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Best Miniature Tools and Gear for Painting

I have spent hundreds of hours researching, testing, and using various hobby tools for miniatures.

Below are the hobby tools and products that I end up using all the time because I think they are the best you can get. You can also find links to reviews of the products I use as well as my roundup articles where I list the best product in category and for each use case.

Best Printer for Beginner's
Elegoo Mars 4 DLP Elegoo Mars 4 DLP
The Mars 4 DLP is a great printer for beginners. It uses a projector instead of an LCD screen, so there is no fear of bricking an expensive screen (and for beginners this is big)

For the price you pay the quality is surprisingly good because of the DLP technology.
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Best Printer for Larger Models
Elegoo Saturn 3 Elegoo Saturn 3
While not the greatest of the greatest in terms of print quality (that is how it is with big printers), it is extrmely useful to be able to print big models and fill the build plate with tons of miniatures.

That is what you get with the Saturn 3. One of my all time favorite machines.
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Best Printer Resolution
Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra
If you are just looking to print the best miniatures you possible can, the Mars 4 with an XY resolution of 18 microns is your best bet.

Overall just a great package with the best quality you can get. Also, great price, but slightly feature bare (compared to more expensive printers)
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Read our Best 3D Printers for Miniatures Roundup

Getting a 3D printer for miniatures can be an extremely daunting task. So many specs and things you need to know before you buy. But actually, it can be quite easy.

Read our roundup of the resin 3D printers you should consider for miniatures in depending on your use case.

Best Lamp for Miniatures
Redgrass R9 Desk Lamp Redgrass R9 Desk Lamp
This lamp is the only lamp seriously designed for Miniature Painting and hobbies like it. And it shows.


Quality design, minimizes shadows, and best colour rendering that exists.
If you simply want the best lamp for painting, look no further.
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Best Budget Lamp for Miniatures
Neatfi XL 2,500 Lumens LED Task Lamp Neatfi XL 2,500 Lumens LED Task Lamp
The Neatfi XL 2,500 covers your whole painting station in bright white light, making it much easier to paint details.

The colour rendering is perfect, but it is a great budget option,
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Best Mobile Lamp for Miniatures
UberLight Flex Lamp UberLight Flex Lamp

This lamp works well for a small painting station that is moved regularly around.

You can fold it down and take it on the go or hide it away easily.

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Read our Best Lamp for Miniatures Roundup

Light is essential to paint miniatures. You can get a cheap lamp and be extremely happy, but there are big differences even between the cheap ones.

Read our roundup of the best lamps for miniatures before you decide on what to get.

Best Cheap Resin
Sunlu Standard Grey Resin Sunlu Standard Grey Resin
If you want to print a ton of miniatures, changes are you do not want to blow $40 pr. liter.

The cheap resin market is very crowded, but Sunlu is the best of those I have tested
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Balance between price and quality
Siraya Tech Fast Navy Grey Siraya Tech Fast Navy Grey
If you want good detail, this is one of the best value resins I have found.

It prints amazing and is quite durable out of the box. Also, it is not the most expensive option.
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Best Tough Resin
Siraya Tech Tenacious Obsidian Black Siraya Tech Tenacious Obsidian Black
I would never print anything with only this, but I mix in about 10% in almost all of my resins. Why? Because it makes it that the print that much durable without adding a ton to the cost.
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Read our Resin for Miniatures Roundup

While having a great printer is important, it also matters what quality of material you use. Crap in, crap out. But there are some budget resins that are not crap and some expensive resins that are.

Read our Best Resin for Miniatures to know what to buy

Read our Best 3D Printer for Terrain Roundup

Printing with FDM is cheaper and often more durable than printing with resin. This means that they are much more suitable for printing terrain.

But FDM printers can also be very fickle. Unless you are the tinkerer type, it is important to good printer.


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