures were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as unsupported STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from Splunjohnny on "Cults". These sculpts are clearly inspired by various famous television and film franchises and are all created in 100mm scale.

This range is actually one of the main motivators for my purchasing a machine as I had previously been using a 3D Printing Service to produce the models for my tabletop gaming, and up until quite recently I had been extremely happy with their "high resolution" figures. However, much of this satisfaction stemmed from me believing several myths concerning home printing, such as the nauseating smell given off by resin, the nastiness of Isopropyl Alcohol, the financial outlay for a 3D printer, and the enormous effort required to calibrate a device so you can actually achieve a successful print (e.g. exposure settings, curing times and supports).

"Chitubox" Basic easily provides the rafts and supports for all the figures on the build plate

Having invested some hours watching numerous videos on "YouTube" I soon discovered that whilst "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin has a strong, pungent odour, as long as you're wearing a face mask in a well-ventilated area, its effects are minimal. Indeed, my initial thoughts around potentially needing some sort of thermo-nuclear chemical suit swiftly evaporated. Furthermore, there is plenty of advice out there to help a novice get the best from their printer's settings, with "Chitubox" Basic arguably doing the vast percentage of this heavy lifting with just a few clicks of the mouse - at least for me.

Furthermore, despite the definite monetary commitment needed upfront, I quickly realised that no matter how pleased I was with the end result, paying a tenner for each "4k resolution" (plus postage) would quickly add up and surpass the cost of a lower-end 3D printer like the Mars 3 Pro (as well as an "Elegoo" Mercury Plus 2.0 Wash and Curing Machine). True, at the time I also thought I was getting additional value as the service was (in my mind at least) employing some serious time-consuming witchcraft by adding numerous intricate supports to the miniatures and slicing them, as well as reducing their size to 40mm scale.

A size comparison between a 40mm scale 4D Printer Service Terminator (Orange) and mine (Grey)

Disconcertingly however, I have encountered one sticking point since stopping using a 3D printing service, and that has been trying to perfectly match the reduction size they employed whilst shrinking my STL files down from 100mm t0 40mm. Initially, I had simply expected the miniatures to have shrunk by 60%, but that is most definitely not the case.

Indeed, the actual figure appears to be around the 48% mark, with the heights of some previously printed models requiring a little more or less according to my ham-fisted measurements. This difference is debatably not noticeable from a distance on the tabletop, yet it does grate upon my obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) somewhat when I want to add reinforcements to already pigmented forces. Resultantly, I might 'ramp up' future prints to the 48.20% bar to see how that pans out...

This posting and many others can now be viewed on the main "Fantorical" website.

3D Printing - Day Four - "Artisan Guild" And "Age Of Fantasy: Skirmish"

"Artisan Guild" WIPs - Gaki Yhimotto, an Apprentice Arcanist, and Gyros Shipwrecker 

These miniatures were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Artisan Guild" on "MyMiniFactory". The figures are from the sculpting team's "Arcanist's Guild" and "Golemmar Gnomes" releases, as well as their "Patreon" (free) Welcome Box Bundle - Troubles In Taverns.

I decided to support this particular wargaming content creator because I already owned a number of their very characterful (some might say 'cartoony') miniatures, having previously bought them from a licensed merchant over on "Etsy". One of main motivators for buying a 3D printer was to stop me from paying others to produce the figures I wanted and having calculated what it would cost to just purchase the six Apprentice Arcanists as physical products, it was clear I'd be forking out more than an entire bottle of "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin - from which I could print approximately ten times their number.

Packing a build plate with Golemmar Gnomes and Depth Diggers. But doing the Giant Clay Golem on its own

In addition, I thought the company's range of models would really suit the Age Of Fantasy: Skirmish ruleset by "One Page Rules". I've had my eye on this PDF for quite some time, having been completely bamboozled by the latest incarcerations of Age of Sigmar by "Games Workshop", and resultantly would highly recommend supporting them on Patreon at their Tier 2 Miniature Collector.

Not only does this membership level grant you access to an astonishing number of STL files (currently covering Lust Daemons, Ratmen and dinosaur-riding space lizards), but it also provides you with digital copies of all their different rulesets. Furthermore, "One Page Rules" have a super-handy Army Forge builder which quickly enabled me to compile a 250-point Halfling force - or rather a Gnome mining party using a combination of the figures I received from "Artisan Guild".

"Artisan Guild" WIPs - Two Depth Diggers and a (troublesome) Orc War Shrine

Printing off my miners, their beasts of burden, and colossal golem was very straightforward, as all the miniatures come supplied with pre-supports. As a result, I initially thought it was simply a case of packing my build plate with as much stuff as I could and (im)patiently waiting until my Mars 3 Pro had done its magic.

