Model Update
about 3 years ago – Thu, Apr 15, 2021 at 12:02:46 AM

Hey folks! The team has been hard at work and we have some new renders to show you! We went classic for the young dragon (red) and you can see him in his fire-breathing glory below! Also another stretch goal added to the campaign was the Banshee. Next up is the finished (and F*$!ng EPIC) Roc. Lastly, the evil wizard busts on the scene to plague your players.

There's ONE stretch goal pick remaining to be unveiled - I didn't hear from the backer and did a new backer pick this morning, so stay tuned for that.

Also I've had lots of folks ask me about the not-unlocked stretch goals. Some of the ones that weren't unlocked weren't modeled yet, and some others were. The finished ones will surely make an appearance in the future, possibly in one of my upcoming charitable "Community (Treasure)Chest Projects", but for now I'm focused on getting the final unlocked models finished.

FEATURED ADDON: "A Den of Alien Evil"

There was a lot of add-ons listed in the campaign, and one line of text doesn't doe them justice so I'm going to share some photos and info of a few that might be of the most interest to you folks. A while ago I started a charitable project series called "Community (Treasure)Chest", with a model of pledge-what-you-can, and 40% went to charity. The models from those projects are now sold as retail sets, but the first  one still might be my favorite to date - "A Den of Alien Evil" focused on a certain type of psychic, face-tentacled beasties (we call them Mind Horrors). The set has multiple support-free minis and some super creepy pieces of scatter terrain, and is available as a $10 add-on to your pledge (it can be added in BackerKit when pledge manager goes out in a week or so). You can see the full details of what's included in the original project HERE, and check out this epic painted shot from my friends at Cephalopod Studios:

Model Updates
about 3 years ago – Mon, Apr 12, 2021 at 11:47:30 AM

Hi folks! We're hard at work over here workin on more models to show you. We should have a render of the young dragon to show in the next few days, and we're working on the Evil Wizard and the Undead Croc too!

Two of the 4 picks that happened after the KS ended have been sorted, and the Roc and the Giant Rat have been added to the mix! You can see our concept art of the roc below (which will get tweaked to be supportless, of course). There's still 2 more picks coming your way too. Below you can see the finished renders of the Rust Monster, Giant Rat, and the finished pair of Slaad! 

Stay tuned for more updates.

Kickstarter Successful! Now what?
about 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 09, 2021 at 04:33:56 AM

Thank you all so much for an awesome, successful campaign! We unlocked tons of stretch goals and this campaign evolved into a huge set of STLs that I'm proud to share with you all!

I wanted to take a minute to outline next steps for those of you who have never participated in one of my Kickstarters before, and answer a few common questions!

When can I see the work-in-progress mins and unpicked sets?

I can no longer update the content (images/text/etc) on the main campaign page since the Kickstarter is ended, so you won't see updates any more on there. As we finish more renders to share, and the final pending sets are picked, etc I'll be doing some updates to share those with you all.

When can I get the files?

Kickstarter takes 2 weeks to collect payment from backers and hand it over to me. This is to account for failed card transactions and the like (which does happen). In that 2 week period I will be working to finalize/test/finish as many of the files as I can, and organize them in the final folder structure. Once Kickstarter releases the funding to me, I will make the files that are ready available to all backers. I'm estimating that at that time 60-75% of the included files will be finished and ready to print.

Please note that just because I can make a render of a model does not mean it's finished -there's lots of work to make a final version of minis (support validation, testing, watertighting/manifold checking, etc), so there's a LOT of work to do to finalize all the models still, which is why I noted up to 90 days on the KS campaign page (though I expect it to take much less of course). 

I always created a google doc that outlines all the files included, and their state of completion and when they were last updated. I use Dropbox to deliver files and BackerKit as a pledge manager.

I pledged for add-ons, where do I choose which ones I want?

There will be a pledge manager (BackerKit) that you will use to choose your add-ons, which you will have access to shortly after the funding period. I'll be doing another update when the pledge manager is ready, including videos showing you how to choose add-ons, get the files, etc.

What's next for EC3D?

At the moment we'er working on more issues of The Ignis Quadrant comic series and a short anthology comic in the Ignis Quadrant (which will both feature many characters, locations, ships and more from items in this project).

Also in the works is a sprawling Steampunk STL project,  a Kickstarter of real-life tabletop props, a few Community (Treasure)Chest projects (the ongoing charity series I created, with small themed STL sets) which will probably feature a scifi and a cyberpunk themed concept, and even a Board Game. 2021 is gonna be a busy year!

If you don't already, please follow EC3D on facebook and on Instagram to stay up to date!

2 hrs left and more stretch goals!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 07, 2021 at 08:25:34 PM

Heading towards the finish line, I wanted to share a quick stretch goal update. Since the last posted update we unlocked a LOT of stuff, and added a few finished renders of already unlocked items:

Not too shabby!!

I think it's safe to say you're getting your money's worth in this project!

I'll send out an update tomorrow once the KS ends with info on next steps.

I also wanted to note that once the KS ends I cannot change the images/text/etc on the campaign page so I can only provide info on unlocks in the KS updates and you won't see anything change on the main page. Thanks so much for your support!

Test Models, Stretch Goals, and Backer Vote #2
about 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 07, 2021 at 06:23:57 AM

Stretch Goals

Newly unlocked since the last update we have the TROLLS and the LICH. There's also still 2 unlocked goals I'm waiting to hear from the randomly selected backer for, and a backer vote (more below on that), so they should keep on rolling in!

Backer Vote

I'm gonna keep this poll open for a few days, but take a minute to cast your votes for the Backer Vote goal to unlock. The options are aggregated from your input. Each backer gets to case 2 votes (one form fill) and please enter the email of your Kickstarter account in the form to validate the votes so it cant' be gamed. You can access the voting form here: https://forms.gle/Wx14eLNRvEkGB7Bt9

Test Models / Bases

After TONS of tweaking and testing I am looking for you, the community, to help pinpoint the perfectly optimal base for resin printing. I am releasing the spiders models (one on a 1" base and on on a 2" base) for you to test out. For FDM printing, it's pretty easy - just use the unbased or based (regular, flat based) versions. For resin printers, this is where I'm looking for your feedback. There's 3 iterations of the resin based included:

• Resin A : The original small bevel/channeled option I came up with (and is currently available via my Blender Plugin).
• Resin B: Updated version of Resin A with a deeper bevel, bigger channels, and more channels. The idea here is that there's less suction on the bed to break, but the downsides are that some resin gets trapped under the channels (though it can flow out)
• Resin C: A very basic bevel on the flat based version, just to provide a small area for razor/scraper to get underneath
• Resin D: A more angled, rounded bevel

If you're willing to give some of these a test on your resin machine, we can figure out what will work the best across a broad range of printers/resins/etc.  Things to note for resin printing supportless minis

• You often need less exposure time on the base layer to get good adherence, but still make it easy to remove.
• To remove the minis, set the build plate on something solid and slide a sharp metal scraper or safety razor under the base just enough to release the suction
• Many folks will pop the build plate in the freezer for a bit and the minis pop right off
• A magnetic build plate is a game changer for removing minis like this, and is a cheap but awesome upgrade.

If you do some test printing, let me know what kind of experience you have with the different bases in resin so the final product can be one that works for all backers! NOTE thousands of people have been successfully printing my support-free minis with the standard flat bases for years -- this is just an attempt to make it even easier.

Here's the link to download the test models: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/20m5jsfotvwj5zj/AABLkBSCSLiuDOuzFYrqHVPMa?dl=0