Wargaming and 3D-printing...

When you Google 'Wargaming and 3D-printing' there will be two kinds of results that are going to pop up... First are the many websites and videos to be found online who proclaim that 3D-printing will be the death of the wargaming industry and that even considering the possibility should be punishable by law... On the other hand, there are at least as many sources who proclaim the exact opposite, that 3D-printing will prove to be the saviour of wargaming and you are a fool for not owning a 3D-printer yourself...

I think I fit in right in the middle... I have been engaged in wargaming for my entire adult life and I see 3D-printing as an enrichment of my hobby... Being able to make just about anything, and in any quantity, what's not to love? I have no objection to pay for stl-files, especially if they are well designed and fill a certain need I might have. I have joined one Patreon offering high quality stl-files already and have set my sights on several more. Also, there are many great designs available for free...

For me, the emphasis lies on making things I can't get via the normal channels (for example, my local hobby store or shoping online) or things I need so many (or few) of and which would otherwise become very expensive...

Furniture to clutter my dungeon is something I can never have enough of and where I can easily use multiple items of the same design. Most of these furniture pieces are easily printed on a 3D-printer while they can cost you a lot of money to buy. In the past I 'solved' this 'problem' by making molds of certain items and casting them in plaster.

And while tanks and vehicles for games like Flames of War and What a Tanker! are also something I need in quantity, I will most likely combine printed models with the vehicles that I can buy at PSC or Zvezda (or Battlefront, should they decide to start delivering orders again). For example, I am building a British force. I could print everything but the infantry. However, I will most likely be buying some Universal Carriers and maybe some artillery, depending on if I can sort out the crew.