In my previous post titled Low End FDM for Miniatures, Hobby Parts, and Messing Around? I received a ton of fantastic recommendations, but ultimately went with the A1 mini due to its price at the time, ease of use, and several other factors. It came in today, and I’ve already made 10 different prints on it. The Benchy came out wonderfully, and so has everything else so far.

Thank all of you for your help, and I look forward to continuing to be a part of the community.

  • @papalonian
    link
    English
    24 months ago

    I’m glad you got something that is meeting your needs so far! Lots of people going the bambu route as of late. If you want a tool that just works, it’s a brilliant machine, and if later down the line you do get more interested in the hobby side of things, you’ll a. already have basic maintenance and use experience, b. have a bulletproof backup printer when things on your project inevitability hiccup and stop working, and c. be able to print your own parts if you decide to go a self built route.

    • @[email protected]OP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      14 months ago

      I have a tendency to get into hobbies for a month or so and then drop them, too, so it being easy to set up and use should help me stick with it a bit more. The relatively low initial investment should soften the blow if I do drop it, too.

      • @papalonian
        link
        English
        24 months ago

        relatively low initial investment

        How much did you get it for? Bambus are not normally the “relatively cheap” options haha

        • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️
          link
          English
          24 months ago

          Well, they’re MSRP’ing for $199 at the moment if you don’t spring for the AMS Lite filament changer thingamadoo. To be fair that’s less than several pocket knives I own are worth. I’m not a fan of Bambu at all, but I think you could wind up with far worse for not much less money…

          • @papalonian
            link
            English
            2
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            Hey, that’s a pretty good price. I’m not a fan of bambu either, but for someone who just wants to print stuff I don’t think it’s a bad deal at all. That’s less than my stock Neptune 3 and probably a hell of a lot more reliable

        • @[email protected]OP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          14 months ago

          I went with the A1 mini while it was (actually still is) $200 on their website. That’s about as much as we spent on our sewing machine gathering dust, a bit more than our vinyl cutter doing the same, and around the same as I’ve invested so far in mini painting.

          To be fair to me, I have so far kept up with the miniature painting.

          • @papalonian
            link
            English
            24 months ago

            That’s lower than I expected. When I was last shopping for a new potential printer, bambus were starting at around $400. Good piece of hardware for that price, if you’re not crazy into the hobby aspect of printing and just need it to aid your other hobbies. Have fun with it!