We all know that resin printers can make some amazing wargaming models at all scales, with the detail and range constantly expanding. Alongside that, FDM printers are a go to for throwing out great scenery from roads to ruins and buildings. What we often don’t consider is all the other things we can use FDM for to, cheaply, help improve our hobby quality of life.
Having just invested in a Bambu P1S FDM printer, I started to look at thingiverse and cults to see what clever things I could print.
Accessory Organiser:
First up, I discovered this free file on Thingiverse. Many people have one (or seen) the KR dice/accessory trays. I used to use it but found that everything rattled around, and some things didn’t fit well as the tray is a bit shallow. It had been on my shelf for years, while I relied on a BF dice tin with an elastic band. Therefore, I knocked out this print in about 3.5hrs to see how well it came out.
The print was super simple, however I did find it a struggle to get in the tray. In the end, I removed the sides to the bottom tray and lid, and it worked great. I managed to get everything from my dice tin in there and I still have room to add my smoke markers (cotton wool pads) plus more flat objective markers. I do like that the case slips in the front of my Battlefoam FOW case nicely and means this will be a go to for events (with the lid acting as a dice tray). Cost to print was about £1.20.
Hobby Storage:
There are quite a few options out there to help keep our painting corner, man cave, etc, in order. I have just got the files for the Cube Pro Organiser Kickstarter and I am really excited. I am not naturally tidy on my painting table and have an eclectic mix of paint storage solutions. I am going to print about 20 cubes which will also stack in the corner of my desk to hold all my paints, tools, brushes as well as those inevitable (odds and sods). By printing covers with holes for magnets, I can keep things out of sight when between projects and using my desk for laptop gaming. Each painting cube is going to take about 8hrs, so I should be good in about 10 days and at a cost of about £60 including the trays, etc.
Also, it’s easy to transport, so I can get them into the car when I am posted to Command Staff College next year for some evening hobbying.
If you have a printer (or need an excuse to get one) hopefully these ideas will give you some inspiration. I would love to hear what other great things you have found out there to improve your hobby quality of life.