Hero Forge Custom 3D Printed Fantasy Miniatures a Hit on Kickstarter

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This is a guest post by Abdul Rehman, whose bio is at the end of the article.

Have you ever looked at some fantasy character and said to yourself “Wow! I wish I could have a miniature version of that on my table here”? Hero Forge, a newly founded project, allows you to do just that.

Hero Forge Custom Miniatures

Hero Forge – A Combination of Fantasy, Art and Science

While companies like ASDA have used the miniature 3D printing concept to create realistic models of real-life humans, Joshua Bennett and Teagan Morrison, founders of Hero Forge, have taken this concept to the realms of fantasy and imagination.

Started as a kickstarter project, Hero Forge promises to give you control of a simple web interface enabling you to create a unique 3D character which will then be brought to life using the power of 3D printing and sent to you by mail. Furthermore, you also have the option of selecting the material that you wish to print your character in, as well as the kind of paint you want on it. 

The Team – Artists and Programmers

The founders of this project are Joshua Bennett and Teagan Morrison.

Joshua Bennett calls himself a jack-of-all-trades. He is a freelance artist and has been working with the table top community for 3 years. His work has appeared in Wayfinder Magazine, on Paizo.com, and in dozens of online shops and indie RPG releases.

Teagan Morrison is the technical art director at the game studio “Naughty Dog” and has diverse experience in 3D modeling and managing teams of artists.

Other members of the team are Nicole Cardiff, a freelance artist whose work has appeared in Dungeons and Dragons, War Hammer and Game of Thrones flash cards; Molly Maloney, a concept artist for Telltale Games; Margaret Dost, an expert 3D modeler; Beverly Sage, a freelance rigger and technical artist in the video game industry and David Lenna, whose background is in programming and pipeline.

Hero Forge has well-known artists and a computer programmer in its team, making it perfect for the project. Joshua Bennett writes, “We have an amazing team with passion, big ideas, and the technical chops and experience to back it up. We can’t wait to make Hero Forge a reality!”

3D Printed Miniature Characters

The 3D printed miniature characters belong to one of five races: Humans, Half Orcs, Halflings, Dwarfs and Elves. Additional races will be added subsequently such as Sci Fi, Half Demons and Half Dragons. Hero Forge uses two materials for printing most of the miniatures.

  1. Ultra Detail Plastic: This is high quality plastic offering a high level of detail and is also suitable for painting. It is more expensive as well.
  2. Strong Plastic: This plastic offers lower details and is harder to paint on. However, it has the advantage of being cheaper.

An array of weapons is also available which includes swords, hammers, saws, chains and scythes. You can select any of these in either or both hands of the character. The miniatures are available in three sizes: 28 mm, 3 inches and 6 inches. Faces, facial hair, clothes, armors and even poses of the characters are all customizable. This customization is done on an Open GL based web program through which you can customize your character by simple clicks. These miniature characters are detailed on Hero Forge’s youtube channel.

A New Era of 3D Printed Entertainment

Hero Forge Custom Miniatures

3D printing is revolutionizing all fields of life. It has opened up new possibilities. Being able to create a character on the web and receive it within days was unimaginable a few years back. However, Hero Forge has made it a reality. The interest in this project can be gauged by the fact that Hero Forge’s initial funding goal of $95,000 was reached within 72 hoursThis project definitely heralds a new era in entertainment: The era of 3D printed entertainment.

If you’re interested in Hero Forge’s project, you can support them on their Kickstarter page and follow them on Facebook or on their blog.

 

About the author: Abdul Rehman is a medical student with a keen interest in all things technology. Computers, graphic cards, mobiles, tablets, 3d printing and tissue engineering are just a few of the things he’s been following for years. A regular author at 3dprinthq.com for about an year, he’s written on dozens of 3D printing topics from aviation to fashion.

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One Response to Hero Forge Custom 3D Printed Fantasy Miniatures a Hit on Kickstarter

  1. […] a Kickstarter campaign that has raised over $200,000 with 20 days to go. The company is offering customized tabletop fantasy figurines that are 3D […]

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