Interview : 2' Tower: A Tall Tale for 3D Printing

A week of Interviews – Check out all the Interviews from this week: Stormguard Undone | Starship IV Chimera | The War of Pain | 2′ Tower + Free Siege Tower

Interview: 2′ Tower : A Tall Tale for 3D Printing – With Gamescape 3D

Gamescape 3D is back with their latest terrain piece, the gigantic 2′ tall tower. If you have the need for a massive centerpiece for your wargame table, this is it. It would also be a terrific base for your Players in an RPG. He’ll be expanding the Iron Wheel Trade Guild with more buildings, since this is Part One. Oh yea, there is also a very cool Siege Tower that you can download from the link the Kickstarter.

What miniatures games/RPGs do you play?
We’re trying to finish Gloomhaven. No end in sight.
How long have you owned a 3D Printer and been making terrain?
I’ve been 3D Printing since 2013 which is also when I started 3D Modeling.
This is your fourth Kickstarter. What did you learn in the previous ones that help make this one more successful?
I think the biggest lesson we learned on the last Kickstarter was working out data distribution. We hit a huge bottleneck since our last Kickstarter which was basically 20 gigs.
John Haywood from Hayland Terrain even reached out and gave us advice on setting things up to deal with bottlenecking. That was super cool and he deserves a shout out for it. Anyway, this mini Kickstarter isn’t even 1 gig so I guess I won’t be applying those lessons here.
What printers do you use to print terrain?
I’m most into the Anycubic i3 mega. I jumped on the MARS train early for resin printers. My next printer will be a Qidi Max.
Do you have a favorite model you have created?
I’m mostly stuck in my head, so whatever is in front of me is usually my favorite. Even when I revisit old work, I end up enjoying it more than I expected. That’s one thing that really sets Digital Sculpting apart from other mediums.
How long have you been working on “The Tower”?
I’ve been at it a couple months, I was a little fried after “Citadel” and need a little time just to play around. The Tower is one of three designs I worked out during that time.
What is your workflow for creating pieces for this Kickstarter?
I just get into the 3d programs and start going at it. The whole work flow is intuitive, there is no sketchbook on the night stand.
What software do you use for your modeling?
Rhino and Zbrush. Recently I’ve been focusing on video game stuff to preview models, so I’ve been spending some time on unreal engine and 3d coat as well.
How did you come up with this idea?
For some reason I can’t let “Keep on the Borderlands” go. The Bank in the keep always bugged me in terms of the description and the space allotted for it. The tower is intended to be that bank. I’m probably the only person who gives a shit about that. We do what we want around here.
How many “sets” are now compatible with the OpenPeg system? I know the Savage Realms Citadel, Digital Elf Outpost, and Stronghold on the Borderlands. Are there any others?
That’s it, there’s some openlock connectors on this thing but I guess it is technically scatter terrain.
How are you liking this “Mini-Kickstarter” experience over the previous, sprawling ones you have done before?
I’m certainly very calm since I don’t have 1000+ hours of work riding on it. It has certainly been successful in my mind. Especially considering that I am splitting the launch with our new Patreon. I’m offering a $30 design for 10 bucks, so foundation pledging has been really rock solid. 99% of the people out there can decide if they want to spend $10 or not, and stick with it. Even the commercial license is low enough that it will pay for itself on a half of a single print sale.
The only thing I’d do different is NOT offer high price add-ons. Leaving the door open for people to push the funding around a bunch on a $10 buy-in is just not a great for the campaign experience. That’s the only thing I would mention to other designers out there about setting up small campaigns. Aside from that minor thing I think it’s great. I don’t miss the stress and I am looking forward to seeing how it all ends.
In your latest update, you talk about a joint venture with Worlds Over Run and Haldane Creations. How long has this been in the works?
Not long, we’ve talked shop off and on for a couple years, I’ve had a really successful year so I’m not really in a do-or-die situation. It’s the right time for me to do a large collaboration project so I pushed on the door and it was open.
James over at Haldane introduced me to Eric over at Worlds Over Run. In terms of the group dynamic, James definitely has a vision and a knack for seeing the big picture and that’s a great balance for a couple of artists who tend to put design and personal vision ahead of basically everything. I really think we have the right people in the room in terms of talent, experience, and maturity. I’m looking forward to making a go of it. Honestly, I hope it can lead to something long term. It’s lonely out here for us designers.
I see you just started a Patreon. Tell us a bit about what you will be making there.
Peoples interest in my Patreon has been a pleasant surprise for me. The Idea came from a man named Francois that a lot of people on the Facebook groups probably know. He basically PM’d me 10 weeks ago and told me exactly what to do. Now I’m basically diagraming the hell out of our Open Peg stacking system and making new parts along the way.
The system allows for 100’s of build options but it is a little brainy and it’s outsmarted me on a few times. The system deserves more documentation and I need a little funding to make time for an old friend. I’ll also be expanding and developing specific product lines as well. For example, the first goal is going to add more development for our dirt road and trail systems, which has been our most popular small item.

This is a pretty good looking Kickstarter. For $10, you get a LOT of bang for your buck. Plus, you have the option of backing his Patreon for even MORE pieces and more build ideas. You should check out this Kickstarter. Plus, I can’t wait to see what kind of Collaboration we see coming from Gamescape 3D, Worlds Over Run, and Haldane Creations. I’d like to thank Jeremy for taking time out of his day to answer these questions. I hope you learn something interesting.