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Best Way to Get Miniature 3D Printing Files (D&D, Warhammer)

So you got yourself a sweet resin printer and now you are ready to print some miniatures for Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer or your favourite skirmish game. The problem is: you do not have any files to print!

In this article, I go through how to get some good miniature 3D printing files. I explain what you should avoid and what you should look for and I tell you the best place to acquire miniature 3D printing files for your specific needs and use case.

Note: I am not sponsored or affiliated with any of the sites or creators mentioned in this post. I am merely a person that use those services and these are my opinions on what is best.

Places where you can get miniature 3D printing files

So there are quite a few options when it comes to getting your hands on miniature 3D printing files. The files are either free, something you buy on-demand, part of a subscription model, or part of a Kickstarter bulk deal.

The sites and places where you will get the files will be via the following types:

  • A Patreon subscription where you pay each month to receive a batch of miniature 3D printing files.
  • Websites where a specific company are selling their miniature 3D printing files
  • Platforms where you can buy files from various companies and sculptors.
  • Kickstarters where you buy a big bundle of 3D files.

Each method of acquiring miniature 3D printing files has various benefits and drawbacks. What works best for you depends on your use case. If you have no idea what to print, check out this page with 3D printer project ideas.

This is how I get my miniature 3D printing files:

  • I am a subscriber of various monthly Patreons. I have picked those subscriptions because they provide the style of sculpts that I like and because they give me a steady stream of miniatures of a qualitry I know I can trust each month. Sometimes the theme of the miniatures of the month is not to my liking – then I can either pause my sub or just stick with regardless. The amount of miniatures you get via these subscribtions is high and the cost is low. They are often very good quality.
  • At times I might have a specific need for a miniature for say my Dungeons and Dragons party. I will go to one of the platforms and search for the miniature I need and buy that specific file. It can also happen that I find a free one I like, but it is quite rare.
  • At times I will also invest in a Kickstarter what types ofr miniatures I like. As an example I have done that with the Titan Forge Miniatures Kickstarters and the Kickstarter for Hagglethorn Hollow to get some good terrain. These Kickstarters are most of the time a good bargain, but in most cases you will need to wait to recieve your files. But it can be a good way of building up a quick library of files for printing.

The type of miniature 3d printing files you need and the quality of the files

So what you are looking for are STL files that you can print on your printer (preferably a high-quality resin printer). If you do now know what else to do, our beginner’s guide to 3D printing miniatures will likely help you out a ton.

Get 3d printing files with supports ready made

If you want to make it as easy as possible on yourself, you should get miniature 3D printing files that come with “supports” already made in the file. The supports are there to make sure the print goes smoothly and nothing breaks off. If supports are not made for you, you will have to make them yourself. Not only is this time-consuming, but if something goes wrong with the print it might be the supports did you messed up (this leaves you with more things that can go wrong and more things you need to test to figure out the problem). I just hate doing supports, so I almost never buy files that are not pre-supported.

Bought vs free 3D printing files

You might have noticed in my description above that I rarely look for free files. There are two reasons for that:

  1. Free 3D files are often sculpted by amateurs that are just creating the 3D sculpt for fun or trying to get better. While this is cool, it also means that the finished result will most likely not look super good. With the sheer abundance of extremely good looking miniatures you can print, I think this is a bad option. For me, low quality sculpts leads to a poor painting experience.
  2. Free files will most likely not have supports on them when you get them. So while they are free, they are more time consuming to print.
  3. If you print big miniatures (think monsters) they are going to use up a lot of resin. If you buy premium 3D printing files they will most likely hollow the model for you, making you save quite a bit of resin and money in the long run.

There are of course exceptions to the rule. As an example, these 3D printing files for Dungeons and Dragons miniatures are free and super awesome!

Good Patreons for getting miniature 3D printing files

Patreon is my favorite way of getting my miniature files. I just love that steady stream of miniatures each month and it forces me to paint types of models I would never otherwise have touched. Below are some of my current favorite Patreons. This is by no means an exhaustive list (just go search on Patreon yourself).

