# Is the Form 2 suitable for printing 32mm game miniatures **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535 "2016-03-19T15:52:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/1 "2016-03-19T15:52:24Z")
Its tough to find images that are characters at that size, What kind of details would be picked up printing at 25 microns? Head or face detail? How would one smooth or sand a figure of the size to cast a mold from it? I ordered a Form 2 but Im still unsure if I made the right decision after looking at some other printers. What I do feel good about is the user friendliness that the Form 2 seems to have. But if I cant get miniature details than I wasted my money. Thanks for any images or help 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alfredo\_Sola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Alfredo\_Sola](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/Alfredo_Sola)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/2 "2016-03-19T17:06:30Z")
Hi, I think it’s my first post here, so hi everybody. We use our Form 2 for prototyping H0 scale railway models. A chassis is about 3 mm high. It has rivets that are about 1 or 2 tenths of a millimeter. And they show up quite nicely in the printed model. For best results, you will probably find yourself printing at 25 microns, and that is quite slow. Right now I have a model printing with an estimated completion time of a bit more than a day. However, printing something of 32 mm height plus supports at 25 microns takes only a few hours. For finishing, I suggest you find a suitable scratch brush. I find the fiberglass kind most adequate. Like most abrasives, they range from coarse to fine. Mine is German built, and I got the impression that these tools are very often found in jewelers and model shops there. Here is an example: > **[Scratch Brush, Fiberglass (Colors may vary): Wire Brushes: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific](https://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Brush-Fiberglass-Colors-vary/dp/B0019V18D2)** > > Our scratch brushes with pen-shaped handles are used for removing rust or corrosion in hard to reach places. Made with metal ferrules for improved durability. Length is 4-1/2". Made in Germany If you post a sample of what you want to print in form or stl format, perhaps someone will sneak it into a job and post a few photos for you. I am not sure if discussing other printers is allowed by the forum rules, but if it is, I wouldn’t mind. I do have other printer, but it is a RepRap and doesn’t by a long shot qualify for the same league. It does deliver what it was designed for quite nicely, though. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/3 "2016-03-19T17:15:01Z")
Thank you so much for your reply Alfredo. Very much appreciated ---
**Author:** ![JoshK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4da419/32.png) [@JoshK](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/JoshK)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/4 "2016-03-19T17:39:54Z")
I printed this. That’s a US Quarter next to it. [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1i8b91zrxfiwh4d/miniRook.JPG?dl=1) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1i8b91zrxfiwh4d/miniRook.JPG?dl=1) ---
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/5 "2016-03-19T17:42:31Z")
thanks for that JoshK wow that is small! Impressive, I was just hoping someone had some small organic pieces for me to see. ---
**Author:** ![Alfredo\_Sola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Alfredo\_Sola](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/Alfredo_Sola)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 9:57am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/6 "2016-03-20T09:57:14Z")
Like [this](http://formlabs.com/stories/painting-3d-printed-parts/)? ---
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/7 "2016-03-20T15:18:14Z")
more like humans/humanoids ---
**Author:** ![James\_P\_Walker](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/james_p_walker/32/5645_2.png) [@James\_P\_Walker](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/James_P_Walker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/8 "2016-03-20T18:34:06Z")
Made this on my Form 1. > **[Baby Owlbear by Jorlack](https://www.thingiverse.com/make:48029)** > > Owlbear at full size and attached to a base. > Along with two comparison pictures to the first print with primer to see if that helped it show up on camera. > And last my owlbear vs a reaper bones skeleton for scale. And I Painted it. > **[Baby Owlbear by Jorlack](https://www.thingiverse.com/make:48551)** > > Not my best paint job but overall still a good looking miniature. > Ended up painting the eyes fully open instead of squinting. > So now he has more of a give me a hug look than in going to eat you from the shins up but what can you do. Bet the girls... ---
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/9 "2016-03-20T19:11:38Z")
thanks for posting this, its really nice! ---
**Author:** ![Zachary\_Brackin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4da419/32.png) [@Zachary\_Brackin](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/Zachary_Brackin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/10 "2016-03-21T16:16:08Z")
I’ve been printing with the Form2 in Black resin at 25 microns and the quality and details are significantly better than the Form1+ The biggest concern is still that anywhere you have to put supports will be a problem if there are details there and downward facing surfaces can lose detail. But again, it does better than the Form1 and requires very little cleanup. ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Bowdidge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a5b964/32.png) [@Robert\_Bowdidge](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/Robert_Bowdidge)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/11 "2016-03-24T22:39:47Z")
