How 3D Printing Empowered Mexico’s Biggest Miniature Art Event

Inside Art Hobbies — the largest wargaming and hobby store in Mexico City — artists, painters, and sculptors from across Latin America came together for a three-day celebration: Mini Masters 2025.

Co-hosted by ROGO Minis and Ángel Giráldez, the event offered a professional space for creators to learn from industry experts, showcase their work, and discover how modern tools like 3D printing are reshaping what’s possible in miniature art.

A Vision Built Layer by Layer

This year’s event featured nine contest categories and a dedicated sculpting segment — the first of its kind in Mexico. All models, trophies, and display pieces were created using ELEGOO resin printers, providing the high-quality, finely detailed prints needed for workshops, demonstrations, and competition displays.

The detailed miniature works created by the creators.

From the Nextepehua Sororita bust used in face-painting workshops to the El Albañil miniature featured in texture demonstrations, every printed piece showed how precision 3D printing can elevate artistic expression.

Custom 3D-printed trophies were also a highlight for the winners, symbolizing a seamless blend of design, craftsmanship, and technology.

“ELEGOO machines provided outstanding results—consistent, detailed, and reliable prints with minimal failures. The Saturn 4 Ultra is my go-to printer for workshop models and display pieces,” shared the ROGO Minis team.

Preparation and Challenges

Producing dozens of high-detail miniatures and trophies for the event required extensive preparation. Traditional resin casting would have taken significantly more time and offered less flexibility for last-minute adjustments. With ELEGOO’s 3D printers, the team was able to print, refine, and reprint designs with stable accuracy and clean finishes.

While post-processing steps such as priming and painting were still intensive, 3D printing helped shorten the overall production timeline and improve part-to-part consistency, ensuring all pieces were ready ahead of the event.

“Printing, priming, and painting the trophies is hard work, but it pays off. It’s time-consuming compared to traditional resin pours, but it’s faster, cleaner, and far more creative,” one organizer shared.

Stories Behind the Event

The competition brought together over 200 attendees and more than 100 participants, with nearly 200 submitted pieces. Among them was a standout moment: a young sculptor who 3D-modeled and printed a bust of one of the organizers using only TikTok videos as his reference. Although he didn’t take home a prize, his creativity and passion moved everyone. He received painting materials as a gift and was encouraged to return next year — this time with a chance to win his own ELEGOO 3D printer.

Moments like this reflect just how accessible and empowering 3D printing has become, transforming ideas into tangible creations and inspiring new artists to experiment, improve, and push their craft further.

Looking Ahead

Mini Masters 2025 marked a major milestone for Mexico’s hobby community. As the first event in the country to feature a judged sculpting category, it set a new benchmark for both miniature painting and 3D modeling.

ROGO Minis shared their vision of making the event an annual tradition, creating more opportunities for artists to showcase their work and helping strengthen the Latin American hobby scene.

“Thank you to the ELEGOO team for believing in our vision. Your sponsorship made it possible for hundreds of hobbyists to experience a professional-level event and be proud of their creations. Here’s to growing the Latin American hobby community together.”

ELEGOO is proud to support creators like ROGO Minis who continuously push the boundaries of creativity. Through reliable, high-quality 3D printing, we aim to help artists and hobbyists turn their digital visions into reality — one layer at a time.