If you’re a fan of printing your own tabletop game miniatures, you might have heard about the Highland Miniatures. As a couple who create and design 3D printable miniatures and fantasy armies for tabletop games, they definitely know what they are doing when they say that their favorite 3D printer ever was the Sonic Mini 8K — you can even see them listed it on their Patreon and MyMiniFactory profile.
Want to know what they think about the best resin 3D printer for miniatures?
Sonic Mini 8K for 3D Printable Miniatures
As miniature designers, they believe that high quality, high resolution 3D printer is a great device to invest in if you’re looking to create detailed 3D printed miniatures, and the Sonic Mini 8K easily fulfills that needs.
With 22 micron resolution, it’s one of the best printer resolutions in the consumer market, especially with its 80 mm per hour printing speed.
Upon unboxing the printer, they are surprised by how well-built the machine is. It exudes quality and feels sturdy without being too heavy. In addition, it comes in a very well-packaged box and only took a few minutes to assemble, from unboxing to printing.
Just as every new 3D printer, you should do a quick LCD test and a z-axis calibration before you start printing. This ensures that your printer is in its prime condition to start producing the best results yet. In the case of the Sonic Mini 8K, it’ll ensure you’ll have the best-looking tabletop miniatures at the end of your print.
Highland Miniatures also applauds how easy and intuitive the printer is to use. The whole process feels as easy as the plug-and-play that people often assume of 3D printing.
Once you have your model ready and sliced, you can start printing in just 3 steps:
- Plug your USB with the model in it.
- Click 3D Print on the touchscreen.
- Choose the model you want to print, and click Go.
It’s really as easy as that!
4K vs 8K 3D Printers Model Comparison
To further see the quality of the Sonic Mini 8K and see if it’s really the best 3D printer for miniatures, Highland Miniatures printed some of their models with both 8K and 4K printers.
The models printed with the Sonic Mini 8K clearly have better and sharper details when compared side by side with those printed on a 4K printer. It offers better clarity, and even the smallest details are printed with great depth.
Should You Get an 8K Printer to Print Highland Miniatures 3D Printable Models?>
The answer is.. it depends.
According to Highland Miniatures, your needs for an 8K printer vary widely based on what is the goal of your 3D printer. Do you want the best quality possible that the eyes could witness? Are you a fantasy miniature collector? A professional 3D printable miniatures printer and painter? Or are you simply 3D printing for your hobbies and want to mass-print some miniatures for your next tabletop game?
If you are part of the first group, yes, the Sonic Mini 8K will be a wonderful addition to your workspace. It’ll give you the highest quality possible from a sturdy and robust 8K printer. But if you think you’re more of the latter, you couldn’t go wrong with a 4K printer like the Sonic Mini 4K or the Sonic Mighty 4K if you want to print bigger.
Want to see the full review? Watch it here:
