A Wargamer’s Guide: Printing Terrain vs Buying Kits
Wargaming is an incredible hobby — but it can also be an expensive one. Between rulebooks, miniatures, paints, dice, and accessories, your wallet takes plenty of damage before you even get to the battlefield itself. One of the most expensive parts of the hobby, especially for skirmish and narrative play, is terrain.
If you’ve ever browsed the terrain section of a game store and walked away clutching your wallet in terror, you’ve probably wondered:
“Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just 3D print this stuff?”
In this article, we’ll break down the actual cost of 3D printing terrain versus buying it commercially, looking at both the financial and practical aspects. Whether you’re building a battlefield for Warhammer 40k, Necromunda, Kill Team, or your own skirmish game, this guide will help you decide what’s right for your wallet — and your workbench.
3D Printing Your Own Terrain
The Setup Costs
To start 3D printing, you’ll need a printer — most hobbyists opt for an FDM printer like the Creality Ender 3, Anycubic Kobra, or Elegoo Neptune. These printers typically cost £150–£250, depending on sales and upgrades. Having had experience with all of these brands, we’d actually recommend a Bambu P1S or X1C. These are pricier printers that typically cost £500-£1050 but do offer a lot of benefits and a lot less headaches, with a much better quality of print and a lot less tweaking required.
You’ll also need a few rolls of PLA filament, which costs around £15–£20 per kilogram, and a few basic tools: snips, a scraper, a hobby knife, and perhaps some glue for multi-part terrain. These are tools most budding hobbyists will already have but lets call it about £10-£20, assuming you need one or two items or a restock on glue.
So your initial setup on the low end is in the ballpark of £300–£400, all-in. Going for a higher end printer, you’re looking at £600, It’s not nothing, but consider it like buying a box or two of high-end terrain kits.
Printing Costs Per Piece
Once you’re set up, terrain becomes pretty cheap to produce.
Let’s say you’re printing a medium-sized ruin or LOS-blocking wall section — that might use 150-300 grams of filament, costing you just £3–6 per print in raw material.
Electricity cost? It’s negligible — even for an 8-hour print, you’re spending a few pence. Most of the cost is in filament and time, not energy.
Buying Terrain Sets
If you go the traditional route and buy terrain from a store, you’re usually looking at £30–£90 per kit, depending on the brand, scale, and complexity. Although in most cases you’ll need a few kits to fill out a table, especially for larger games like Warhammer 40k.
- Games Workshop terrain (e.g., Battlezone: Manufactorum buildings) sell for £42–£64 per box and that gets you 1-2 ruins.
- TTCombat and Sarissa offer MDF kits from £20–£90, though they often need painting and sealing.
- Pre-painted MDF is available, but expect to pay a premium — often 30–50% more.
And remember, these kits are usually not modular, so once it’s glued together, you’re stuck with that setup.
Shipping & Availability
Add £5–£10 for shipping if you’re buying online — and depending on your country, even more for import charges. Availability can also be an issue, especially with GW kits during busy release windows, they also don’t tend to keep terrain in stock for very long. Likely as it sells slower than miniatures.
Real Price Comparison
Let’s say you want to build a 4’x4′ skirmish board with 6–8 decent sized pieces of terrain.
| Considerations | 3D Printed | Bought Commercially |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Cost | £200–£500 (printer setup) | £0 (no setup needed) |
| Cost per Piece | £3-6 (filament) | £30–£60 |
| 6–8 Pieces Total | £30–£80 (after printer) | £180–£400+ |
| Customisation | Unlimited | Limited |
| Reusability | Print more on demand | Buy more kits |
| Paint Prep Needed | Yes | Yes (unless pre-painted) |
Even after buying a printer, you’ll break even after printing around 10–12 terrain pieces. After that, each new piece costs you just a few quid — and you can print as much as your hobby space can handle.
What About Time & Effort?
Here’s where 3D printing turns some people off: time.
Even with a reliable printer, a single terrain piece can take 6–12 hours to print, depending on size and detail. But importantly, this is mostly passive time — the printer does the work while you paint minis, eat dinner, or sleep.
Yes, there is a learning curve. Your first few prints might fail, warp, or string. But modern slicers and beginner-friendly printers have made the process vastly easier in the last few years. This is where brands like Bambu Labs come in, there is minimal maintenance and tweaking required when compared to other band’s machines, although the competition is starting to release their own similar versions.
If you enjoy tinkering, hobbying, or building stuff, the process is very rewarding. If you hate fussing with settings, gluesticks, and sanding… you may prefer prebuilt terrain or get a Bambu P1S.
The Content Goldmine: Free & Cheap STL Files
One of the biggest advantages of 3D printing is the sheer number of free or cheap terrain files available online.
You can find thousands of high-quality models across sites like:
- Cults3D — hobby-focused, lots of terrain bundles
- Thingiverse — free and open-source models
- MyMiniFactory — pro creators and paid bundles
- Printables — great for generic structures and scatter
Many creators offer large terrain sets for £10–£30, or even for free, making it easy to theme your board exactly how you want.
Want to start with something simple? Check out our free Kill Team Wound Tracker STL — designed for fast, support-free printing with a gritty skull aesthetic.
Final Verdict: Is It Cheaper?
Answer: Yes.
If you print more than a few terrain pieces, 3D printing wins on cost, flexibility, and long-term value.
| If You Want To… | Best Option |
|---|---|
| Build one terrain set quickly | Buy a commercial kit |
| Build multiple themed boards | 3D print everything |
| Save money long-term | 3D print |
| Avoid hobby fuss and trial-and-error | Buy ready-made kits |
| Customise or remix terrain | 3D print |
Want to Start Printing?
We’re putting together a growing library of terrain, tokens, and hobby tools — some of which are free to download. Check out our range of Free STLs and get started.
Or follow us on Facebook & Instagram to catch our next STL drop!
