Guide

A run takes one character from its description to an STL. You make the choices at each gate; the expensive steps never start without you.

1. 1Intake

   The description this run was made from: name, concept, tone, size and key features, plus any reference images on the character.

   You

   Nothing to do here. To change something, edit the intake: that starts a new run and leaves this one as it is.

   Cost

   Free

   Next

   Claude suggests poses for the concept.

2. 2Pose

   Poses suggested for your character that read well on the table and survive printing: planted feet, a compact silhouette, nothing thin standing on its own.

   You

   Pick one, edit its description, or write your own. You can also choose a base here, sculpted into the figure.

   Cost

   1 credit for the run's pose suggestions and prompts, once. New suggestions in the same run are free. (≈ €0.03)≈ €0.03

   Next

   Claude writes the image prompt for the chosen pose.

3. 3Prompts

   The prompt the image model gets: by default one front view, turned 15–25°, in plain grey clay so the 3D step sees the shapes, not the paint.

   You

   Read it and edit anything that is wrong, then lock it to generate images. Extra views are an exception for details hidden from the front.

   Cost

   Free to write and edit. Locking them generates the images: 2 credits per image. (≈ €0.12 per image)≈ €0.12 per image

   Next

   Gemini renders clay images from the locked prompt.

4. 4Images

   Clay renders of your character in the chosen pose. This is the last cheap step: check it carefully.

   You

   Pick the best candidate and regenerate if the proportions, hands or silhouette are off. Under each image the print check reads it the way the 3D model will (shape only) and lists parts that will not print at your size, such as loose hair strands, thin chains, spread fingers or needle-thin tips, each with the smallest fix and whether a touch-up, a new image or the 3D print check settles it. The check is free, advice only, and never blocks approving. When it proposes an edit, Touch up for print edits that one image for you: read the instruction, change it if you like, and an image editor makes a new candidate with those parts thicker, shorter or closed up (colour words are left out; the image stays gray clay). Your original stays; compare before and after, and the new image gets its own print check. Nothing is touched up unless you ask. Tick several candidates to build one 3D model from each. Approve to start the 3D model.

   Cost

   2 credits per image. A touch-up of one image: 2 credits, returned if it fails. Approving starts a 3D model: 6 credits. (≈ €0.12 per image · ≈ €0.46 per 3D model)≈ €0.12 per image · ≈ €0.46 per 3D model

   Next

   Meshy builds the 3D model; it is then scaled and print-checked automatically.

5. 53D model

   The 3D model, scaled to its size category, next to a 32 mm figure for scale.

   You

   Rotate and zoom it. Turn on the print-risk heatmap: magenta and red parts fail the check (the magenta ones are of a kind Reinforce can offer to thicken at review), amber ones are worth a look. Re-roll if the model went wrong.

   Cost

   A re-roll is a new model: 6 credits. (≈ €0.46 per 3D model)≈ €0.46 per 3D model

   Next

   The print check runs by itself. It never changes the model: fixes are yours to choose at review.

6. 6Review

   What the print check found: thin parts (spikes, chains, strands, panels), weak load-bearing columns, floating bits, glue contact and height. Click a finding to see it on the model. The signature check beside it compares the model with your concept image and lists the identity features that did not survive (extra eyes, horns, an emblem, a held item), with the concept image next to renders of the model.

   You

   Fix what matters (reinforce failing spikes, strands, legs and long chains, re-scale, add a base), accept what is fine, then export. A thin part you keep prints best supported, in a tough resin, handled with care. Every fix is a new mesh version you can go back to. The signature check is free and advice only: when a feature that matters is gone, re-roll the 3D model or go back and pick another image, because a lost feature cannot be repaired on the mesh.

   Cost

   Checks and fixes are free; a generated base costs 1 credit.

   Next

   Export: a print-optimised STL plus full resolution, with a report.

After every 3D model, scale or fix, 3D Miniforge measures the model at its real printed size. A finding is either a fail (it will likely break or misprint) or a warning (worth a look). A run with fails waits for your review; one with only warnings is ready to export.