Any of the Formlabs printers should do fine for figures. I’ve used my Form One + for HO scale (1/87) and O scale figure (1/48) with fine results; 32mm ought to be right between those. Here’s early examples (with not great painting). These designs came from Thingiverse, often from the Great Fredini’s 3d scans of real people at NY Maker Faire. > **[Figures and Details](http://makerbot216.blogspot.com/2014/06/figures-and-details.html)** > > For model railroaders, the chance to 3d print detail parts is a huge draw. Shapeways, for instance, has gotten swamped with railroad model... Here’s another example of 1/87 figures: > **[3D Printing's Killer App: Printing Tons of Human Figures?](http://vasonabranch.blogspot.com/2014/11/3d-printings-killer-app-printing-tons.html)** > > Human figures are a big problem for model railroads. There's few sources for the figures, they're often drawn to resemble 1970's European ... Either is best if you can print in bulk; printing 25 figures doesn’t take much longer than printing one figure; most of the time gets spent on the peel/wipe work on each layer. Note that real wargaming and fantasy miniatures are often sculpted for painting, with lots of exaggerated surface detail to make them easier to paint. Actual 3d scans of people have lots of fine texture, but lack the little hints (like an extra thick belt) to make things easy to paint. Robert ---
**Author:** ![BenMalcheski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BenMalcheski](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/BenMalcheski)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/12 "2016-03-25T15:11:10Z")
I’ve printed some miniatures of about that scale on my Form 2 for a customer. Sorry, but I can’t share any pictures. I used primarily the Grey resin at 25 microns and while I believe it captured all of the details, the Black resin did visually show them better. I believe reflectivity and contrast were the major factors when making a visual comparison of the details. The machine was capable of printing all sorts of very thin, undercut features that required supports and they came out great. I did break a few features while removing supports but they were maybe only 0.03" thick. These models were by no means designed to be printer friendly so if you keep the printing process in mind you should have excellent results. ---
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/13 "2016-03-27T14:20:04Z")
I appreciate the reply, but Im a bit discouraged not actually seeing the results that Ive seen on other forums for other printers that do have the capability to print very detailed miniatures at that size. ---
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/14 "2016-03-27T14:23:48Z")
is it possible to print miniatures without supports, just connected/printed directly onto a miniature base? ---
**Author:** ![DavidRosenfeld](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/davidrosenfeld/32/3570_2.png) [@DavidRosenfeld](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/DavidRosenfeld)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/15 "2016-03-27T14:58:01Z")
It would all depend upon what the part looks like. IF there are no areas that are generated in free air, then they will need to be supported. If you have an example or two, I am sure we can show you the best orientation to get the best prints. Someone may even be willing to print off a sample or two for you. ---
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/16 "2016-03-27T16:52:46Z")
Like this: [http://cmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/zombiminis.png](http://cmon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/zombiminis.png) ---
**Author:** ![JasonSpiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f14d63/32.png) [@JasonSpiller](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/JasonSpiller)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/17 "2016-03-27T17:31:08Z")
I’d be willing to print a sample for you. [formwurx.info@Gmail.com](mailto:formwurx.info@Gmail.com) ---
**Author:** ![wisdomknight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/wisdomknight/32/5540_2.png) [@wisdomknight](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/wisdomknight)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/18 "2016-03-27T17:55:47Z")
Thanks Jason maybe Ill get a mini on a base for you then. Thank you for your offer ---
**Author:** ![JasonSpiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f14d63/32.png) [@JasonSpiller](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/JasonSpiller)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/19 "2016-03-27T18:54:26Z")
No problem. ---
**Author:** ![NonstopTarsier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@NonstopTarsier](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/NonstopTarsier)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535/20 "2016-03-27T18:57:05Z")
Hey wisdonknight Could you send me a sample to try as well I would like to try someting els beside my work projects For my work i print a lot of straigth pieces So it would be fun to print something more allive 🙂 [Next page](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/is-the-form-2-suitable-for-printing-32mm-game-miniatures/7535.md?page=2)