All Patreons below do it in sort of the same way: each month you are a member you get access to a new batch of 3D printing files in a particular theme. If you want something from the old months, most of them sell it via Myminifactory (usually at a discount for Patreons). Most Patreons will also have some sort of welcome package with minis in it. It is possible to see, from the Patreons open posts, what the miniatures for the current month is.

Totally not a Stormcast EternalA Stormcast Eternal from age of Sigmar

I have on purpose not included any Patreons that borders way too close on any copyright infringement stuff. The images above are an example of what I would consider cutting it way close to stealing from an IP (the one is a Patreon selling his files the other is a Stormcast Eternal from GW).

If you just want a big old list of a lot of creators / studios making 3D printing files: this list is great!

Titan Forge Miniatures August 2020 release

Titan Forge Miniatures

Titan Forge Miniatures are by far my favorite Patreon for my miniature 3D files need. I recently went through my collection of files and I can see that I own every one they have made (Patreon and Kickstarter).

For me, they make a perfect combination of miniatures. I really like their style of sculpts. Some say they are bit blocky or bland, but I guess I just like them!

Titan Forge Miniatures September 2021 release

Each month they have a theme and the miniatures are made with that theme in mind. You get terrain and miniatures in that theme + a few heroes for use in say Dungeons and Dragons. I use them for making warbands for skirmish games, for DnD miniatures, and even to add units for my Warhammer armies.

For me, it is a good combination of big miniatures and smaller miniatures, monsters, and humonaids. They do not do busts, so if that is a must you are better off looking elsewhere.

Welcome package included.

Some of my favorite months of Titan Forge have been the Vampires and The Tavern (see images)

Titan Forge Miniatures May 2020 release

Titan Forge Miniatures Patreon

Titan Forge Miniatures Myminifactory shop

Artisan Guild release

Artisan Guild

Artisan Guild produces some very high-quality miniatures and their Patreon is super popular. For me, I only sub when it is something I really like. Each month is less diverse in what models you get, as it is very much the same style of the model with different weapons and loadouts.

Each release they do follow a specific pattern with 6 modular models, 4 special models (many times cavalry), 2 heroes, 1 boss or epic thing and some terrain.

They also have a welcome package.

Artisan Guild release

You can check out each month’s release via their Youtube Channel as well.

Artisan Guild Patreon

Artisan Guild Myminifactory shop

Archvillain Games

Archvillain Games is another super popular Patreon with monthly releases. These are a bit more grim dark and focus more heavily on monsters. If that is your jam, I can highly recommend them. They are perfect for a Dungeon Master trying to spruce up their collection with some nasty minis!

As is custom, they include a welcome package with minis. Also, as you can see from the images, they are very good at rendering the 3D files in a way so they look really good!

Archvillain Games Patreon

Archvillain Games Myminifactory shop

Punga Miniatures February 2021 release

Punga Miniatures

Punga Miniatures makes miniature 3D printing files designed for use in “Fantasy Football” (read: alternative teams for Blood Bowl). Some of the miniatures I really like, others are a bit off. They are more hit and miss, so this is a subscription I have on and off depending on the teams coming out. They mostly split the teams they release up in several different parts, so to get everything for a team you might need to sub for 2-3 months (but there are a lot of extra for the team you get).

Punga Miniatures November 2021 release

If you are into Blood Bowl, this is definitely a way of getting good alternative models or Big Guy models that are not from games workshop.

Punga Miniatures Patreon

Punga Miniatures Myminifactory shop

Platforms / Sites where you can buy or find free miniature 3D printing files

There are a lot of platforms where various creators can sell their files or give them away for free. These are the ones you should know about if you are into miniature printing.

Myminifactory

Myminifactory is my favorite platform for buying single miniatures. Creators set up a shop and you can buy from all of them via one site and login. Most of the big Patreons are also on there selling their miniatures (and if you are a Patreon you can get a huge discount on earlier releases). The common theme here is high-quality bought miniatures. Compared to the other platforms, Myminfactory really caters for the miniature side of things (so not a lot of weird other 3D printing stuff).

