Hey folks, since Prusa/Printables opened their model store over the holidays, I thought I'd try posting a project that I have been working on. The full details are on the printables link, or you...
Hey folks, since Prusa/Printables opened their model store over the holidays, I thought I'd try posting a project that I have been working on. The full details are on the printables link, or you can watch the youtube teaser.
This is all new ground for me, so I thought I'd put it out here to see what people's general reaction to this is. I'm open to any kind of feedback on the idea of the model, the Amazon affliate links, commercial vs non-commercial, price point, bugs you found, etc. Selling models is certainly seems more scalable than selling printed sets -- the amount I'd have to charge to make the printing time profitable would be quite high.
I'm also wondering if anyone has experience selling models online at other storefronts. The main one I am aware of is Cults3D. I have a few other designs that I could post now, so other sites might be useful until I get some traction at Printables. The way their store works, I have one slot for a for-sale model until I get 5 sales, then that opens up 5 more slots.
This is probably a dumb question, but this is just for the files needed to print this yourself, correct? "Buy & Download" makes that pretty clear, but to my mind that could also mean "buy this...
This is probably a dumb question, but this is just for the files needed to print this yourself, correct? "Buy & Download" makes that pretty clear, but to my mind that could also mean "buy this printed model and also get the download files." I assume I'm not the target consumer since I have no 3D printer (though my brother-in-law does and does enjoy Catan) and obviously know nothing about the subject, but since you're open to any feedback, here's mine!
As an aside--it looks really nice. If I played the game more than like twice a year, I'd be very interested.
Yes, this is just for the models you need to print. I have thought about selling the printed sets, but I think that would have to be in the $150 range, which is competitive with the sets I see on...
Yes, this is just for the models you need to print. I have thought about selling the printed sets, but I think that would have to be in the $150 range, which is competitive with the sets I see on Etsy. Definitely targeted at serious players.
The set looks solid and it has some nice features that competing sets do not (namely token slots) . That price point is a bit high considering how much filament (multiple rolls!) and labor rests...
The set looks solid and it has some nice features that competing sets do not (namely token slots) . That price point is a bit high considering how much filament (multiple rolls!) and labor rests on the customer's shoulders. Though I guess having a set that so detailed and thought out is a nice challenge for a dedicated board game fan. In making your initial demo copy, how many hours of printing + post processing did you have to endure?
On another note, I'm more surprised that Printables has added a pay-for-stl system to their site.
Communities like Cults3D, Gambody, and MyMiniFactory commonly end up completely blacklisted in larger 3DP communities (e.g. r/3dprinting and the 3D Printing Discord) due to heavy-handed seller tactics. The glut of ad posts from thousands of eager designers ended up nullifying the sites' visibility in some of the most important communities the space has, which is very unfortunate and only goes to help Thingiverse linger on.
I understand trying to make the site profitable but it's a dangerous game Prusa is playing that could drive the Printables brand under. All they need is one big "they didn't pay out" scandal similar to Cults3D and they're done for. Something I'm nearly expecting given that their support team has been shown to not be too professional and the "we will take it down only when people complain but it's kosher and promotable otherwise" stance that Prusa has had towards 3D printed weapons and associated parts/tools.
Thanks for the kind words. I think you're right about the price point -- I was somewhat anchoring off one of the other Catan models on Printables, but I think I'm going to set the price at $10 and...
Thanks for the kind words. I think you're right about the price point -- I was somewhat anchoring off one of the other Catan models on Printables, but I think I'm going to set the price at $10 and see what happens. Probably getting a higher volume at a lower barrier to entry is the win, especially if it lets me open up some of my other models.
The print time is actually not too bad, I'd say a couple of days. The arachne slicing algorithm makes it so you can get a similar print out of an 0.6mm nozzle in about 2/3 of the time. This design uses 0.6 wherever possible, but the text on the smaller bits comes out much better on an 0.4. The biggest pain point is probably all the filament color and nozzle changes, but there's almost no post-processing beyond a little heat gun action for getting rid of strings. I hate post-processing and generally design to avoid it whenever possible.
