Phrozen RPG resin is perfect for DnD miniatures, too expensive for anything else

Phrozen’s RPG Resin is utterly fantastic for printing DnD miniatures. If I was just considering the sheer quality of the prints – which are as durable as they are detailed – I might call it perfect for printing any kind of miniature. But that quality comes at a price, and while I received the resin I’ve used for testing as a review sample from Phrozen, I’m conscious that the average gamer has to pay to get their fix of chemicals.

I’ve been printing models from the Bestiarum Miniatures range to build up some Trench Crusade warbands. These are very dark fantasy miniatures. While the range has some minis you could use for standard DnD classes and classic DnD monsters, most are designed specifically for Bestiarum’s own DnD adventures, choc full of original nightmarish creatures and unsettling takes on the DnD races. Wargamer isn’t affiliated with Bestiarum – I just think the minis are neat.

I’ve been testing on a Mars 5 Ultra, a review model provided by Elegoo, to which I added a heating fan to make it at all feasible to print during the British winter. I’ve used the resin straight from the bottle, and printed on the Mars 5’s ‘fast’ setting. I have had one print failure so far, but that wasn’t the resin’s fault – I’d left the tank too long without cleaning, and some cured resin snipped off some models’ feet.

Detail

The Bestiarum miniatures are incredibly detailed, covered in tiny (and gross) details and complex shapes that would be all but impossible to create any way other than with a 3d printer – it’s the kind of detail level where printing at 9k actually can produce a more detailed end result than 4k.

The RPG resin has been able to take full advantage of that, capturing all the detail crisply. The limiting factor on the quality of these models is my isopropyl alcohol cleaning setup.

Resilience

The resin has very good flexibility, which is how you get photos like the header, with a sword bent 90 degrees without snapping. Despite how flexible the models are they’re not floppy – they hold the shape they were printed in, and spring back to that shape after being bent.

The result is far more resilient for tabletop play than regular printer resin, or even than the plastic used in Games Workshop models. There are limits. I (intentionally) dropped one unlucky chap head down onto floorboards, which snapped off both the hilt of his sword and the tip of his pointy hat. I’d expect the same result if he was made from polystyrene, but a Reaper Bones or WizKids miniature would have survived.

One thing I’ve appreciated is how brutal this enables me to be when removing supports – I’ve had no breakages during clean-up, despite my typically rough handling.

Price

So RPG resin can capture great detail, and produces models that are far more durable than those made with standard 3D printer resin – where’s the catch? The price, inevitably. With prices starting around $71.99 (£54.99) for a 1kg bottle, this is the Champagne of printer resin (don’t drink it, obviously).

If you’re a beginner to 3D printing, don’t consider getting RPG Resin until you’re confident using your printer. Every failed print is two to three times more expensive than it would be with other resins.

Verdict

I can’t argue with the results: RPG resin can capture crisp model detail and has excellent durability. That should make it among the best resin in the world, but every tabletop gamer has a budget, and the sheer cost of RPG resin limits how useful it will actually be for you.

If you’re printing for competition painting, a more brittle high detail resin will do fine. If you’re hoping to make an army for a miniature wargame, go for an equally resilient but less detailed resin. 4k resolution is more than enough when you will typically be looking at your models in units of twenty from a distance of four feet.

For DnD, tabletop RPGs, or skirmish games, which only ask for a few, great-looking models, RPG resin really fits the bill. If you want your models to look appropriate alongside the official 25mm scale DnD miniatures from Wizkids, with their realistically spindly ankle joints and weapons, then the cost is much easier to justify. A model that you have to print twice because its ankles snap and spear breaks off isn’t that cheap.

If you’re considering getting into 3D printing, Wargamer’s guide to Black Friday 3D printer deals is worth checking out. The sales may have ended, but the machines on the list are all worth looking into.

Source: Wargamer