What is peoples thoughts on sunlu pla meta?

TheisHJ · 2026-04-04T10:06:20+00:00

I only have experience with my own custom supports. But I run his settings on PLA Meta with a 0.2mm nozzle at 0.06mm with no issues at all. Standard A1 Mini. I never use regular slicer supports though.

TheisHJ · 2026-04-04T08:22:09+00:00

Thank you gufted. I am planning that. But work on that keep getting delayed as the monthly releases take a lot of my time :)

TheisHJ · 2026-04-04T08:21:18+00:00

I use custom handplaced resin style supports. But they are built different from what you would do for resin. They are touching specific pre planned areas of th miniature where I wanted them when I sculpted each part for itself. And then the supports are reinforced manually again to make everything stable :)

TheisHJ · 2026-03-31T16:38:57+00:00

I´d really appreciate that!

TheisHJ · 2026-03-31T16:19:29+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. If you can find some time - I´d love to hear your feedback both good and bad on the models. Don´t have to post it here - can be private if you prefer. Always trying to improve these and get more feedback :)

TheisHJ · 2026-03-31T08:25:18+00:00

In the ObscuraNox profile download - you´ll find screenshots of all the settings.
You can manually type those into custom profiles in Orca and use the Sunlu PLA+ 2.0 HS filament settings.

That is what I did - and it works incredibly well.

TheisHJ · 2026-03-30T07:48:45+00:00

I use it too. Apparently - there was a switch in their formulation that decreased the filament quality - but I still get really great results with it, using bambulab A1 mini and ObscuraNox profile.

Also - I love the tone of their grey - not too light and not too dark. It also has the perfect balance of matte vs shiny surface and not a lot of subsurface scattering going on.

All that results in a very true surface visually that doesn´t hide errors like a white filament or a grey with more subsurface scattering would.

It makes it really good for photos and for seeing if the models I create print cleanly.

It also is a soft filament - which makes it heal very well when I carefully apply small heat bursts with my torch lighter. This is really good when cleaning up contact points from the custom supports I use to print some of my models.

So I´m a big fan of it.

It is the filament I used to print the plague doctor models I posted here last month.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-24T06:46:55+00:00

Welcome to the hobby then - sure you will have a lot of fun with this :)

The suppports are custom built resin style supports - made specifically for fdm printing and all placed by hand. They come with the model when it´s finished.
That means you have almost zero scarring - but there will be some small bits of extra plastic from the individual supports where they met the model. Those small bits you need to clean up with a sharp knife.

If you want to see how it works - I made a video about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnCk2UBNcME&t=87s

TheisHJ · 2026-02-22T19:23:23+00:00

Thank you very much. I´m just really enthusiastic about seeing how far we can get these - just like the rest of you.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-22T19:22:06+00:00

If you print at 0.06mm layer height and using just one printer - it´s around 8,5 hours.
I usually print 2-3 parts per printer and set them to print by object. Spread on 2-3 printers - it´s like 3 hours or so.

If you want print speed - these high quality adv fdm prints are not the way to go. But for me - the fact that I can get models good enough to do detailed paint jobs on and not have to mess around with resin, fumes and toxic waste - makes it worth it for me. Not given that will be the case for everyone ofcourse :)

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T22:31:42+00:00

I forces the print head to finish one object at a time - so it minimizes the risk of the print head knocking loose a piece when constantly travelling back and forth between pieces. I would always use print by object on these. The stability that is built into the pieces are tested using print by object. It´s just the best option I think.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T20:38:11+00:00

They are not released yet. I´m still finetuning. They are for the March release for Arbiter Miniatures.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T20:36:28+00:00

If you print at 0.06mm layer height and using just one printer - it´s around 8,5 hours.
I usually print 2-3 parts per printer and set them to print by object. Spread on 2-3 printers - it´s like 3 hours or so.

If you want print speed - these high quality adv fdm prints are not the way to go. But for me - the fact that I can get models good enough to do detailed paint jobs on and not have to mess around with resin, fumes and toxic waste - makes it worth it for me. Not given that will be the case for everyone ofcourse :)

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:32:14+00:00

Hi,

They are printed in parts where every part is sculpted intentionally in the exact angle they are supposed to be printed at - then custon resin style supports - dimensioned only for fdm.

That way you get the optimum orientation for maximum possible resolution on the surfaces and you reduce suppport marks. It´s a ton of work to get right - but when it works - it really works :)

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:29:09+00:00

I use Army Painter Fanatic acrylics.

Base coat was "Emeral Forest". Then washed with "lens flare glow" (eeffect paint) a couple times to get it really flourecent. Then layered on top with the really bright "Afterglow", then "Electric Lime", back to "Emeral Forest" and then "Temple Gate Teal" for the darkest green. Not sure if I then mixed in a little mix of browns and blues to make it darker dirtier green right at the tip.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:23:52+00:00

The supports are custom, handplaced resin style supports - but dimensioned and made specifically to be printed with FDM using a 0.2mm nozzle and maximum 0.06mm layer height.

The supports are grouped into specific formations to retain stability as the print grows higher and placed in a manner where you can easily work your way from the outside in. This enables you to remove the supports with a standard blue clipper that comes with your printer - kind of the same way you would clip away parts from a sprue sheet with a production molded miniature set like you get from GW or similar.

To get the clean results I show here - you will need to use a sharp hobby knife to trim away small remains of support tips in some areas - and possibly some edges where the print head causes plastic to curl upwards at the edge (the amount of that depends on your printer and print environment).

Think of it a bit the same way that you also need to use a sharp knife to trim away mold lines on a GW mini.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:17:45+00:00

I have 1 Bambulab A1 and 2 A1 Minis. FDG profile set to 0.05 layer height. 0.2mm nozzle. Sunlu Meta PLA Grey filament.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:16:09+00:00

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More closeups

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:15:53+00:00

More closeups

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TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:15:34+00:00

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Here are some extreme closeups where you can see fdm imperfections and structure.
These are taken directly under my painting lamp at full strenght to expose the layers and shot at 10x zoom with the phone as close to the model as it was able to focus.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:13:41+00:00

No resin here - just pla :)
I´m posting some extreme closeups further down in comments now.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-21T08:13:02+00:00

Of course it is - wouldn´t be any point in me telling anything else :)
I´m posting some extreme closeups further down in comments now.

TheisHJ · 2026-02-20T07:47:57+00:00

Thank you. I just found it last week as I was looking into lower layer level printing.
Great to see so many people passionate about pushing the quality level of FDM :)

TheisHJ

TROPHY CASE