\n in town was doing, so we decided to get in on it,\u201d says Anthony
\n Martinez, store manager of Great Escape Games<\/a>
\n in Arden Arcade. During the
\n pandemic, Martinez said there was an uptick in gamers using
\n online services like Hero Forge<\/a> and Eldritch Foundry<\/a> to design custom miniatures and then either
\n buy the finished product or pay for the digital file at a greatly
\n reduced rate.\n<\/p>\n
\n Store staff realized they could
\n offer locals a cheaper and faster 3D printing service than online
\n retailers. Customers can email the files to the shop and pick up
\n the finished miniature in about two days. Prices start at around
\n $6 per miniature, with a discount for bulk purchases. Martinez
\n said the service quietly launched in 2021 and has since become
\n \u201cdecently popular.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Great Escape Games will print
\n anything that\u2019s a few inches in size, just so long as it\u2019s
\n \u201cNothing nude, nothing lewd, nothing weapon adjacent or anything
\n like that. And if it is IP infringing, we probably won\u2019t print
\n it,\u201d Martinez says.\n<\/p>\n
\n Could other hobby shops nearby
\n soon launch their own 3D printing services? Martinez doesn\u2019t
\n think so. Not everyone has the space and technical knowledge
\n needed. Plus, quality machines aren\u2019t cheap. The shop bought a
\n printer for around $3,000. The owner also loaned his personal
\n printer, and a third was donated by a customer \u201cwho\u2019s used our
\n service a lot and just wanted to help us out a little
\n bit.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n From characters to
\n camembert\n<\/p>\n
\n One Elk Grove couple operates a \n \n Audrey Hawkes and her husband, James Geary, run the 3D printing \n \u201cYou\u2019ve got this character \n Launching this business was a \n Only a quarter of business comes \n \n Hawkers and Geary recently launched a 3D printed cheese press, \n \u201cSince the cheese press was kind \n Building better battle \n Not every modelmaker is head \n \n Christopher Clarke of Elk Grove makes post-apocalyptic cars for \n Clarke enjoyed the craft in \n Clarke uses a 3D printer to make \n \u201cMost people don\u2019t have 3D \n Clarke was hesitant to buy a 3D \n \n Gaslands NorCal has made 1,400 sales on Etsy. (Courtesy photo)\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n He was also worried about \n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot easier than it used \n Finishing \n Creating original designs is a \n Malcom also offers a complete 3D \n Malcom said making 3D designs \n She prefers to sell the finished \n \u201cThere is a stigma,\u201d Malcom says. \n \u2013\n<\/p>\n
\n 3D printing service out of their home. Audrey Hawkes and her
\n husband, James Geary,
\n launched Simon\u2019s Magic Shoppe<\/a>
\n in 2020. Customers can email them digital files
\n and then receive the printed miniature in the mail. Hawkes says
\n Geary is an IT worker and tech enthusiast who used 3D printing to
\n bring their D&D characters into the physical world.\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/leapingunicorn_transparent_outside3.jpg\" "\\"Audrey"){kind=spacer}
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n service Simon\u2019s Magic Shoppe out of their home. Customers can
\n send digital files to be printed as miniatures like this unicorn.
\n (Courtesy photo)\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n that you imagined and made stories about, and you\u2019ve taken that
\n from your brain, and now you can hold it in your hand,\u201d Hawkes
\n says, \u201dand that\u2019s my favorite part of it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n means to justify Geary\u2019s expensive hobby. They currently own six printers: three
\n resin and three filament. Both have pros and cons. Resin printers
\n use a type of liquid plastic that solidifies when exposed to UV
\n lights. It allows for finer detail and a smoother finish, but is
\n more expensive and more fragile. Plus, liquid resin can irritate
\n the skin, and its fumes are toxic. Filament printers involve
\n melting plastic threads, like a soldering iron or a hot glue gun.
\n It\u2019s more durable and easier to work with, but the print lines
\n are more visible.\n<\/p>\n
\n from printing files sent by customers. Selling completed
\n 3D-printed products, for which they pay a commercial license, is
\n far more lucrative. Hawkes says their online store rarely breaks
\n $1,000 gross a month. Usually, they sell a few miniatures a week.