Overall, this factory-line like approach served me well. But I did encounter some problems when tackling the large pieces of scenery provided with each release. As with the figures, these sculpts came pre-supported. However, I found the supports unable to resist the pull of my resin tank's FEP once the print was approximately a third of the way through, and this caused repeated failures. In the end I only successfully printed out the terrain when it was laid flat upon the build plate, and "Chitubox" Basic had provided it with sturdier supports.

3D Printing - Day Three - Patreon And "Cyber-Forge Miniatures"

Three Star Force crewmembers with separate heads by "Cyber-Forge Miniatures" 

These miniatures were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Cyber-Forge Miniatures" on "MyMiniFactory". The figures, heavily influenced by Gene Roddenberry's American science fiction television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation", are from the sculpting team's "Titan City Stories" range and were part of a much larger monthly "Patreon" reward during October 2022.

Having previously used the "membership platform" to support wargaming content creators which I watch on "YouTube", I was already quite familiar with "Patreon" and its tier subscription system. As a result, I was able to quickly become a member of the "Cyber-Forge Miniatures” Page at its First Contact level and gain immediate access to all the relevant postings – including both a link to where the relevant STL files were housed, as well as the password protecting them.

The fully-supported Copernicus Shuttle by "Cyber-Forge Miniatures"

I then simply downloaded them all as a ZIP file onto my home computer and decompressed them using WinRAR. Delightfully, all of the models are supplied with supports (as well as without), so it really was just a case of plonking each model onto the build plate using "Chitubox" Basic and only stopping once I had run out of room. Each plate's worth of STL files were subsequently sliced and saved onto the USB stick which came free with my Mars 3 Pro as a CTB file.

Due to my love of "Star Trek" I really was like a 'kid in a candy shop' with these models, especially as "Titan Forge Miniatures" had given most of its Star Force crewmembers the option of several alternative heads - most notably one of Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker and Spock. These were actually the first multi-piece figures I had 3D printed, so I was rather surprised by how many supports each 'noggin' needed.

A Dahar Conversion booth, along with two single-piece Dahar by "Cyber-Forge Miniatures" 

In addition, the release also gave me the opportunity to print the rather large Copernicus Shuttle, which literally took up most of my machine's build plate. Indeed, being rather wary of the towering vessel's height, I soon decided to simply have my Mars 3 Pro focus its efforts solely upon it - rather than surround it with a handful of additional miniatures. This tactic seemingly worked, as overnight the printer successfully did its magic and provided me with an awesome-looking spacecraft.

Enthused and emboldened with this triumph, I then settled down to produce a couple of batches of Dahar robotic adversaries, and the Cybermen-like automatons’ impressive Mobile Conversion Unit. Admittedly, this tracked land vehicle took a while to print as due to its sheer size I was forced to produce its numerous components throughout the remainder of the day. But this did allow me to ‘squeeze’ in more Dahar figures on each build plate, as well as decide that I preferred the ominous contraption to carry two fully converted androids, rather than have it transporting a hapless victim in mid-transition…

3D Printing - Day Two - Unsuccessful Scaling And Supports

A 28mm resin print of a Monk Hero by "Titan Forge Miniatures" with supports by "Chitubox" Basic

These various miniatures were 3D printed using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Titan Forge Miniatures" and "SplunJohnny" on "Cults" respectively. The Monk Hero is actually one of several free models which come in a digital Welcome Pack once you have subscribed to the "Polish based sculpting/casting/inspired-and-head-blown" company's Patreon service. Whilst the "Doctor Who" figures can be bought individually.

None of the figures came supplied with any supports (or at least I didn't spot the supported version of the Monk Hero until later on) so they all gave me a chance to apply my own supports to each miniature using "Chitubox" Basic.  In addition, I wanted to see how the programme's scaling feature worked, so set about shrinking my Doctor Who STLs down from 100mm to 15mm in height simply by reducing them to 15% of their original size.

Rescaled 15mm resin test prints of Leela, the Seventh Doctor, a Zygon and the Kandy Man

This all seemed to work out quite well initially, as "Chitubox" has a handy little feature which automatically provides sculpts with supports with just a click of a button. All you have to do is decide whether you want Light, Medium or Heavy supports - the bulkier being more stable during the printing process, but potentially harder to subsequently remove without damaging the model once it's been printed. Furthermore, there is an option to place the base of each STL hard down on the actual plate of the printer, so the figure is literally built from the feet up.

