Buying terrain on Etsy - experiences?

[Elbows]

Yep, Patrick Miniatures is good - expensive/lengthy to order from the US, but good products.

[Fred Mills]

Keep 'em coming, folks. A few of the recommendations either don't ship to Canada or don't do 15mm scale. Too bad.

But BattleHonours3D and Patrick Miniatures both look very good. At the moment, this is where the search has led.

Additional thoughts or cautions very welcome.

Thanks again.

[carlos marighela]

My other favourite 3D printer via Etsy is 3d Printing Valley. They are UK based and service is very good. I have most of a small European town and a goodly portion of my Berlin terrain thanks to them.

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/3dPrintingValleyLtd

You can always contact them directly via their proprietory shop too. and of course that's easier to navigate than their Etsy shop, although not everything shows up on both.

https://www.3dprintingvalley.com/

[Fred Mills]

Thanks for everything, friends. To update:

I placed my first order just now, although - based on a suggestion above - I went direct to the company (BattleHonours3d) and not via Etsy itself. The cost saving to order direct from BH3D was very substantial, so I did that. Estimated delivery date was immediately provided via email, so now we'll see.

I'll drop an update in here when it arrives in a few weeks: a spanking new Austrian village in 15mm for my 1809 French and allies to surge towards.

I still have Patrick and 3D Printing Valley to consider (thanks for those suggestions!); when the disposable income jar refills, I'll probably splurge in their direction also. Can one have too many terrain pieces? I say no.

[BeneathALeadMountain]

Fred - did you order 15mm or 1/100 from Battlehonours? I ask as I’m not sure what to go for (I’ve asked BH about the difference but they haven’t replied) as whilst I game in 15mm most companies use 1/100 for vehicles and buildings as it looks better.

Looking forward to seeing the results,

Andrew
BeneathALeadMountain

[Fred Mills]

Hi Andrew,
I ordered 15mm. I'll try to add a photo when they arrive, estimated in a few weeks.
Best,
F.

[Codsticker]

Hi Andrew,
I ordered 15mm. I'll try to add a photo when they arrive, estimated in a few weeks.
Best,
F.

That would  be great - I am interested in their Napoleonic Austrian buildings.

[BeneathALeadMountain]

Thanks Fred I’m very interested so I’ll keep an eye out. Battlehonours did get back to me stating that the 15mm is 15mm and the 1/100 works out at 16.1mm. Now whether this is to the eyes or top of the head (or door frame) I don’t know but I’ve asked the poor chap more questions  . I think I’m going to order a couple of small buildings and go for 1/100 as the print quality/lack of terrible layer lines (often a product of doing things too fast to make it cheaper - according to my printing savvy friend) really sell this company to me.

Battlehonours (have replied, again, and) state that they measure to the eyes/bridge of the nose - as we’d expect for (in this case 15mm) miniatures. Hope this helps anyone else considering ordering.

Looking forwards to seeing what you get,

Andrew
BeneathALeadMountain

[Fred Mills]

Looking forward to seeing any purchases from others also. I've never bought 3D printed buildings before in any scale, from any supplier, so this is a small new adventure for me.

[Fred Mills]

Just a quick update on this. After all the helpful advice from people here, I ordered the Austrian village from Battle Honors 3D on Oct 11 and it arrived in Canada on Oct 24, which I thought very fast. It was very well packaged and precisely as pictured, so I was very pleased with it. Communications with the company were fast and pleasant and I will be ordering from them again, no question.

A few things to note:

1. Images of the 'village' on the website include walls and haystacks and such, but these do not come with the set. Walls and fences have to be purchased separately, or supplied from elsewhere or scratchbuilt. My mistake on that, but a note on what the images do NOT include would have been helpful.

2. Each building has multiple pieces; while assembly and test fit are more or less easy to figure out, a short diagram or maybe having the parts numbered would have been helpful.

3. Several buildings are multi storeyed, with small mounting pegs to attach the upper storeys to those below. Some of these were precisely aligned, but most were not. I'll need to shave those off or redrill peg holes for a smooth fit, if I want removable storeys.