I think Printables is moving into the commercialization phase in a reasonable way. They introduced a Patreon-like feature last year, but that's probably better for people who do things like miniatures so that they are producing a continuous stream of models with a similar theme. My models are all over the place (one of the others is a collapsible beach cupholder), so being able to sell individual models really opens that up for me.
Their blog post about the store makes it clear that their trying to keep it separate from the free and open ethos -- setting a minimum price of $5 and limiting the number of models that someone can upload seems like a good strategy, plus the store is completely separate from the rest of the site, so much so that you don't see my for-pay models on my profile, you have to find them through the store.
I feel like the whole ethos of Prusa Research is "we're trying to do a very good job and we don't always get it right", so it's likely that they will get some leeway from the community. Their community engagement is very high, but that's largely within the more technically capable group that are actively modding and innovating. I agree it's not an operation meant to support true novices. I guess we'll see how it plays out, but I have hope as long as Joe Prusa is charge.
On the gun front, I guess I wasn't aware of that. I've never run across anything like that on printables. I am American, and when I watch various videos from Prusa, I do see the occasionally jarring cultural difference pop up. I'm not sure if it is a Czech thing or a Prusa thing, but there does seem to be a sort of "rugged individualist" attitude about the whole thing that maybe feeds into that.
I have a 3D printer, but I'm not really into printing things for games. Here's my reaction anyway: It seems like a lot of work to print out all that stuff? And the cost would add up from not only...
I have a 3D printer, but I'm not really into printing things for games. Here's my reaction anyway:
It seems like a lot of work to print out all that stuff? And the cost would add up from not only buying the design from you, but all the filament colors I don't have. I suppose once it's set up, someone could print multiple sets to share with their friends? That might make the cost worth it.
Along those lines, maybe you could partner with someone else who wants to do the printing, assemble the kits, and ship them?
Buying the actual board game would be easier if I wanted to play it again. It might be less intimidating to just print a few nicer pieces to use with the original game?
Also, I've never done it, but some people print and paint miniature figurines. Learning how to do that might be interesting.
Thanks for your thoughts. If you're not into Catan, then you're definitely not the target market, but I may be overestimating how many people are into it to that degree. But the overarching theme...
Thanks for your thoughts. If you're not into Catan, then you're definitely not the target market, but I may be overestimating how many people are into it to that degree. But the overarching theme from yours and others comments is that the price is too high, which is very helpful.
Maybe I should look more at the scalability of printing them, since one person can at least scale the printing (using a whole roll of filament to print parts for multiple sets, vs. someone who only needs 100 grams of orange filament and doesn't want to buy a whole roll.
Since it's so many different filaments, I was thinking maybe I could put together filament packs and sell them on as well.
Selling a variety pack with different colors of filament sounds like a fine idea. I did a search to see if anyone is doing it already, and I see some here. There are probably others. I wonder if...
Selling a variety pack with different colors of filament sounds like a fine idea. I did a search to see if anyone is doing it already, and I see some here. There are probably others.
I wonder if your designs would sell better if you made suggestions about what to buy in order to print them? You might not need to sell it yourself.
I do have a list of links to the filament I used in the descriotion, but it's 10 colors, so that's around $180 if you're buying all of them. I think the amount someone would need is about 2kg. I...
I do have a list of links to the filament I used in the descriotion, but it's 10 colors, so that's around $180 if you're buying all of them. I think the amount someone would need is about 2kg. I could make a kit with the filament and the box to hold it, plus the model, for around $100. But that's still a pretty big price tag, and if someone has a print failure, they might not have enough to complete it.
Thanks for the link. Those sample spools you linked to are nice, but 50g is not enough for any of the colors, although two samples would be enough for a few colors. By the time you get 3 of them, you might as well buy the spool anyway.
