The acquisition of 3DC by MyMiniFactory is paying off.
MyMiniFactory was a growing 3D model repository for many years, eventually focusing on the gaming market. They help designers market their products online and have grown to a considerable size by doing so. They now describe themselves as “A Tabletop, Toys & Games 3D Printing Community”.
Back in 2022, they acquired 3DC, which changed quite a bit for the company. 3DC had two assets of interest: Only Games and Shop3d.io. Only Games markets tabletop games, many of which could use 3D printed characters. That’s a significant alignment with MyMiniFactory, where designers produce characters.
Shop3D.io is a manufacturing network where designs can be turned into physical products. The acquisition meant that MyMiniFactory’s designers could integrate their products with game sets as well as produce physical copies of their designs for direct sales.
The acquisition was a brilliant strategy, but how is it working out?
We received some information from Only Games that details a recent project, and it’s far larger than one might expect.
It’s all about Only Games’ recent “Trench Crusade”, “A truly heretical skirmish wargame set in an alternative WW1.” It ran on Kickstarter and generated about US$3M from 12,000 backers who ordered a staggering 1.4M parts.
These parts would have to be produced, and of course, Shop3D.io would be the production engine for the campaign, using its manufacturing network.
According to Only Games, they have now shipped 75% of the orders, which represent over a million 3D printed parts. This was achieved in only three months from the funding date, meaning they’re able to produce 300K parts per month.
They explain:
“Fulfillment for Trench Crusade, one of the most successful miniature crowdfunding campaigns in tabletop history, is nearing completion. More than 75% of global backer orders have been shipped by Only Games and its manufacturing side, Shop3D. The campaign’s atmospheric grimdark aesthetic captured international attention, raising more than $3 million on Kickstarter. More than 1.4 million custom parts will be produced and fulfilled through a single integrated platform, with shipping beginning just three months after funding and the full project scheduled to be completed within one year.”
One of the reasons for the success of the campaign is that they used a proprietary internal tool for managing the entire campaign process from end to end, including order management, production, shipping, etc.
It’s still possible to place a pre-order directly on Only Games.
The interesting part to me is that they’ve found a way to generate a heck of a lot of 3D print activity. Their secret: make it easy for everyone involved through the use of advanced tools beyond the 3D printing itself.
That’s a lesson many other 3D print companies could learn from.
Via Only Games, Shop3D.io, Kickstarter and MyMiniFactory
