RPG Indesign Hobbyist: Kiss and a Slap: Hero Forge Custom Miniatures

Omigawd omigawd omigawd guys! I've been keeping my eye on Hero Forge Custom Miniatures since they first appeared on the scene. AND NOW I FINALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO REVIEW THEIR PRODUCT!

Ok, let's start from the basics though, for those who know nothing about Hero Forge, they're a company that provides free 3D modelling software geared toward designing miniatures for roleplaying and wargaming, they also provide 3D printying service and delivery of your custom figures for a fee. People have been eating these things up like friggin' hot cakes since day 1. Anyone who has the money and a long-term group eventually considers getting their party immortalized. That sid, money is the key. At 20 bucks a pop plus shipping outside of the US, it's an investment that might not be right for everyone. After all, every campaign eventually comes to an end- and sometimes characters die!

I think of these as a heart-felt gift. A trophy as a statement of gratitude to a dedicated group of players. Something that will last as a reminder for those great times we had playing together, even after we've scattered to the four winds.

That said, I've kind of shied away for a long time. Their early hardware had very poor resolution and produced grainy-surfaced figures. They just weren't play-quality, so they eren't worth the price tag to me. However, in 2017/2018 they changed to a higher detail durable plastic which, from what I could tell, was passable for play. Around the same time, I developed a solid live gaming group for the first time in years. I was ecstatic, so around the Christmas season, I decided to suck it up and reward my people.

They finally arrived on December 4th 2018. Here's my gang:

Let's start the review. Fair warning: This is going to be a text-light review, as this is almost entirely about the look of the things. So get ready for a lot of large high-resolution pictures. As always, let's start with the slaps.

Higher resolution plastic means defects in the printing process are now visible.

So, in the granular plastic they used to use, the material itself was the problem. Now, however, it feels like they may need to go back and work on the software just a touch, because (and this is a very minor thing that appears only very slightly and only occasionally) there are areas where the process isn't getting a complete fill. Here's some pictures of it. These are not layer lines; most of them are on an equal layer.

The base layer has a rough interface edge boundary

This is another really minor issue. It appears on any figure with a flat base. I have two pictures. The first is the ugliest example I got. Still really mild. Easily fixed with sandpaper. The second one is more interesting: If any part of the figure extends beyond the bottom boundary, it produces an ugly interfering surface at the cut-off. There's almost no way to do this with the software. My recommendation to Hero Forge: Adjust the polearm positions slightly.

Inconsistent quality

This is a genuine concern, and I'm not sure what causes it or what should be done about it. All of my figures look great, but two of them look distinctly less-good. The first is Cupiditas, an elven wizard. There are clear layer lines, pitting, and lumps all over the figure. None of the other figures have this problem. Luckily, they're almost invisible unless you hold the little bastard right up to your eye ball.

The second problematic figure is Rathe. There is a visible detail drop on this figure. The chainmail looks like a corded sweater. It looks like her face is out of focus, but it isn't; she's just lower detail than the others for some reason.