The video is excellent, the pieces look great, and the instructions even before purchase look fantastic. I haven't purchased it - my printer is still in a box since I moved - but when I do finally...
The video is excellent, the pieces look great, and the instructions even before purchase look fantastic. I haven't purchased it - my printer is still in a box since I moved - but when I do finally get it set up printing a Catan is one of the things on my list to do, and I would strongly consider buying the plans based on the post, because it looks top notch. I don't have a personal problem with amazon affiliate links, but if you want to look super white hat, you could also add non-affiliate links for people who really despise them.
Overall this looks super professional and I will strongly consider purchasing when I get back into 3d printing.
Thanks for your kind words! I hope your printer finds its way out of storage. I have a MK4 kit sitting here in my living room that I'm hoping to get to soon.
Thanks for your kind words! I hope your printer finds its way out of storage. I have a MK4 kit sitting here in my living room that I'm hoping to get to soon.
I saw that you reduced the pricepoint from $30 to $12 (that's what I'm seeing in CAD), and I think that's maybe a good idea. I would consider myself to be the exact demographic that this is built...
I saw that you reduced the pricepoint from $30 to $12 (that's what I'm seeing in CAD), and I think that's maybe a good idea. I would consider myself to be the exact demographic that this is built for; I play Catan, have family that love it, would probably print multiples and give some as gifts. At $30, it would be very deliberate; at $12 I might even buy one before I've re-set up my printer.
This is honestly the most expensive model I've seen for a board game (although I don't go seeking for sale models generally). While it looks excellent, I'm not sure people typically involved in 3D...
This is honestly the most expensive model I've seen for a board game (although I don't go seeking for sale models generally).
While it looks excellent, I'm not sure people typically involved in 3D printing are going to bite on this.
You may have a small market of people buying it so their 3D printer friends can print it for them though.
as someone who just finished printing another 3d catan set, it looks good mechanically, the interlocking bases look nice, and the peice holders and overall box are really, really nice. However, I...
as someone who just finished printing another 3d catan set, it looks good mechanically, the interlocking bases look nice, and the peice holders and overall box are really, really nice. However, I honestly cant say its nicer than a number of other free sets out there. My main complaint with this set would be the highly symbolic terrain, compared to the really pretty terrain in the set I printed. (even without multicolour printing, that set still looks gorgeous, and there are interlocking, magnet less bases for that set, like these or these)
Even without the price difference, I just cant see myself choosing your set over some of the competition out there, sorry. While its got a ton of nice utility features, the aesthetics just arent there.
Yup, I'm realizing that 1) there are a ton of sets out there, and 2) mine is not necessarily unique in its features. I may withdraw this model and try posting something else instead.
Yup, I'm realizing that 1) there are a ton of sets out there, and 2) mine is not necessarily unique in its features. I may withdraw this model and try posting something else instead.
This would be cool if I ever played the base game. Anytime I play Catan it's with Seafarers and Cities and Knights expansions. No one in my friend group wants to play just the base game because...
This would be cool if I ever played the base game. Anytime I play Catan it's with Seafarers and Cities and Knights expansions. No one in my friend group wants to play just the base game because it's not interesting enough anymore.
Hey folks, since Prusa/Printables opened their model store over the holidays, I thought I'd try posting a project that I have been working on. The full details are on the printables link, or you can watch the youtube teaser.
This is all new ground for me, so I thought I'd put it out here to see what people's general reaction to this is. I'm open to any kind of feedback on the idea of the model, the Amazon affliate links, commercial vs non-commercial, price point, bugs you found, etc. Selling models is certainly seems more scalable than selling printed sets -- the amount I'd have to charge to make the printing time profitable would be quite high.
I'm also wondering if anyone has experience selling models online at other storefronts. The main one I am aware of is Cults3D. I have a few other designs that I could post now, so other sites might be useful until I get some traction at Printables. The way their store works, I have one slot for a for-sale model until I get 5 sales, then that opens up 5 more slots.
Thanks in advance!
