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Best resin for 3d printing miniatures


7 Best Resins to Use for 3D Printed Miniatures (Minis) & Figurines – 3D Printerly

You want to 3D print some miniatures and figurines but are stuck on the many choices of 3D printer resins out there. If you are in a similar position, this article is for you. I went out to do some research after printing some miniatures, and wanted that top quality.

It can be pretty difficult, especially for beginners to identify what to look out for when it comes to getting that best resin to stick with.

This article will have 7 resins that I think are top level resins for miniatures, backed by many users, reviews, and a long-standing reputation of great quality.

At the end of the article, I’ll give some extra advice about curing to improve your resin printing game.

Alright, let’s get straight into the list.

Anycubic is probably one of the most known brands of resin in the 3D printing community, and one that I use all the time successfully. This one specifically though, is their Plant-Based Resin which comes with an ultra-low odor and high precision.

It is well-loved by thousands of users and is very easy to get the hang of.

It hasn’t become “Amazon’s Choice” for no reason.  Many reviews have been left to back up this resin’s reputation as one of the best for printing minis in terms of durability and flexibility.

One of the things that customers have loved about this resin is its low-odor. One person said that even though they were sensitive to resin smells, this Anycubic’s plant-based product didn’t even pose half an issue.

Moreover, it has been made using soybean oil which already means that it is an eco-friendly resin. The best part about this is your models will be pretty easy to clean, even with soap and water.

In addition, there are no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), BPA, or harmful chemicals involved so you have that added confidence. It complies with EN 71-3:2013 safety standards.

To talk about print quality, this resin does nothing but impress. Users that have tried and tested the Anycubic Plant-Based Resin say that their prints come out great, and doesn’t require use of a respirator to deal with the fumes.

Another good property is having a slight flex in the models.

Crisp details, smooth textures, and prints of reasonable overall quality are the standard of this resin. Also, it’s rare that you experience problems with adhesion to the build plate.

There are a wide array of colors available for you to choose from. The flexibility here has made several happy as they like to experiment with multiple variations.

Lastly, the color pigmentation on this resin is truly dazzling. Grey is definitely the most popular color so check out the link below to get it yourself.

Check out the Anycubic Plant-Based Resin on Amazon today.

AmeraLabs created a resin specifically for 3D printing tabletop gaming miniatures, giving properties and characteristics that give you great results.  It has features such as amazing flexibility, impact resistance and durability.

Tabletops that are 3D printed with non-flexible resins are a lot more likely to break since they don’t have a lot of flexural strength, so using something like the AmeraLabs TGM-7 Tabletop Gaming Resin is recommended.

Even though you have these great physical characteristics, you can still get amazing details and quality in your models.

Here are the features summarized:

  • Flexible and less breakage
  • Cures relatively fast
  • Low odor
  • Great details
  • Durable surface

One thing to keep in mind is how this resin isn’t resistant to moisture, so avoid using it for models that will be around liquids.

AmeraLabs have put together some base settings that you can get started with. One user mentioned how they used these settings on the website and their 3D prints came out really well. They appreciated the print quality, as well as the adhesion of the model.

You’ll likely clippers to remove the supports rather than popping them off your models since it is flexible and harder to break, depending on the angle of the supports.

Here are some 3D prints created from this resin.

If you want to finally 3D print tabletop gaming models without them breaking while still maintaining great quality, get yourself the TGM-7 Resin from Amazon.

Moving up on the list we have the fantastic Siraya Tech Blu. This resin has received its fair share of praise and has become the number one choice for many for printing mins.

It is a popular 3D printing resin that blends flexibility, strength, and detail in equal measure. For that higher quality, you’ll have to also pay a higher price tag, being the priciest resin on this last at $50 for a 1kg bottle.

When it comes to printing your miniatures, you’ll see great results, though it has many more applications that you can use it for.

It’s a great option for printing functional parts because the resin has excellent mechanical properties and can withstand forces without breaking so easily like other resins.

If you’re looking for tough parts that are also flexible to some degree, then you don’t have to look any further.

Many resins have everyone thinking that they are too brittle, and those needing strong, durable parts should probably rely on FDM printing and filaments.