It is a good place to discover new creators because you can more easily see all of the miniatures they have made. There are also frequent sales from various stores.

One of the greatest things is that the things you buy are connected with your user, so it gets easy to figure out what files you have and find the one you are looking for (or just browsing your own collection once you get a huge list of files). Some Patreons have also connected their monthly sub, so you also get access to the miniatures on Myminifactor (which is a blessing if you forget to download them before the month ends).

You can also join the “Tribe” of a particular store. Most of the time this works in the same way as joining a Patreon. Because I am used to using Patreon for other things, I have not tried the tribe method.

If you buy a lot of stuff via Myminifactory, they also have a subscription program. For me, it looks kinda weird, as it only gives access to buying 3D printing stuff cheaper.

They also have an app, but it seems worse than just using a browser (you cannot buy things in the app as an example).

Thingiverse

Thingiverse is one of those sites: you either hate or love it and most people will mention it when they talk about 3D printing. The good thing is that everything on there is free. But it has a lot of stuff and most of it is not aimed at making good-looking miniatures. But you can find some gems on there, especially if you have a plastic printer as well. Not a place I would recommend you start, but once you get the hang of things (and can do manual supports), you can get some cool free stuff here.

Gambody site (maybe a biiit close to original models?)

Gambody

Gambody is a bit like Myminifactory, but the miniatures are less me style so have not used it much. The minis are all super high quality, so if that is your jam you can find some awesome things on there. Looking over some of the minis you will definitely see some that infringe on copyright (hello Space Marines), see yeah now you are warned. Most miniatures cost quite a lot on there, so definitely not a cheap option.

Cults3D

Cults3D is yet another platform for free and paid files. There is quite a lot of trademark and IP infringement on there, so if that is your thing it is likely one of the good places for you.

Pinshape

Pinshape does not have a lot of the things I am looking for, but it has some good ones. Not super miniature focused.

3DWargaming

If you are not into fantasy or sci-fi stuff, 3DWargaming might be your jam. The historical miniature aspect is not something we spend a lot of time on here on the site, but that is mainly because none of us actually play it.

Hero Forge

Hero Forge is a slightly different beast. You make custom miniatures that they can ship to you or that you can print Hero Forge miniatures yourself.

Wargame Vault

Wargame Vault is great if you are into historic wargaming.

Thingiverse

Thingiverse is the place your grandparents know you can get free 3D printing files. Mostly for FDM printers and not a lot of mini specific things. A lot of free stuff, but beware of super crappy files.

Thangs

Thangs is an agregrated search thing, where it find files from other websites. Pretty neat.

Websites where you can buy miniature 3D printing files

Loot Studios February 2022

Loot Studios

Loot Studious do a “Patreon like” subscription service, but just through their own website. That has some pros and cons, but I tend to subscribe on the months when I think there is something good. The price is a bit higher than other subs, but the quality is also a bit higher. Can totally recommend them, really like what they do.

The minis come in a small scale and a big scale and the big miniatures are hollowed out beforehand (saving you resin).

Printable Scenery

I have bought a few things in the past from Printable Scenery on backed some of their Kickstarters. I think the sculpts are awesome and they have a host of different designs. I think the price is a bit on step site, so I always buy from them in bulk or via a discount.

Waylayer

Waylayers sells sci-fi wargaming terrain. Not my thing right now, so I have not tried them

Storing and managing your 3D printing miniature files

So I just took a look at my folder with all 3D printing files. At is closing in on 300GB and I actually think I have quite a small collection. 3D printing files can be huge and once you get a lot it can be hard to manage. So from the start, you need some sort of system or else you can quickly get in trouble ( I know i messed up and lost a lot of files).

You need a system my friend!