This is probably a dumb question, but this is just for the files needed to print this yourself, correct? "Buy & Download" makes that pretty clear, but to my mind that could also mean "buy this printed model and also get the download files." I assume I'm not the target consumer since I have no 3D printer (though my brother-in-law does and does enjoy Catan) and obviously know nothing about the subject, but since you're open to any feedback, here's mine!
As an aside--it looks really nice. If I played the game more than like twice a year, I'd be very interested.
Yes, this is just for the models you need to print. I have thought about selling the printed sets, but I think that would have to be in the $150 range, which is competitive with the sets I see on Etsy. Definitely targeted at serious players.
The set looks solid and it has some nice features that competing sets do not (namely token slots) . That price point is a bit high considering how much filament (multiple rolls!) and labor rests on the customer's shoulders. Though I guess having a set that so detailed and thought out is a nice challenge for a dedicated board game fan. In making your initial demo copy, how many hours of printing + post processing did you have to endure?
On another note, I'm more surprised that Printables has added a pay-for-stl system to their site.
Communities like Cults3D, Gambody, and MyMiniFactory commonly end up completely blacklisted in larger 3DP communities (e.g. r/3dprinting and the 3D Printing Discord) due to heavy-handed seller tactics. The glut of ad posts from thousands of eager designers ended up nullifying the sites' visibility in some of the most important communities the space has, which is very unfortunate and only goes to help Thingiverse linger on.
I understand trying to make the site profitable but it's a dangerous game Prusa is playing that could drive the Printables brand under. All they need is one big "they didn't pay out" scandal similar to Cults3D and they're done for. Something I'm nearly expecting given that their support team has been shown to not be too professional and the "we will take it down only when people complain but it's kosher and promotable otherwise" stance that Prusa has had towards 3D printed weapons and associated parts/tools.
Thanks for the kind words. I think you're right about the price point -- I was somewhat anchoring off one of the other Catan models on Printables, but I think I'm going to set the price at $10 and see what happens. Probably getting a higher volume at a lower barrier to entry is the win, especially if it lets me open up some of my other models.
The print time is actually not too bad, I'd say a couple of days. The arachne slicing algorithm makes it so you can get a similar print out of an 0.6mm nozzle in about 2/3 of the time. This design uses 0.6 wherever possible, but the text on the smaller bits comes out much better on an 0.4. The biggest pain point is probably all the filament color and nozzle changes, but there's almost no post-processing beyond a little heat gun action for getting rid of strings. I hate post-processing and generally design to avoid it whenever possible.
I think Printables is moving into the commercialization phase in a reasonable way. They introduced a Patreon-like feature last year, but that's probably better for people who do things like miniatures so that they are producing a continuous stream of models with a similar theme. My models are all over the place (one of the others is a collapsible beach cupholder), so being able to sell individual models really opens that up for me.
Their blog post about the store makes it clear that their trying to keep it separate from the free and open ethos -- setting a minimum price of $5 and limiting the number of models that someone can upload seems like a good strategy, plus the store is completely separate from the rest of the site, so much so that you don't see my for-pay models on my profile, you have to find them through the store.
I feel like the whole ethos of Prusa Research is "we're trying to do a very good job and we don't always get it right", so it's likely that they will get some leeway from the community. Their community engagement is very high, but that's largely within the more technically capable group that are actively modding and innovating. I agree it's not an operation meant to support true novices. I guess we'll see how it plays out, but I have hope as long as Joe Prusa is charge.
On the gun front, I guess I wasn't aware of that. I've never run across anything like that on printables. I am American, and when I watch various videos from Prusa, I do see the occasionally jarring cultural difference pop up. I'm not sure if it is a Czech thing or a Prusa thing, but there does seem to be a sort of "rugged individualist" attitude about the whole thing that maybe feeds into that.
I have a 3D printer, but I'm not really into printing things for games. Here's my reaction anyway:
It seems like a lot of work to print out all that stuff? And the cost would add up from not only buying the design from you, but all the filament colors I don't have. I suppose once it's set up, someone could print multiple sets to share with their friends? That might make the cost worth it.
