Printing Our WOODEN BLEACHERS for Fantasy Football: From STL to Game Day
- eduknodar
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
From STL to Stadium: How We 3D Print Our WOODEN BLEACHERS
At Kraken 3D Studios, we’re passionate about creating immersive environments that elevate your tabletop experience. Our WOODEN BLEACHERS are the perfect example: modular stands designed to bring your Fantasy Football pitch to life—whether you're running a chaotic goblin tournament or a high-stakes Blood Bowl league.
Let’s take a closer look at how we print these bleachers using both resin and FDM printers, and how they go from digital model to centerpiece of your gaming table.
Environment Elements for Fantasy Football
These bleachers aren’t just scenery—they’re storytelling tools. Packed with wood grain textures, bolts, and small details that capture the energy of the crowd, they're ideal for creating a rich atmosphere around the field. Whether you're building a home stadium for your team or spicing up your league’s final match, these stands instantly raise the level of immersion.
Each piece is carefully designed and cut into modular sections to ensure optimal 3D printing performance, whether you're using RESIN or a FDM PRINTER. At Kraken Studios, we test print and paint every model in-house before releasing it to the public—so you can be sure that what you download is print-ready, paint-friendly, and tabletop-approved.
And yes, they’re 100% compatible with Blood Bowl, designed with scale, modularity, and visual impact in mind.
3D Printing the Bleachers: Resin vs. PLA on the Pitch
At Kraken Studios, we usually print our larger environment pieces using FDM printers, as it helps reduce material costs and improves the durability of the parts—ideal for regular gaming use. However, as you’ll see below, all of our products are fully compatible with resin printing, offering maximum detail for those looking for a premium finish.
For this project, we printed one of the bleachers in resin, and the other in PLA using an FDM printer.The result? The difference is barely noticeable. Both versions look great on the table, and each has its own strengths depending on your setup and preferences.
FDM Print (Creality Ender 3)
If you're looking for a more rugged and cost-effective solution for league play, PLA on a basic printer like the Creality Ender 3 is a solid choice., and the results were excellent for gaming use.
We used Ultimaker Cura as our slicer for the FDM print and we're sharing our print settings below.
One key tip: make sure to orient the model so that the wood grain runs along the longitudinal axis of the printer. This way, the layer lines won’t cut across the wooden planks and the texture will look much more natural.
Speed is also crucial—we never print above 50% speed on these machines. Once we upgrade to a newer FDM printer, we’ll experiment with higher speeds, but for now, 50% gives us the best reliability and finish.
To generate supports, we used the “Custom Cylindrical Supports” plugin. It’s super easy to use and consistently delivers excellent results.
When it comes to tiles, we always print them vertically. In our experience, this is by far the best way to achieve clean, high-detail surfaces.Printing them flat will almost always lead to surface artifacts or visible topological layer marks—especially on the top side.
If any part of the tile has significant overhangs, we simply add a custom cylindrical support using the plugin mentioned above. It’s quick, easy, and ensures a reliable print every time.
Result: While not as sharp as resin, the FDM print holds up great on the field. Strong, stable, and still full of character—perfect for rough and rowdy league games where durability matters.
👉 Follow this video to see how we print our tiles vertically and why it's the best method for detail and surface quality.
👉 Check out this video to learn how we use custom supports with the plugin to make your prints cleaner and more reliable.
🔧 Want to try the support method we used?You can download the Custom Cylindrical Supports plugin for Cura right here:👉 https://github.com/5axes/CustomSupportCylinder
It’s simple to use and delivers excellent results for both tiles and vertical prints with overhangs.
Resin Print (Elegoo Saturn 2)
To capture every detail of the weathered planks and riveted beams, we printed the bleachers in resin using the Elegoo Saturn 2.
Another useful tip: rotating the model approximately 45 degrees (diagonally across the build plate) often helps reduce the appearance of layer lines on visible surfaces.
This orientation spreads the detail more evenly across the layers, resulting in a smoother and cleaner print overall.
Result:The texture and surface detail are outstanding. Almost no cleanup needed—just wash, cure, prime, and paint. If you're going for a showcase-quality build, this is the way to go.
CLEAN UP AND ASSEMBLY
Support removal is always an important step—whether you're printing in PLA or resin.
If the model was sliced with the right settings, the supports should come off cleanly and easily. After removing them, you’ll usually just need a bit of light cleanup to smooth out any minor marks or residue left behind.
Are there any support marks?
Any rough edges to smooth out?
Do the modular pieces fit together snugly?
If everything is correct, we move on to the next step.
Fast & Effective Painting for Table-Ready Results
Priming and Base Colors
We started with the stands. After applying a black primer, we used a base coat made from a of Mournfang Brown and XV-88, applied to different wood sections to create natural variation between planks and give the structure a more realistic, lived-in look.
Once it has dried, we have applied a layer of Agrax Earthshade with the function of adding darkness in the details.
For the miniatures, we primed them in white and followed up with their respective base colors.
Color Dtailing and Personality
This is where the magic happens!
Once the stands were dry, we used drybrushing techniques with Kislev Flesh and Baneblade Brown to bring out the highlights and texture in the wood.
After that,for the MINIS, we applied inks and shades for deeper contrast, and finished with edge highlights using lighter tones of the base colors to really make the details pop.
Finally, we attached the bases to the miniatures, giving them the final touch of personality and grounding them into the environment.
Ready for the Table!
Now that everything is painted and assembled, your fans and bleachers are ready to energize any Fantasy Football pitch.
Set them up alongside your field, add some sideline details, and you'll have a stadium scene that immerses players in the thrill of the game from kickoff to touchdown.
Want to try it yourself?
Download the files directly from our store and start building your own immersive game table.Don’t forget to join our newsletter to get access to free miniatures, exclusive discounts, and behind-the-scenes content from the Kraken 3D Studios team!
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