Air We Go!

Greetings, fellow dungeoneers! A new week means all those bad dice rolls from your weekend of gaming are a thing of the past. Let’s focus on the present and these two new 3D-print ideas for you to try!

DM Ben is a sucker when it comes to basically all-things DnD, but two that always tug on his dungeon master heartstrings are unique light sources and elementals. Thankfully, we’ve got two talented creators who made today’s featured STLs a no-brainer to showcase.

Let’s start off with this detailed-soaked Griffin Brazier by Loot Studios. This unique light source runs hot, surrounded by intricate stone carvings. This imposing TTRPG model is from their fun Loxwort Academy set.

We really wanted some standalone light sources that we could drop into a variety of terrain: 3D-printed or off the shelf. This was especially important for the huge amount of Dwarven Forge Dungeons Re-forged we finally got in the mail the other week. We’re slowly unpacking and cataloging everything before we start to feature future dungeon gameboards.

DM Ben took paintbrush to hand for these, as he was itching to try out a new three-step stone scheme by the talented crew over at Tiny Furniture. They posted a quick, super helpful how-to Reel on Instagram. We haven’t had much success with our rock schemes since Citadel re-released all their paint lines many moons ago, so we keep trying new variations, hoping one will finally stick.

• Prime Flat Black (with no Slapchop step).
• Layer 1: drybrush Craftsmart Dark Grey.
• Layer 2: lighter drybrush of GSW Moonstone Grey (lighter grey).
• Layer 3: even lighter drybrush of FAN Matt White.
• Torch P1: Layer on FAN Rough Iron for the torch itself.
• Torch P2: Layer on ASP Broadsword Silver for claps.
• Torch P3: Edging with FAN Mithril Silver.
• Light: ASP Zealot Yellow.

DM Ben realized he wasn’t consistently selecting the best lighter grey in step 2, so he did some thorough research and identified GSW Moonstone Grey as the clear winner. That proper paintpot pick made all the difference.

Our second pick today shifts from handy scatter terrain to small monsters packing a big punch. For that choice, we leaned on Printed Encounter and their adorbs version of a small Air Elemental. This angry lil’ dude is a free download, and trust us when we say, you should peruse all their freebies because their pieces are super sturdy and no-brainers to add to your library.

DM Ben also colored up this mighty might, but it wasn’t as easy as it appears, as sometimes an STL that seems like a snap can take the longest to get just right. He did several Google searches and watched numerous videos until his test prints finally delivered a piece he was happy with.

• Prime Flat White.
• Base Layer: Citadel Contrast Aethermatic Blue.
• Drybrush with FAN Wolf Gray.
• Drybrush with Citadel White Scar.

The only thing we’re going to circle back on is coloring that little diamond divot between his eyes (probably red) and then slightly darkening his eyes and face so they show up a bit better. We also need to put him on a clear base for stability.

We also had an ulterior motive to color our new DnD air elemental 3D print. Cast n Play’s Terrain Essentials released the Faraway Lands Cloud City Terrain Set last year, and although we’ve 3D-printed all the STLs, we haven’t painted anything yet. The reason is that we wanted a tried-and-true cloud paint scheme in hand first. With our color confidence in fine shape, we’re excited to paint these airships here in 2026!

Until next time!