Along those lines, maybe you could partner with someone else who wants to do the printing, assemble the kits, and ship them?
Buying the actual board game would be easier if I wanted to play it again. It might be less intimidating to just print a few nicer pieces to use with the original game?
Also, I've never done it, but some people print and paint miniature figurines. Learning how to do that might be interesting.
Thanks for your thoughts. If you're not into Catan, then you're definitely not the target market, but I may be overestimating how many people are into it to that degree. But the overarching theme from yours and others comments is that the price is too high, which is very helpful.
Maybe I should look more at the scalability of printing them, since one person can at least scale the printing (using a whole roll of filament to print parts for multiple sets, vs. someone who only needs 100 grams of orange filament and doesn't want to buy a whole roll.
Since it's so many different filaments, I was thinking maybe I could put together filament packs and sell them on as well.
Selling a variety pack with different colors of filament sounds like a fine idea. I did a search to see if anyone is doing it already, and I see some here. There are probably others.
I wonder if your designs would sell better if you made suggestions about what to buy in order to print them? You might not need to sell it yourself.
I do have a list of links to the filament I used in the descriotion, but it's 10 colors, so that's around $180 if you're buying all of them. I think the amount someone would need is about 2kg. I could make a kit with the filament and the box to hold it, plus the model, for around $100. But that's still a pretty big price tag, and if someone has a print failure, they might not have enough to complete it.
Thanks for the link. Those sample spools you linked to are nice, but 50g is not enough for any of the colors, although two samples would be enough for a few colors. By the time you get 3 of them, you might as well buy the spool anyway.
The video is excellent, the pieces look great, and the instructions even before purchase look fantastic. I haven't purchased it - my printer is still in a box since I moved - but when I do finally get it set up printing a Catan is one of the things on my list to do, and I would strongly consider buying the plans based on the post, because it looks top notch. I don't have a personal problem with amazon affiliate links, but if you want to look super white hat, you could also add non-affiliate links for people who really despise them.
Overall this looks super professional and I will strongly consider purchasing when I get back into 3d printing.
Thanks for your kind words! I hope your printer finds its way out of storage. I have a MK4 kit sitting here in my living room that I'm hoping to get to soon.
I saw that you reduced the pricepoint from $30 to $12 (that's what I'm seeing in CAD), and I think that's maybe a good idea. I would consider myself to be the exact demographic that this is built for; I play Catan, have family that love it, would probably print multiples and give some as gifts. At $30, it would be very deliberate; at $12 I might even buy one before I've re-set up my printer.
This is honestly the most expensive model I've seen for a board game (although I don't go seeking for sale models generally).
While it looks excellent, I'm not sure people typically involved in 3D printing are going to bite on this.
You may have a small market of people buying it so their 3D printer friends can print it for them though.
Fair point, I think I'm going to lower the price of the model and shoot for "oh this looks neat, I aspire to print it" territory.
as someone who just finished printing another 3d catan set, it looks good mechanically, the interlocking bases look nice, and the peice holders and overall box are really, really nice. However, I honestly cant say its nicer than a number of other free sets out there. My main complaint with this set would be the highly symbolic terrain, compared to the really pretty terrain in the set I printed. (even without multicolour printing, that set still looks gorgeous, and there are interlocking, magnet less bases for that set, like these or these)
Even without the price difference, I just cant see myself choosing your set over some of the competition out there, sorry. While its got a ton of nice utility features, the aesthetics just arent there.
Yup, I'm realizing that 1) there are a ton of sets out there, and 2) mine is not necessarily unique in its features. I may withdraw this model and try posting something else instead.
This would be cool if I ever played the base game. Anytime I play Catan it's with Seafarers and Cities and Knights expansions. No one in my friend group wants to play just the base game because it's not interesting enough anymore.
Yup, I am working on the expansions as well!