• Thin element

  A part that stands free of the body is weaker than its reach needs: a spike, blade tip or strand, a chain held at both ends, or a panel in free air. Relief backed by the body (feathers, fur, armour edges, hair lying on the back) is never flagged.

  Why it matters: Thin parts snap when the print comes off its supports or in your hand, and the further a part reaches, the thicker it must be (0.25 mm for a 2 mm reach, 0.38 mm for 5 mm and 0.53 mm for 10 mm). A chain or strand held at both ends is judged on half its span, however short; a short one (half its span under 3.2 mm) is a warning at most. Only short free ends reaching less than 3.2 mm (hair-strand ends, crown and spike points) are a warning at most: they usually print, but stay fragile.

  What to do: Reinforce thickens the spikes, strands, legs and chains you pick: its surface moves out by up to 0.15 mm per side (a part ends up to 0.3 mm thicker), keeping the last 0.25 mm of each tip as it is. The failing ones are ticked for you; one that only warns, such as a thin chain that still prints, you can add. It makes a new mesh version and nothing else on the model moves. Thin panels such as cloaks and hems, and short free ends, are not reinforced. Or keep it as it is: support it well, print in a tough (ABS-like or blended) resin, and handle it carefully when the supports come off. Or re-roll the 3D model with a sturdier design.

• Thin support

  A grounded, limb-like column (ankle, wrist, tail, planted weapon) narrows below 1.5 mm.

  Why it matters: It carries the weight of everything above it on the table and on the build plate.

  What to do: Accept if the pose looks stable in practice (many 32 mm minis have 1.3–1.5 mm ankles), add a base so it is glued over more area, or re-roll with a sturdier pose. Columns are not reinforced: a fraction of a millimetre would not change how they carry the weight.

• Glue contact

  Too little flat surface touches the ground plane to glue the mini to a base (about 1.5 mm² at Medium).

  Why it matters: The mini will be glued to a base; a claw tip or a single toe gives super glue nothing to hold.

  What to do: Add base…: Meshy generates a base in a flavor you choose and the model is seated on it as one print. Or accept if you will pin it.

• Detached piece

  A separate piece of geometry doesn't touch the main body.

  Why it matters: It would print as a loose part; never auto-merged.

  What to do: Re-roll Meshy, or bridge it in Blender by hand.

• Open hole

  The mesh has an open hole (a few stray edges are normal and not listed).

  Why it matters: A large opening can slice as a missing patch of surface.

  What to do: Most slicers close it on import: look at that spot in the slicer. If it really is open, re-roll the 3D model, or close it in Blender by hand.

• Height out of range

  The STANDING height (posed head top × pose factor; raised weapons, wings and any base excluded) is outside the category range.

  Why it matters: Wrong table scale.

  What to do: Re-scale with an explicit standing height or a pose factor, or pick another category. If the character sits on a throne / mount / rock that is taller than it, re-scale with anchor 'character' so the head, not the prop, sets the size.

• Too big for the plate

  Larger than the Saturn 2 8K plate.

  Why it matters: Cannot print in one piece.

  What to do: Reduce height or split the model (manual).

• Floating detail (warning)

  A tiny separate shell overlapping the body, such as a bead or a buckle. The slicer merges overlapping shells, so it prints as part of the model; it is listed so nothing surprises you. Specks too small to matter are only counted.

Kinds of thin element

Each thin element is measured on its own, at its weakest cross-section, and judged by its shape:

Free-standing part

A strand, spike, horn or blade standing out on its own, judged on how far it reaches from the body.

Chain or span

Held at both ends, like a chain from a wrist to a lantern, a bowstring, a bail, a strand pinned at both ends or a leg whose tip rests on the coat. It is judged on half its span, however short: a chain that snaps drops what hangs on it. A short span is a warning at most; you can still reinforce it.

Carries a weight

A thin part with something heavier hanging on it, like a lantern on its chain or a pouch on a strap. It carries that weight on every knock.

Thin panel

A wide, thin panel in free air (cloak, wing, banner), judged on its bending strength across its width. Not reinforced: panels print well on supports.

Very thin sheet

A panel strong enough for its reach but very thin: it can warp, tear when the supports come off, or fill in. A warning; not reinforced.

