Working on Ultimate Dungeon Terrain & A Whole Day of Hobbying

Processing 3D Prints

Starting the day processing 3D prints. Everything turned out pretty good with a missing part here and there.

The top of the colossal has failed twice. I’ve literally used the whole bottle of resin just trying to print it. Frustrating, but it’s been my fault—too cold down here. Got a heater going now.

If the Vulcan fails this time, I’m giving up on Crucible Guard and playing Fifth Division.

Dawn of a New Day

I feel like every day for the last week has been breakthrough after breakthrough. Maybe the last couple years I was burnt out—there’s no maybe about it. That burnout is finally starting to lift.

I have so much clarity, so much creative energy coming back. I’m realizing I need to maintain a creative space because part of my constant project hopping is not having consistency.

The Miniatures Business Decision

I made the decision I’m definitely starting a miniatures company. There’s two parts: miniature making and business. I know the business part well. Don’t know about making miniatures. So we got to fix that.

The next 90 days are going to be hyperdrive. I’ve been telling myself my whole life the art cannot be what you do, be logical and rational. I sold my soul to the devil. I feel like I’ve gotten a second chance—got my soul back, got out of that contract.

Ultimate Dungeon Terrain Board

Really happy with how this turned out. Made it right before starting the channel.

There’s a fire mark where somebody got fireballed—soap marker as a memory of the inaugural run. Little Easter eggs hidden around: skulls, blood pools, guts.

The problem: The back half (the outdoor section) got stepped on by the dog and isn’t done yet. Time to finish it.

Texturing the Outdoor Half

Using the basing texture we made months ago. Slathering it on, smoothing with a palette knife, making organic shapes. No obvious palette knife swatches.

Using an old ripped-up bath sponge (wet so it doesn’t stick) to tap in more texture and break up any lines.

After drying, rolling a rock through for more texture, then sprinkling baking soda/old basing material mix on the glue areas.

Learning to Sculpt

The Crucible Guard jack misprinted badly on the backside. Time to figure out sculpting for the first time beyond basic gap filling.

Made liquid green stuff to smooth over the gaps. Don’t really know what I’m doing—just wearing a glove to avoid fingerprints, using isopropyl alcohol to thin it.

This guy will always be special—our benchmark. “Hey, we didn’t know what we were doing and we did this.” Pretty happy with it for tabletop.

Sealing the Board

On the garage floor, knocked all loose stuff off. Spraying with a mixture: 25% water, 10% isopropyl alcohol, remaining Elmer’s glue, then diluted further 50/50 with water.

When this hardens, it’ll be hard as a rock. Very similar to scenic glue. Pretty crazy textures—looks like mounds of dirt.

The Vulcan Finally Printed

Fourth attempt. Look how close we still came to failing—almost ran out of resin in the tank. 750ml for the top half, arms, head, and a light warjack. Slicer said plenty, but we nearly failed.

That’s literally $40-50 in resin from four misprints. Still way cheaper than buying direct.

Looks like we’re sticking with Crucible Guard.

A Whole Day of Hobbying

Doesn’t happen that much. Didn’t get any painting done, but got a whole lot of fun hobby stuff done. Spending the rest of the day working and learning more about sculpting—pretty sure that’s the path for me. The next great challenge of my life.

Thanks for watching and joining me today.