We Print Miniatures - Wasteland Bounty Hunters & Competition...

The gang's all here - Wasteland Bounty Hunters pose for a rare group photo on the outskirts of the sprawl

3D printing is probably rightly hailed as the next big thing in the hobby (and it probably already is, for all I know!), and we've all by now seen the images of the kind of things that can be downloaded in the form of STL files and run off on a printer that uses UV-sensitive resin. It's a brave new world, with so much wonder and promise in it.

But what if you don't own a 3D printer for whatever reason? Is there a viable alternative for getting your hands on this kind of thing? Of course there are more than a few companies springing up that offer to print minis for you or sell the ranges that they print on demand.

We Print Miniatures are one of those companies, based in Harrogate and selling through their own site and an eBay store at the moment. I took the plunge a little before Xmas 2020 and ordered some minis from their Wasteland Bounty Hunters range. And when they arrived, I was more than a little impressed with the quality of the product when it was finally in my sweaty palms.

Things only got better when I actually started painting them, as the details were crisper than most printed minis that I'd come across in the past. In addition the scale being closer to 32 than 28mm meant that the sculpts looked more imposing than the average mini too, inspiring me to go even further in terms of details and basing than I would otherwise have done.

Devil Wheeler - sporting antlers and improvised armour, this guy dual-wields a pair of revolvers, using them to keep his head on his shoulders out in the wastelands.

CrowEye - a silent stalker in his plague-doctor's mask, CrowEye is a deadly shot with the antique rifle that he always carries with him.

Gerado - known to offer his quarry a swig of whiskey and the chance to come quietly, Gerado isn't known to make the same offer twice.

Kazumi - a street samurai wielding a deadly vibro-blade katana, Kazumi descends from the high-class stacks to hunt amongst the scum of the wasteland.

Kolotov - known for hurling Molotov cocktails, no one knows if Kolotov is an actual veteran or else a thug dressed in scavenged gear.

Junk Girl - an inhabitant of the junkyard, she can find a bounty as easily as root out salvage form the towering stacks of refuse.

Octogrunge - is he an alien, a mutant or a man in an elaborate mask? No one knows and he's not telling either...

Viera - rather than being put out of a job by losing a leg, Viera got a replacement and then got right back on with the job.

Rottenhorn - wandering barefoot through the wasteland, Rottenhorn unnerves his quarry as much with his presence as his skills.

Starting to become somewhat addicted to the experience of painting them, I ordered more and sent some shots of the results to WPM. They seemed to like what they saw and offered me the chance to get my hands on some more freebies to paint (did I mention that they're a bunch of sweeties like that?). But the thought struck me that their generosity would be better shared with others in the hobby too.

I suggested that they send me some minis and I give them away to readers of my blog instead, and they thought that it was a pretty good idea. All of which lead to me getting sent a very generous box of minis, which I was amazed to find contained enough stuff for me to offer a first, second and third place prize.

Third Prize - Devil Driver & Wandering Bard

Second Prize - Devil Driver, Gerado, CrowEye & Wandering Bard

First Prize - Devil Driver, Gerado, Croweye, Octogrunge, Junk Girl & Rottenhorn

All you need to do is answer the following question:

What does the acronym "STL" stand for?

But before you just reel off "Standard Triangle Language" or "Standard Tessellation Language", I should say that I'm looking for humorous answers only, okay?

So see what you can come up with and post it in the comments section below, and I'll pick the three that make me chuckle the most and they'll receive a package containing some of these wonderful minis through the post (allowing for weather and pandemic-related issues, of course).