Entering the Arena
- cbowmanarts
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
Big news from the workshop—Brass & Bone has officially entered its very first miniature painting competition! My Mini Factory and Trench Crusade have teamed up!
This whole thing started with a little serendipity (and a healthy dose of chaos). A few days ago, we stumbled across an open call for entries into a miniature painting competition. It had been open for months... and we discovered it five days before the deadline. Five. Days.
Naturally, we decided to dive in.
We just got our very first 3D printer—a shiny new Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra—and we were excited to put it to work. The plan: print, paint, and build a killer diorama to enter into the competition.
But of course, nothing ever goes quite according to plan.
Enter: The Trials of Resin Printing
First, the FEP film tore. Twice. If you’ve been in the resin printing game, you know how that feels—sticky, frustrating, and definitely not part of the plan. But we patched it up, replaced what we needed, and kept moving.
Then, disaster struck. One of our prints detached from the build plate and fell silently into the resin vat. We didn’t notice until it was too late. The next print cycle pushed the LCD screen just enough to crack it. Game over.
Well—almost.
A Lucky Break (Literally)
Here’s the plot twist: the LCD cracked right after we successfully printed the minis we needed for the competition. By pure luck, the core components for our diorama made it off the build plate intact before the printer went down. Talk about threading the needle.
And thankfully, Elegoo’s warranty support came through. (Shoutout to good customer service for keeping dreams alive!)
The Feels
We’ll be honest—there was a moment there where the doubt crept in. Printer problems, time pressure, a steep learning curve—it’s easy to start asking: What are we even doing? But then you remember why you started. You shake off the nerves, grab your paintbrush, and keep moving.
Because this is Brass & Bone. We don’t shy away from a challenge.
Why We’re Doing This
The competition? It’s fierce. The deadline is close. And the prizes? A HeyGears Reflex RS 3D printer—yes, please. Our chances? Let’s just say they’re slim. But our motivation is sky high.
We’re in it not just for the gear, but for the growth. For the community. For the pure, gritty fun of bringing a world to life in miniature.
What’s Next?
We’ll be showing the rest of the process—building the diorama, painting the minis, and sharing the highs of an impending deadline. Stay tuned. Brass & Bone is just getting started.
Etch your legends in brass, carve your truths in bone.
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