Siraya Tech’s Blu Resin has deliberately changed that thinking thanks to its terrific mechanical properties and great impact resistance, making it the perfect fit if someone wants to print miniatures and gaming figures.

Many users have figured out that you can actually mix this with a cheaper resin and still benefit from the added strength properties.

Printing this resin by itself can be quite difficult as some users experienced, so I would recommend getting yourself some Siraya Tech Blu Clear V2 and mixing it with the Anycubic Plant Based Resin for a great combination of resins.

Not only that but this resin’s sheer toughness is also for those wanting to print more than just decorative models. Instead, you can 3D print cases and other useful objects too.

You may think this comes at the cost of really long curing times, but one user mentioned how curing times aren’t bad at all.

With this purchase, you’re getting nothing but a great quality resin that you can fall in love with.

Siraya Tech Blu compares pretty closely to the Elegoo ABS-like resin, but Blu incorporates just a little more detail in your 3D printed miniatures. The battle is still very well fought.

Get yourself the high strength Siraya Tech Blu Resin from Amazon today.

Fourth in this list for 3D printing miniatures is the Rapid 3D printer resin which has been developed and manufactured by Elegoo – a giant in the 3D printing industry.

This resin has received plenty of love on Amazon and all for the right reasons. For starters, it’s very cheap (costs about $30 for a bottle of 1 kg) and packs great quality for its price point.

When looking through many of the reviews of this resin, many mention just how low-odor this resin is. Loads of other resins out there have a pretty harsh smell, so you can avoid that by picking the right resin.

I’ve heard stories of pungent smells filling up whole houses, so I’d definitely make sure you get a resin with low odor like the Elegoo Rapid Resin from Amazon.

Another upside is the variation in color of the resins which is appreciated by most customers. The details look stunning when things are done right.

One user says that he likes to print using the gray color because it helps print imperfections stand out more clearly, thus making it easier to fix them with post-processing. Pretty neat to be honest.

The packaging is done properly with Elegoo resins so you don’t have to worry about your bottle of resin arriving broken or leaking. This is one of the reasons why you’ll be quite satisfied with your purchase.

This Elegoo resin has many good points:

  • Low shrinkage for accurate dimensions
  • High precision and details in miniatures
  • Fast curing times for speed
  • Good stability and durability of models
  • Bright and stunning colors that users love
  • Low odor so it doesn’t disturb your environment
  • Compatible with most SLA/DLP 3D printers
  • Shelf life of 1 year so no rush to use it all quickly

Get yourself some bottles of high quality Elegoo Rapid Resin at a great price from Amazon today.

Longer is an SLA 3D printer manufacturer that isn’t as popular as Anycubic or Elegoo, although they take pride in producing some top-level resin that several users enjoy on a daily basis.

Longer 3D printer resin is excellent for printing miniatures, especially gaming figures, as many customers say in reviews on Amazon.

Even though they make 3D printers and resin, you can definitely use their resin with any 405nm compatible resin 3D printer, which is most resin printersout there.

With this resin, you get accurate, precise prints with commendable stiffness and great impact resistance – something that’s sought after for miniatures and figures. You don’t want to 3D print miniatures with a resin that produces brittle, weak parts.

  • Low shrinkage
  • High precision
  • Fast curing
  • Easy to detach after finishing your prints
  • Leak-proof bottle
  • Great customer service

It’s easy to store, effortless to clean, produces prints with a fair amount of detail, and people have also commented on how easy it is to remove their models off the build plate when they’re finished.

Get the Longer Rapid Photopolymer Resin from Amazon for your resin 3D printer.

The sixth spot on this list belongs to another Elegoo product and this time, it’s the ABS-like resin that draws similar strength, flexibility, and resistance from the common FDM filament – ABS.

The ABS-like resin is a little on the pricier and would set you back for somewhere under $40 for a 1kg bottle. In addition to that, it’s got properties of a very luxurious resin such as ultra-fast curing and top-of-the-line stability.

This resin has a wide range of applications so printing your favorite miniatures and figures should be a breeze.

