Back in 2017, I bought my first FDM 3D printer with the goal of printing a set of Zone Mortalis-style terrain for Necromunda. Eight years later, I still haven’t gotten around to printing it. Instead, that purchase set off a chain of events that led to the creation of Wargaming3D.com, a site that started as a personal blog, became a full-fledged marketplace, and today stands as a key part of the 3D printing ecosystem for historical wargamers.
It all began as an experiment. At the time, 3D printing for tabletop wargaming was still in its infancy. Sure, Thingiverse existed, but finding well-scaled, high-quality models was a nightmare, especially for historical gamers. You had to dig through layers of random uploads, mismatched scales, and files that sometimes weren’t even printable. I started blogging about my own experiences—what worked, what didn’t, what settings I used to get decent prints—and to my surprise, other wargamers started following along. It turned out I wasn’t the only one trying to figure all of this out.
The real turning point came when I started talking to Deweycat, a talented digital sculptor in the historical wargaming community. He was frustrated with Thingiverse—the lack of organization, the difficulty in finding models, and the fact that there was no way for designers to actually make money from their work. His complaints got me thinking: could we create something better? That’s when Wargaming3D pivoted from a blog to a full-fledged marketplace.
I wasn’t a technical guy, so the backend was more or less duct-taped together. But it worked. From day one, I set a few ground rules that I felt were crucial. Every file had to clearly state its scale, so gamers weren’t left guessing if they needed to resize a tank to match their Bolt Action army. Everything had to be historical, both to avoid copyright issues and because I knew there was a massive underserved market for it—after all, the Wehrmacht wasn’t going to send me a cease-and-desist letter for a Panzer IV STL file. And most importantly, discoverability had to be key. I wanted wargamers to actually be able to find the models they needed without wading through a mess of unrelated content.
The marketplace took off fast. Wargamers who had been stuck with the limited options of traditional manufacturers suddenly had access to niche models they had never been able to buy before. From obscure World War II vehicles to Napoleonic artillery and interwar oddities, Wargaming3D became the go-to place for historical STL files.
But with success came challenges. Running a marketplace was far more work than running a blog, and the tax implications of handling international payments quickly became a nightmare. On top of that, the site was growing beyond what I could comfortably manage. As much as I loved what Wargaming3D had become, I knew I wasn’t the right person to take it to the next level.
In 2019, I made the tough decision to hand over the site to a new owner in San Diego, someone who already ran a similar platform and had the technical expertise to streamline and scale it. I was stepping away to join a high-growth startup in the US as an early employee, and in hindsight, I’m glad I made that call when I did. That startup went on to employ over 100 people, raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity, and ultimately be acquired by a publicly traded company.
Wargaming3D continued to evolve after I left. Later, it was acquired by Playable Prints, who still run it today. Under new ownership, the site has been refined, expanded, and improved far beyond what I could have done on my own. The designers, the owners, and the community have taken it from strength to strength, adding new content, improving printability standards, and cementing its place in the wargaming hobby.
Now, the team at Playable Prints is planning a full relaunch of Wargaming3D with all-new infrastructure, modernizing the backend and improving everything from navigation to file hosting. It’s a massive upgrade that should bring the platform fully into 2025 and beyond, and I’m excited to see how it takes shape. You can check out their full announcement here: New Wargaming3D Relaunch Update.
It’s a strange feeling, all these years later, going back to the site I created and being just another customer. I wonder if this is how the early founders of Games Workshop felt decades after they sold the company. Bryan Ansell, Ian Livingstone, and Steve Jackson built GW from a small mail-order business into the foundation of modern wargaming, but by the time Warhammer became a global phenomenon, they had all moved on. Did they feel pride? Nostalgia? A sense of detachment? I imagine it must have been surreal to walk into a Games Workshop store and see something they started become so much bigger than they had ever imagined.
I feel the same way about Wargaming3D. It was something I built on a whim, something that started as a personal project, and now it’s a resource that gets mentioned in the news section of Wargames Illustrated and in books about wargaming the Vietnam War. That’s pretty wild.
Now I can’t help but wonder—could I start another business in the wargaming industry today? If so, what would it be? The hobby has changed so much in the past eight years, and 3D printing is only a small part of the shift. Crowdfunding has transformed how games get made. Independent designers have more power than ever before. Historical gaming is seeing a quiet renaissance as players move beyond just World War II. There are so many gaps in the market, and part of me wonders if I have one more project left in me.
For now, though, I’m just enjoying being a hobbyist again. And maybe—just maybe—I’ll finally get around to printing that Necromunda terrain.