A way of storing all your files

So most places will just let you download the files and store them however you want. While that is cool, it also means that they are not storing them for you. This is the case with most Patreons – which also means that you need to make sure you download the files for the month or they might be lost to you forever. Also, if you lose your files they are lost.

At first, I just uploaded my files to google drive or whatever. It quickly become clear that I needed way more space than any clod service could provide for a good price.

So right now I have settled for the following option (which works out great):

  1. Store it on a big hard drive (speed is not that important here, but size is) on my pc. I have a solid folder structure with a lot sub-folders for each Patreon, the month and so on. Should be easy to find what you need when you need it.
  2. Do a backup of computer with Backblaze (as I also create content it is the best way to backup A LOT of data). Backing up unlimited amounts of data is the key here.
  3. Do manual backup once in a while and store it on a big external harddrive and store that drive somewhere safe.

A way of knowing what miniatures you have acces to via files

So one thing is to have a good system in place for storing the files, another thing is to browse the files. I find it best to have images of all the files I own, preferably rendered in a nice way (the ones you get from the Patreon subs are very ideal). Right now I store mine in Google Photos, just because it is easy to browse every miniature I can print and I can easily send a link to the images if I need to share it with someone else.

Other great resources:
  • 3D printing miniatures guide
  • Best 3D printer for miniatures
  • Mars 3 Pro Review

3D printer models

Looking for 3D printer models? The Internet is filled with sites that offer them for free. We have collected the TOP 10 catalogs that you can use to search and download free models in STL format. We hope you can find what you are looking for.

  1. Yeggi
  2. Yobi 3D
  3. STLfinder

→ myminifactory.com

My Mini Factory is a 3D model depository operated by iMakr, an online store that sells 3D printers and accessories. It also has one of the biggest 3D printer shops in Central London. The site contains 3D models designed by professionals, and all models stored on it are checked for quality. You can also make a request for the desired model, which their designers will create and put in the public domain. Billing itself as a 3D printing social network, MyMiniFactory is a thriving community of makers who love to showcase their creations. Users vote for the best models, which allows popular creations to rise to the top of the list and gain popularity. The site presents models that are stored on its social network, as well as outside it, for example, on the Thingiverse and YouMagine sites.

→ thingiverse.com

The most popular and famous site among 3D printer users, Thingiverse is owned by MakerBot Industries, the creator of the popular Replicator 3D printer series. The site allows users to store and share 3D model files that are used with 3D printers. It's a very popular site and has a large community of people hosting various categories of files on it. So if you're looking for "cool" printable stuff, Thingiverse is worth a visit. It is a portal designed to provide its users with ways to share their designs and to help print 3D creations. The site has a system that tries to find out what you like. The more you interact with the site, downloading and evaluating various developments, the better its recommendations will be.

→ 3dshook.com

Another online community for 3D printing hobbyists showcasing interesting 3D printer supplies, electronics, and most importantly, 3D models. The site contains many very interesting models of cars and buildings, as well as various add-ons and spare parts for your 3D printer. A huge catalog of paid and free models for a 3D printer. There are original unique products. Convenient search, navigation, rubricator. 3DShook has over 40 categories and adds over 100 new models to its collection every month. On 3DShook you can always find something for your home, animals, kids or something special for yourself.

→ youmagine.com

YouMagine catalog for Cube series consumer 3D printers manufactured by 3D Systems. The site mainly offers various ways to buy 3D printer supplies and files, but it also has a number of cool free items available, mostly in the Kids section. Some of these elements can be customized by children using an online application. The company offers 3D modeling and publishing tools on its website for both hobbyists and professionals. The site offers a content warehouse where the community hosts and shares models. Registration is required to download files.

→ 123dapp.com

Autodesk 123D is a suite of computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D modeling tools aimed specifically at hobbyists. Along with the toolkit, Autodesk also has a website where users can record their designs and share them with other users. Many of these models can be downloaded and printed using Autodesk as a utility to interface with the MakerBot 3D printer. The goal of the Autodesk website is to "help engineers build products faster." The site offers tools to help them collaborate on their files. For the casual 3D printing enthusiast, the best part of the site is the large library of free files created by a community of over a million engineers. Registration on the site is required, but the number of files that are then available is worth it.