\n Recently, the couple branched out into selling cheese presses,
\n both the digital file and the tool itself. They\u2019ve created their
\n own design, one they believe is improved and cheaper.\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cheesepressset_withcheddar.jpg\" "\\"Hawkers")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n which they say is their best seller. (Courtesy photo)\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n of our best seller, I think what we\u2019re focusing on is trying to
\n learn more, to get better at designing our own things,\u201d Hawkes
\n says. They\u2019re currently developing a new cheese mold and press
\n specifically for camembert.\n<\/p>\n
\n wagons\n<\/p>\n
\n over heels for 3D printers. Christopher Clarke of Elk Grove prefers to
\n work with his hands when creating miniature post-apocalyptic cars
\n for the game Gaslands, a cross between \u201cMad Max\u201d and D&D.
\n Clarke takes store-bought Matchbox or Hot Wheels die-cast toy
\n cars, removes the paint to reveal the fine detail, then
\n customizes them.\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_9650.jpg\" "\\"Christopher")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n the game Gaslands, a cross between \u201cMad Max\u201d and D&D.
\n (Courtesy photo)\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n retirement, and after he had stockpiled about 40 cars, his wife
\n encouraged him to start selling them. In 2019, he launched his
\n own Etsy shop called
\n Gaslands
\n NorCal<\/a>. He makes about
\n a dozen cars a week and so far has made 1,400 sales. A highlight
\n was when \u201cTwisted Metal\u201d showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith hired
\n him to make about 60 car models to gift the cast and crew after
\n filming wrapped for the show\u2019s second season. \u201cYeah, it was
\n insane,\u201d Clarke says.\n<\/p>\n
\n wheels, drivers and other accessories for his builds. Customers
\n frequently ask him where they can buy 3D miniatures online and
\n become disappointed when he tells them only the STL file is
\n available. Because of the demand, he also sells commercially
\n licensed miniatures that he 3D prints himself.\n<\/p>\n
\n printers, even though they\u2019ve come down in price so much, \u201c
\n Clarke says. \u201cThey don\u2019t have the room to do this type of thing,
\n so good for me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n printer. He didn\u2019t want to spend time learning a complex new
\n skill. \u201cIt can be very, very frustrating. And I held off going
\n into 3D printing for a long time because of the learning curve,\u201d
\n he says.\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/img_5925.jpeg\" "\\"Gaslands")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n misprints. Clarke uses a cheaper printer, and cold weather or
\n humidity can cause deformities that aren\u2019t apparent until a job
\n is finished after a few hours. Residue or an improper setup could
\n cause a print job to break the machine. This has happened a few
\n times to Clarke, who\u2019s on his sixth 3D printer.\n<\/p>\n
\n to be, but it\u2019s still not plug and play like a regular printer
\n and hit the button,\u201d Clarke says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more to
\n it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n touches\n<\/p>\n
\n specialty of Sarah Malcom, a professional 3D artist in Sacramento
\n who creates digital art for video games, like the upcoming
\n
\n Wizard Cleaning
\n Simulator<\/a>. In 2023,
\n she launched her Etsy shop, Banana Art By
\n Sarah<\/a>, to sell
\n keychains, stickers and enamel pins featuring her 2D
\n artwork.\n<\/p>\n
\n model service, from design creation to printing. The listed price
\n is $150. She said there\u2019s been some interest, but no takers yet.
\n Her main 3D products are artisan keycaps, which are figurines
\n that attach to computer keyboards. Overall, her Etsy shop isn\u2019t
\n lucrative, but it\u2019s fun and helps pay for hobbies. \u201cI\u2019m looking
\n at it more as an artist and an expression of art than a way to
\n make quick money, I guess,\u201d she says.\n<\/p>\n
\n isn\u2019t easy. It\u2019s something she studied at university, but it\u2019s
\n not impossible for a dedicated enthusiast to learn from home.
\n (The Sacramento Public Library offers free use of a 3D printer
\n through its
\n Makerspace<\/a> and
\n occasional introductory classes.) She uses programs like ZBrush
\n and Maya to create the designs, then puts them through a slicer,
\n a software application that converts the STL file into
\n instructions for the printer. Malcom could sell her digital files
\n online but is worried about piracy and counterfeits.\n<\/p>\n
\n miniatures. A few local hobby shops carry her wares, and she
\n sells in person at conventions and expos. Malcom said many other
\n vendors specializing in homemade 3D-printed products tend to use
\n cheaper filament printing to make children\u2019s toys and trinkets.
\n Printing a licensed model is easy. But sanding, adding primer and
\n varnish \u2014 that\u2019s work. Malcom uses expensive resin printing and
\n specialized sanding tools to turn her work into proper display
\n pieces.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cA lot of people think that 3D printed stuff is really cheap, and
\n it is, but it\u2019s what you do afterwards to get it to that high
\n quality.\u201d\n<\/p>\n