Most reviews listed on Amazon say that if someone is looking for only printing minis with the ABS-like resin, then they should look no further. Words like these from current customers say a lot about the resin quality.

As previously mentioned, it’s commonplace to find resins with a pungent and irritating smell. However, with the ABS-like resin, customers have approved of its odorless characteristic.

If you want to expand your printing capabilities to tougher parts, that is also possible with this resin.

The manufacturer was aware of how some parts require durability so they made sure that ABS-like resin was less brittle and possessed higher levels of durability.

One user said that he had tried many other resins as well, but none performed as well as the ABS-like resin right out of the box. A commendable quality, to say the least.

It’s pretty easy to clean up afterward too.

You can sometimes get a discount on Amazon if you buy multiple bottles, so check out whether that deal is still on by clicking below.

Pick up some Elegoo ABS-Like Rapid Resin from Amazon today.

One of the highest-rated resins on Amazon with a solid 5-star rating as well, Siraya Tech Fast is a must-have for miniature enthusiasts out there.

A critically acclaimed thing about this resin that people have reviewed is the combination of affordability and immense quality. For 1kg of Siraya Tech Resin, you’re looking at a price around $30, which is very competitive.

A summary of what makes this a great resin:

  • Fast Printing
  • Not Brittle
  • Easy to Clean and Cure
  • Not Smelly
  • Great Surface Finish

A user said that he wanted to make miniatures that wouldn’t break easily if they happened to drop, especially if the model consisted of even weaker parts like swords, shields, arrows, or anything else.

This particular person tried Elegoo and Anycubic as well but to no avail sadly. Then, he stumbled on the resin in question and it was a blessing in disguise.

This goes on to show that the Siraya Tech Fast isn’t brittle, as the stereotype with resins goes by. Instead, it’s a strong material that can genuinely hold its ground.

Even more so, it produces great details and has become its users’ go-to material for printing miniatures. Comparatively, it’s quite thinner than the Siraya Tech Blu, which attributes to easier cleanup.

If you are wondering why this resin is called fast, it’s because this resin has very quick curing times. While most resins take around 60-70 seconds for first layer exposure, the Siraya Tech takes just about 40 seconds in comparison.

This may not seem much, but it does add up over time.

Try not to over cure this resin though because it can lose its initial flexibility. 2 minutes under a good UV light can be enough, but do some testing just to make sure.

Get yourself some Siraya Tech Fast Curing Non-Brittle Resin from Amazon for your miniatures today.

How Long Do You Cure Resin Miniatures?

Miniatures require around 1-3 minutes of curing with a 40W UV curing station. It’s a good idea to move your resin 3D printed miniature on different sides so it can be cured all over. If you use a strong 60W UV light you can cure miniatures in just 1 minute, especially really small ones.

Typical curing times inside UV curing stations range from 5-6 minutes. If you feel upon touch that it’s not enough, hold it in for a few more minutes.

However, when it ultimately boils down to the curing part of post-processing resin miniatures, there are a few things you should know beforehand.

For starters, there is more than one way of curing your resin prints. To help explain what I mean, take a look at the following.

How Do You Cure Resin 3D Prints?

People use a UV curing station, a UV lamp with a turntable, an all-in-one machine or the natural sunlight to cure resin 3D prints. The most popular options are the UV lamp with the turntable and the all-in-one machines such as the Anycubic Wash & Cure.

Once your resin 3D prints have finished printing, you first have to wash the uncured resin around the print. Next you dry the print with either some paper towels or a fan then it’s ready for curing.

Simple direct a strong UV light at the print, preferably on a surface which rotates 360° for an even curing around your 3D prints. A UV lamp with a solar turntable is great for this, and doesn’t require a separate battery, using the UV light to power it.

The more professional solution is an all-in-one machine that washes and cures your 3D prints. These curing options will be explained with more detail below.

Curing Prints Using a UV Lamp

The method that I’m currently using for my resin prints is the UV lamp and solar turntable combination. It’s a cheap, effective and simple solution to curing your prints.

They both came as a package from Amazon for a great price compared to other solutions.

I can get 3D prints cured pretty quickly with the UV lamp, miniatures being only a few minutes under the 6W UV curing light.