→ cgtrader.com

Being primarily a place to buy and sell a variety of 3D models (not necessarily just those designed for 3D printers), CGTrader does offer a selection of free models that can be used on 3D printers. The site has a system that tries to find out what you like. The more you interact with the site, downloading and evaluating various developments, its recommendations will be better for the body.

→ cults3d.com

A French community and marketplace where developers can share or sell their creations. The site has a collection of high quality models that you can download. Users can follow the work of the designers they like and get instant updates when a new creation is posted on the site. The site's name, Cults, is a backwards spelling of St. Luc, the patron saint of artists. The site also supports English. This is a relatively new community, so the number of its users is not very large yet.

→ instructables.com

The Instructables website is a community where users can share their DIY projects. This also includes products obtained using 3D printers. The site also provides explanations and instructions describing how to build 3D elements, and some designers take the time to answer questions from site members. Instructables allows users to store and organize their 3D printing projects. This is done to help them work together in the future. You can think of this site as a GitHub 3D printing site where users can share their files, discuss projects, and participate in them. The site also offers the ability to make a request, so if you can't find what you're looking for, you can ask the site's community about it.

→ pinshape.com

Pinshape, a marketplace for 3D models, is similar in style (layout, look, and ability to capture likes) to the well-known site Pinterest. You can buy models from designers, or download them for printing yourself if they are offered for free. Pinshape allows users to host and share 3D model files on it. Basically, this site acts as an online store where you can buy 3D printed parts, or order your own 3D model to be printed. But if you look closely enough, you can find people who sell their products and also offer the files you need so you can print them yourself.

→ 3dfilemarket.com

A new and growing repository of 3D File Market models. All models are tested for suitability for 3D printing. You can download as many models as you like without registration, although you must provide your email address to access the 3D model files. This is a very simple site aimed at being a repository of model files for 3D printers, and nothing more. The basic design of the site allows users to put files on it for public access, and download files that they would like to use. The site contains many small, simple 3D models ready to be printed, as well as a good selection of everyday items and even spare parts for 3D printers.

Search engines for 3D models in various formats, including STL for a 3D printer. Use queries in English, these search services collect information about models from all over the Internet.

→ yeggi.com

Yeggi is a search engine that will browse major 3D printing sites to find files compatible with 3D printers. You can also browse some popular searches to get an idea of ​​what the community is currently interested in.

→ yobi3d.com

When in doubt, use yobi3D to search for files that match the desired 3D printer. This tool is useful if you want to search for one thing across all sites at once. A very convenient format filter, fast search, high-quality previews and stl models prepared for 3D printing for printing.

→ stlfinder.com

This is another STLfinder that surfs the web looking for 3D printing. To select files compatible with 3D printers, he goes through many 3D modeling sites.

My imagination is great, thank you very much, but if I'm going to play a game, I want to play it in the most immersive way possible.

This means small plastic miniatures. A lot of them.

In the past, I've used dry erase markers to map landscapes on a whiteboard, and even projected scenes from the underside of a frosted glass tabletop. But here's a new way to do it: 3D printing the physical details of the terrain. You can even 3D print miniatures if you don't have the perfect tentacle monster in your collection that the campaign finale requires. Or how about creating your own unique monsters that have never been seen before in any bestiary?

Not dungeons and dragons? Check out these other 3D printable games instead of

!

Before you start printing a bunch of thumbnails, it's important to set your expectations accordingly . Realize that the power of 3D printing is not to produce hundreds of detailed models like a production line. Rather, it's that you can print custom one-offs that aren't commercially available, or even create your own.

Print quality you can get on a consumer 3D printer

is not exactly what you would get from something that was commercially injection molded. But it can be a lot cheaper: filaments per model for about $0.10 or $0.20 and you get to choose the color!