Such a technique clearly gives the build plate plenty of grip on the miniature straight from the start. However, as its initial layers are 'overcured' so as to ensure a secure bond, the bottom of the model might not be as flat as a person might want and suffer from 'Elephant's Foot' - which is why so many companies who produce STLs provide the bases as pre-supported files which sit at an angle well away from the actual build plate's surface.

A 100mm tall STL of the Sixth Doctor shrunk to 15mm and supported through "Chitubox" Basic

As a result, I decided to have three of my diminutive "Doctor Who" figures 'floating' on supports, and the other half sat snugly on the build plate with just a few additional supports keeping their arms etc in place. Approximately three hours later I discovered the error of my ways and realised that when 3D printing anything quite so fragile as 15mm some seriously numerous supports are probably needed if the miniatures' bases aren't placed flat on the build plate. Sadly, this meant both the Sixth Doctor and poor Ace never saw the light of day and were turned into blobs of hardened resin stuck firmly on the bottom of my resin tank.

Of course, such a minor catastrophe did mean I now needed to quickly learn how to clean the tank of my printer, so understandably I immediately turned to the company's official "Elegoo Mars: How to clean the resin vat after printing" video on YouTube. However, after a quick scan of its comments revealed this was not the way to do it (unless you wanted to potentially badly damage the FEP), I simply emptied the tank and followed the extremely sage advice of 'pushing lightly underneath the transparent film where any solid resin was stuck" and delightfully watched them "come off easily without scraping." In addition, I also learnt that the paper funnels supplied with the machine allow the resin to flow straight through the entire cone, not just the 'filter' at its bottom - which resulted in almost an entire tank of resin accidentally spilling all over the table and floor...

3D Printing - Day One - The Rook

Two Rooks - 3D Printed to test out my Mars 3 Pro's calibrations

These two 50mm tall Rooks were 3D printed using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer. The STL (Standard Triangle Language) file for the two models actually comes on a USB memory stick which is included with the machine and is used to test out the levelling of the build platform with the 4K LCD screen.

The figures took a little under three hours to print and were then cleaned/hardened in an "Elegoo" Mercury Plus 2.0 Wash and Curing Machine. This was the very first time I had ever done anything like this before, and success was achieved within just four hours of opening the 3D printer's box. The instructions for both devices are excellent, however, I actually closely followed the Elegoo Mars 3 - 4K 3D Printer - Unbox & Setup video on "YouTube" by Just Vlad.

Chitubox Basic Virtual Build Plate - Covered in a combination of 15mm and 28mm miniatures

This thirty-eight-minute tutorial was perfect for helping me assemble my Mars 3 Pro, levelling it and then using the equipment to make my first print. Admittedly, due to the video being a year-old, I did need to refer to the instruction booklets from time-to-time. But this was largely due to my Mercury Plus 2.0 having a dual Washing Mode Curing Box as opposed to being two separate machines. I also repeatedly watched/re-winded the 'seminar' on several occasions during the process - as well as a couple of times before I even bought my 3D printer.

From a lesson/s learnt perspective I am very pleased I went with the water washable resin as it meant I didn't need to worry about isopropyl alcohol getting everywhere and could simply fill my bath with ordinary tap water (plus a little washing up liquid). I did though make the mistake of placing the models in the curing machine before they were totally dry (as being hollow they trapped some of the water), and that resulted in their bases turning a disconcerting white - as opposed to a pleasant light grey.

Chitubox Basic Virtual Build Plate - Covered in a combination of 15mm and 28mm miniatures

With my first ever 3D prints finished (or at least in the Mercury Plus 2.0) I decided to throw caution somewhat to the wind and try my hand at producing my own CTB file using the "professional 3D printing pre-processing software" called "Chitubox" Basic. I really wanted to see what my Mars 3 Pro could do, so simply dropped a free 28mm Hero Monk STL by "Titan Forge Miniatures" into the mix, along with some of the "Doctor Who" STLs I've previously had "Encounter Terrain" print for me - albeit this time I reduced them to just 15mm scale rather than 40mm.

I really found "Chitubox" incredibly intuitive when it came to positioning my miniatures across the virtual build plate, scaling the digital sculpts down, and even placing supports for all my figures to better ensure a successful print. Indeed, the programme comes with an auto-support function which took care of the bulk of the work. The only problem I did encounter was when I tried to save the file to the USB stick, as it was repeatedly ignored by the Mars 3 Pro - until I spotted I had to tell the programme which printer I was using so it could better calibrate the slices and incorporate the relevant exposure settings into the saved CTB file. Once this was done, the printer immediately recognised the file and it was simply a matter of pressing print on the display...