Crew figures with Heroforge

[TJM]

Hi All,

 

I have splunged on a one year Heroforge membership which, apart from their full customization functionality ('kitbashing'), comes with 60 credits for STL downloads.

 

I have plans to use it for designing parts of ship ornaments like figureheads (see my Christiania build), but also for crew figures.

 

With the full customization options unlocked, it is possible to control hand and feet size (along with all other body proportions) - I mention this as I have seen several comments on the cartoonish looks of Heroforge minis. This is definately true for the stardard proportions, but it is possible to get quite nice proportions with a bit of tweaking.

 

Another note - it is difficult to get anything close to historically accurate in terms of clothing (except for very simple clothes). The site is meant for creating Fantasy and Sci-Fi miniatures for tabletop games like D&D. So the designs will not hold up to historical scrutiny or large scale models. But for my use, which is scale figures at 1:64, very little detail will be actually visible when printed, despite the very high resolution of modern resin 3D printers. And my paint job is likely to cover anything that is left to be scrutinized anyways... But this should enable me to create more crew figures for ships at a reasonably low cost. 

 

Here are a few images from the slicing software:

 

 

 

 

I have prepared a supported set and filled my little build plate:

 

 

Now I have to try to print them, hopefully I will get a chance to try tomorrow. They are only about 26 mm tall (plus/minus, depending on hats and posture) and I have no idea if I have supported them sufficiently. Lets see how it goes! 

 

BR

TJM

 

 

 

Edited May 26 by TJM

[TJM]

Alright, that went much better than I had hoped!

 

Except for two figures with insufficient supports in one spot, they all printed perfectly! 

 

Even with all the ridiculously thin elements like the saber hand guards etc. This technology is some real Sci-Fi. Remember, these are at 1:64 scale, so around 26 mm for man-height.

 

Here's a bunch of pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then I made a copy paste error in the slicer and got two figures in the same spot.. 🤣

 

 

But I am very happy with these results. With a few tweeks of the few misprints, they should all be good to go.

 

BR

TJM

Edited Tuesday at 03:49 PM by TJM

[manning16]

Wow!  I see a cottage industry here!  I'd buy some 1/64 figures for my Confederacy.

[capnharv2]

I agree! I know the NRG used to have someone to order figures from, but they don't seem to be available anymore.

[CDR_Ret]

Those guys all look pretty buff!. Aren't there any striplings in your crew? 🙂

[Chuck]

That looks very good.  Well

done.

[TJM]

Thank you @manning16, @capnharv2, @CDR_Ret and @Chuck for your comments and to all of you for the likes. Much appreciated!

 

@manning16, apart from unfortunately not having the time for such a venture, selling Heroforge prints are forbidden in their terms - it would undermine their business, I guess. You can print the minis for others, but they need to own the stl from Heroforge - that also means that you can use print services to have your own Heroforge files printed, but you have to ensure that they don't get sold to anyone else.

 

But if you have access to a resin 3D printer, a one year subscription for Heroforge costs 168$. That sounds steep, but with 60 credits for stl downloads included, it is a, to me at least, very reasonable 2.80$ per model - and you can of course print as many of them as you could wish for. I think that is good value!

[manning16]

Thanks for the heads up..I thought you were doing this on your own..I would like some 3d figures for my Confederacy and others I have built.. I don't have a laser and am too tech  ignorant to use one..    any suggestions for 1/64, 1/96 etc, 3d  figures  available in US?   Thanks!

  Manning 16

[tmj]

On 5/27/2025 at 10:49 AM, TJM said:

And then I made a copy paste error in the slicer and got two figures in the same spot.. 🤣

Save that file! I could use a few of those in my 'Philidelphia Experiment' diorama! 🙃 LOL

[TJM]

5 hours ago, manning16 said:

Thanks for the heads up..I thought you were doing this on your own..I would like some 3d figures for my Confederacy and others I have built.. I don't have a laser and am too tech  ignorant to use one..    any suggestions for 1/64, 1/96 etc, 3d  figures  available in US?   Thanks!

  Manning 16

I am doing it myself! It's just that I am not allowed to sell the figures made from Heroforge files that I have bought to anyone else, according to their terms.

 

But there are many people who offer 3D printing services, so it may be viable to create your own Heroforge files and have them printed by someone. 

 

I am sorry, I don't know any US sellers of scale figures - I only know that Vanguard Models in the UK sells very nice resin figures.