4. A 15mm figure (but maybe not the larger 18mm ones) will fit inside each story, for combat purposes, but figures on a mounted base, with bayonets or flags, will not as they will be too tall. This makes it less likely that having removable storeys will matter, so I think I will just glue the storeys together and be done with it. i will, however, try to keep the roofs removable so that troops inside can be positioned on the upper floor.

5. Several of the doors are molded in the open position, which I liked a lot, and these and the thatch-like roof texture give the set a very nice look and feel. The online photos were super helpful in this regard.

6. There was virtually no clean up required on these. They were crisp and clean models and the positive comments on the web site from satisfied customers do not lie.

7. The fit of roofs to upper storeys was slightly off in a couple of cases and will require some sanding to make snug, but this should not be too difficult.

In short, I was very pleased with what I ordered and had a great experience with the company. I'll be a repeat buyer for sure.

Thanks to everyone here on LAF for taking the time to make suggestions.
 

[BeneathALeadMountain]

That’s very quick service, excellent breakdown and thoughts. Sorry should have said the couple of test pieces I ordered (small Russian house and barn) from Battlehonours turned up a couple of days after I’d ordered them. Very helpful chap and very well packed. They look pretty good but due to nonsense real world hassle I haven’t yet had a chance to really have a proper poke at them. Certainly a good experience in terms of service.

Would love to see some pics if you get a chance Fred

Andrew
BeneathALeadMountain

[FifteensAway]

Glad you got quick service.  Concerned, deeply, about the alignment issues - none of the companies I've ordered from have had any alignment issues at all for my 15 mm stuff; not a good sign. 

One challenge with every single 3D company I've ordered from - no marking on packages as to what is what so when ordering a bunch of items it can be a real chore to determine if everything was sent or not.  Most recent order was missing a few items but was in the mail the following day and should arrive very soon - that was good - but took a couple of hours to determine the items were missing (I think there were around 16 or so structures with all multiple parts).  It is a real pain with parts for one building in three separate wrapped items which I've seen a few times.

And in 15 mm, despite all the lovely interiors in many pieces I've purchased, I plan to glue the pieces together and not bother about the interiors unless visible from outside somehow - like open doors or windows.  Spaces almost always too small to maneuver based figures inside.

[carlos marighela]

It's a feature of the medium it seems. I've had very few problems with 3D kits, a bit of warpage here and there, easily fixed with hot water. Occasionally you get loose bits of filament on finer parts like window frames. I've found the quickest way to remove the cobwebs of filament in windows is a very quick (and I do mean quick) pass with a cigarette lighter. Removes them instantly, alot less laborious than a craft knife but you do need to be careful lest you melt frames.

Yet to see a model that comes with instructions ors even parts lists and I've had a couple of examples of additional parts and only one of a missing part but that was easily replaced. Most kits are fairly intuitive and reference to the photos of the built kit is enough. The most complex ones have been a couple of the 3D Printing Valley items which have included interior room detail and also quite complex roof shapes but a through dry fitting gets you through.

I don't do the opened up for figure placement thing, I glaze and seal up all of mine so fitting troops has never been an issue. That said the 3D printing Valley stuff with internal rooms does take 28mm minis fairly well, at least height wise.

[Fred Mills]

I'll try to post a few pics when I get a minute.

Never having posted pics here before, what could go wrong?!

[FifteensAway]

So, I got my replacement parts from Tabletop Terrain today - I'd rate their customer service as excellent. 

Finally, from a different company - and after a reminder prompt from me - getting my wrong building (in tact as ordered rather than ruined as received) on its way (supposedly - but they've printed a shipping label and then not shipped for a couple of weeks - which seems a bit dodgy). 

Of the at least six 3D pre-printed companies I've ordered from, this one is the one least likely to get repeat business.  The products themselves have been fine and I certainly understand that errors occur and that's fine as long as they are fixed but I shouldn't have to make multiple contacts with the company to get it fixed and then also have to remind them to fix the problem when too much time has passed; disappointing because they have other items I might have ordered.  But if someone else has the same item...   

And I'm not naming the company because I don't want to damage their business, just disappointed at the quality of customer service; others stand in stark contrast: Tabletop Terrain and Dungeon Torch especially good and prompt service.