Mantic Games, a UK based miniature wargame design studio responsible for games like Halo Flashpoint, Kings of War, and Epic Warpath, has launched a print on demand service to let fans without 3D printers get their hands on digital-only miniatures direct from the studio. It's part of a series of overhauls to how the studio offers digital miniatures to its customers - and it may suggest that the use of 3D printing as a production method in larger miniature companies is rising.
Mantic is starting small - it's launched the Print on Demand service with just one product, the new Z'akke Company Box for the fast-playing Kings of War Champions fantasy wargame. I visited the Mantic studio in 2024 and at the time, the firm's only 3D printers were used for making incredibly highly detailed master models suitable for mold making; presumably the firm has invested in some units specced for batch-production since then.
The first large miniature maker - at least that I know of - which used 3D printing to make its models was Privateer Press, which switched production of its flagship game Warmachine to 3D printed resin in 2023. Steamforged Games adopted print-on-demand 3D printing to bring back its out-of-production wargame Guild Ball in February 2024; that may have been connected to it buying the rights to Warmachine in June that year, and expanding the printing capacity for the game in both America and Europe.
Mantic Games has been offering digital services for years, including subscription services to apps and up-to-date rules for each of its miniature wargames, and the Mantic Vault, a subscription to digital models, terrain, and conversion parts that has been running for "over 34 months". Mantic has now opened its own Digital Store to make buying older Vault releases simpler - either as individual STLs, or as thematic packs. The full range of minis for Kings of War Armada and Epic Warpath is available digitally, along with recent releases for other games.
Mantic is also rejiggering its subscription services, as of April 1. Unfortunately for fans who want rules and an army builder, it'll now cost $6.20 / £4.50 per month to subscribe to one game, or $10.30 / £7.50 to subscribe to all Mantic IP games, a slight increase. If you just want to get the Vault of monthly STLs, that'll cost the same $13.80 / £9.99 per month.
Then there's a new $20.70 / £15 'Fanatic' tier, which gets you Vault and rules subscriptions, plus two free special edition models a year (either as STLs, or as printed models if you can pay the price of postage), 20% discounts on the digital store, 50% discounts on the last two vault packages you missed before signing up, and the chance to "guide future Vault content" through exclusive Fanatic polls.
What role do you think 3D printing will have in the future of miniature wargaming? Will it be a bigger part of how companies make and sell miniatures? Will developments in the technology make it easier for regular home users to adopt? Or is this where the wave crests? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord community. For a round up of the biggest and best stories on Wargamer each week, sign up to our regular newsletter.