Also worth noting, counterintuitively, larger thumbnails are usually easier to print than . Tiny little tieflings with thin waffle legs can be frustrating and result in spaghetti on your printed bed, but a gelatin cube that can envelop players in toxic green translucent PLA is likely to be successful.

3D Print Gelatin Cube by Fat Dragon Games

Build Your Own Mini with Oculus Medium

One of the exciting uses of VR with trackable hand controllers is the creative freedom to paint and sculpt in 3D. In this video, Make demonstrates how to sculpt an octopus and then print it out. Skip to 6:26 for the final product:

Lacking the ability to start building from scratch? No problem! There is a growing archive of medium sculptures to download, so you can simply import existing designs and then customize them by adding tentacles to everything. There can never be enough tentacle monsters.

Gravity Sketch is another great option. The VR open beta is now available and can be used with both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. (Go to 12:00 for incredible print results.)

No VR equipment? Lucky you! Any Windows 10 user now has access to Microsoft 3D Builder, which can print directly to many popular 3D printers. While this option is handy, it's not the only 3D modeling tool for beginners.0003

there

Download some mini

Not a creative type? Me neither. Don't worry, there are thousands of free patterns you can download and print.

Monster Manual A – Z (200+ Minis)

Manuel is a talented modeler who decided to look through the monster manual and model what he found using Blender, a popular free modeling program. These are 200 monsters that you can download and print for free. They're available from Shapeways, so grab them while you can. You will need a free account.

3D Printable Dungeon Dragons

What's great is that some of them are epic, large models that you would only find randomly in official figure sets. (Although, of course, if you buy the official kits, you'll get much better pre-painted mini models.)

What's another $50 for decent models? There is also a free sample pack if you want to get an idea of ​​the quality of the models before purchasing.

Fat Dragon Games advise that self-printing models will cost just under $0.50 each.

OpenForge system (free)

The OpenForge kit is simpler than DragonLock, and the current parts archive does not include any inter-part locking system. But this set is completely free, and there is a huge selection of items available - not just dungeons!

If you like these sets, consider supporting the designer on Patreon. For $1/month you will get access to the basic design files from which all elements are made, or for $2/month you will be given the right to vote on future designs.

Rampage with OpenLOCK

From PrintableScenery comes Rampage, a modular lockable system similar to Dragonlock but built on an open source connector. The Rampage designs themselves are not free and have just come out of crowdfunding, so they are still under development. However, keep an eye on them (base files are available from Thingiverse). If you feel like creating a few non-standard interrelated elements, you can give it a try - and expect to see other projects in the future.

OpenForge has also started supporting the OpenLOCK system for use with their landscapes. Note that OpenForge uses a very slightly different dimension, with 50mm tiles compared to 2" tiles from PrintableScenery. However, the difference is only 0.8 mm and is within even standard print error tolerances, so they must be compatible.

It's also worth noting that the Rampage system has removable walls, which gets around the problem TrueTiles (below) is trying to solve by increasing all dimensions. Of course, this complicates the design a little and means that you need to use intermediate elements instead of two-inch squares.

Our advice: choose a single system and stick to it.

Heros Hoard: TrueTiles (from $9)

The premise of TrueTiles is that other tile systems are broken because walls take up most of the area and minis don't fit. To create maps with a common wall, one part of the design is compromised and ends up being smaller than intended. TrueTiles fixes this by scaling all tiles to 1.25 inches each instead of one inch. This design choice allows the mini to tile even when there is a wall. Also, wall height is limited, so models with extended brackets can still fit. Grab your pack here or download the sampler from DriveThruRPG.

DnD Hex Grid Props

Based on the Pocket Tactics hex grid, Albert decided to make a remix for use with Dungeons and Dragons. Who said DnD can't be played on hexes instead of squares?

It's a bit unconventional (maybe your game is playing in an alternate dimension?), but if you're going to use hex grids for other games anyway, then you might as well stick to one system and adapt the rules.

Learn more