You can find the UV Resin Curing Light with 360° Rotating Solar Turntable from Amazon for a great price.

Curing Prints Using a UV Station

If you want a curing solution that looks a little more professional and is easier to handle, you can get yourself an Elegoo Mercury Curing Machine.

Instead of needing two separate pieces, you can rest your miniature inside the UV station and it gets the curing job done nicely.

It consists of 14 UV LED lights through two LED strips, giving resin prints fast curing times.

The ideal things about a curing station are:

  • Provides a professional looking design
  • Contains an interior reflective sheet inside the cabinet
  • Has a light-driven turntable that absorbs the UV light
  • Intelligent time controls for your miniatures
  • The see-through window that lets you observe the process

You can adjust the time using the +/- buttons on the Elegoo Mercury, with a maximum time of 9 minutes and 30 seconds, but you won’t need anywhere near that for miniatures.

Curing Prints Using Sunlight

The prime source of UV rays that we all enjoy from time to time is sunlight. It turns out that you can even use direct sunlight to post-cure your resin miniatures easily and with equal effect.

It may, however, take considerably more time to do that. You can expect to require curing of around 5-15 minutes to achieve desirable results with your miniatures in direct sunlight.

If you notice your miniature is still pretty tacky and uncured, I’d let your miniature rest in the sun for a little longer. The UV rays from the sun aren’t necessarily strong just because it’s hot, since there are varying levels of UV emitted by the sun.

Using an All-in-One Machine

Last but not least, we have to look towards the real all-in-one solution that not only cures your miniature 3D prints, but assists you with the washing process also.

I think we can all appreciate something that doubles up in one machine to help finish the whole process for resin prints.

One of the best all-in-one devices is the Anycubic Wash & Cure Machine,  specifically built for cleaning and curing resin prints so you don’t have to do it manually. It’s a professional solution that does come with a fairly hefty price tag.

The way I see it though, you can expect to be resin 3D printing for many years to come, so the earlier you invest in an efficient and productive solution, the more value you can really get out of this machine.

Several thousand users have grown to love this machine for obvious reasons, but the most popular reason is just how easy it makes the resin printing process.

  • 2, 4, 6 minute timer for washing and curing.
  • It has a versatile washing mode for thorough cleaning
  • A mount where you can put the whole buildplate down for washing
  • A smart touchscreen with a sensitive touch  for easy operation
  • Effective curing with uniform UV light with 360° rotation –
  • Auto-pause function if cover is removed for safety
  • Polycarbonate top cover which blocks 99.95% UV light emissions

It has a very healthy Amazon rating of 4.7/5.0 at time of writing, with 95% being 4 stars or above.

You can easily wash & cure your miniatures (multiple at once), making your life that much easier in the long run.

Get yourself the professional Anycubic Wash & Cure Machine from Amazon to assist in your resin printing adventures.

To read more about curing your resin prints in general, take a look at another one of my articles here for an in-depth guide.

What is the Best SLA Resin 3D Printer for Miniatures?

The best resin 3D printer for printing miniatures is the Elegoo Mars 3 Pro. It has many features that users will find useful for 3D printing miniatures such as a 6.6″ 4K monochrome screen which speeds up curing times, along with a powerful COB light source with 92% uniformity for smooth surfaces.

I did a whole review of the Elegoo Mars 3 Pro that you can check out, complete with actual 3D prints that came off it. Here’s one example.

Specifications of the Elegoo Mars 3 Pro

  • LCD Screen: 6.6″ 4K Monochrome LCD
  • Technology: MSLA
  • Light Source: COB with Fresnel Lens
  • Build Volume: 143 x 89. 6 x 175mm
  • Machine Size: 227 x 227 x 438.5mm
  • XY Resolution: 0.035mm (4,098 x 2,560px)
  • Connection: USB
  • Supported Formats: STL, OBJ
  • Layer Resolution: 0.01-0.2mm
  • Printing Speed: 30-50mm/h
  • Operation: 3.5″ Touchscreen
  • Power Requirements: 100-240V 50/60Hz

 

 

7 Best Resins For Miniatures In 2023