Short free end

A short free end (reaching less than 3.2 mm), such as a hair-strand end or a crown point: a warning only. It usually prints but stays fragile, so support it well, print in a tough (ABS-like or blended) resin, and handle it carefully when the supports come off. It is never reinforced: thickening a point would blunt it, and so little reach rarely breaks. A chain or a strand held at both ends is never treated this way, however short: a short one only warns, and you can still reinforce it.

Watertight. AI meshes carry a few stray edges, gaps narrower than a printer pixel that every slicer closes. The badge says “topology OK” for those and names a real hole with its size.

Reinforce

Offered when the check finds spikes, strands, legs or chains that reach far enough: you tick which ones (the failing ones start ticked; a chain that only warns is yours to add), and one click thickens just those a little, following their shape, tips kept. It makes a new mesh version and re-checks it; nothing else moves, and it never runs on its own. Thin panels and short free ends are left to supports, a tough resin and careful handling.

Re-scale

Rebuilds the size from the raw 3D model: change the standing height, the pose factor (crouching or sitting figures stand taller than they are posed) or where the head is measured. Free.

Add a base

A round base sculpted in a flavour you pick (mossy floor, flagstones …), seated under the figure as one print. A few Meshy credits. Or choose a base at the pose step, sculpted into the figure.

Accept findings

You looked and they are fine (a model printed on supports, say). The note is kept in the report and the run becomes ready.

Export anyway

Export with fails acknowledged in the report.

Every fix makes a new mesh version. The mesh history at review lists them all, and any version can become current again.

• A run never rewinds. To try a different pose, image or intake, open that step in the step list and start a new run from there. The new run copies everything up to that step, and the old run stays exactly as it was.
• Variants: at the image step, tick several candidates to build one 3D model from each, each as its own run.
• Old intermediates expire. After a run has been idle for 30 days, its heatmaps and superseded mesh versions are removed to save storage. The raw 3D model, the current version, the exported STLs, the reports and the images are always kept, and re-running the checks rebuilds a heatmap for free.

Want to see a finished run first? Open an example.

• Print-optimised or full resolution. The print-optimised STL has far fewer triangles and stays within half a printer pixel of the full model: it prints the same and loads faster in the slicer. Full resolution is there if you want it.
• In millimetres, standing on its feet at z = 0, at the size you chose. Do not rescale in the slicer.
• Supports and hollowing are yours to add in the slicer (Chitubox, Lychee …). Tilt the figure and support the underside of arms, chins and cloaks.
• The checks are tuned for 8K resin printers (Saturn 2: 0.028 mm pixels). FDM can't resolve 32 mm detail.

Steps that call an AI service are paid in credits. You start with an allowance from the person who invited you, the balance is always in the page header, and a step that would take you over it does not start. If a step fails, its credits come back. A typical miniature (poses, one image, one model) is 9 credits.

Every run shows what it has spent. The info icon next to a price shows what it comes to in euros.

Size category

The standing height the figure is scaled to: Tiny 12–15 mm, Small 22–26 mm, Medium 32–36 mm, Large 50–60 mm, Huge 75–95 mm, Gargantuan 110–140 mm. Medium is a human-sized hero.

Pose factor

Standing height ÷ posed height. A crouching or sitting figure is shorter than it would stand, so it is scaled by what it would be standing (about 1.3–1.5 crouched, 1.7 sitting).

Clay render

The grey, untextured concept image the 3D model is built from. No paint or colour, so the 3D step reads the shapes.

Glue contact

The flat area of the figure touching the ground, which is what holds it on a base.

Print-risk heatmap

The model coloured by the print check: magenta parts fail and are of a kind Reinforce can thicken (the legend under the viewer says when it is on offer), other failing parts are red, amber ones are worth a look, the rest is grey. Runs checked before October 2026 colour by raw thickness instead.

Mesh version

Each scale or fix makes a new version of the 3D model; earlier ones stay in the history.

Reinforce

The one fix that changes the figure's own shape: the spikes, strands, legs and chains you tick are thickened a little (up to 0.15 mm per side), tips kept, as a new mesh version. Failing ones start ticked, ones that only warn are your choice. Never automatic.