3D Prints by Vic: what he built after the business ate the hobby - S26E0825

Vic set a rule when he started: filament had to pay for itself or he didn't buy filament. That rule is the reason 3D Prints by Vic exists at all. It's also the reason he made a video a while back about his business killing his hobby — and why he recently went and bought a resin printer that isn't allowed to be content. He came back to The Padded Room a year after his first visit and we walked the whole path. The Ender 3 he only bought because his brother said he would and then didn't. The Elegoo Mars 3 and the custom D&D figures his business was actually born on. An X1C with over ten thousand print hours and not one replaced part. The new resin machine and the closed ecosystem that came with it. And everything he's built around HueForge: free tutorials and cheat sheets, a seven-episode masterclass, a filament database built specifically for transmission distance because manufacturers don't test for it, and a margin calculator for the subscribers who sell prints. Also: why he started his Discord after watching how beginners get treated in some Facebook groups, the show where two of his own subscribers were selling his designs and all of them ended up making more money, and the 6'5" battle droid living where the Christmas tree goes. Chapters 0:00 A year later, and a week of car trouble 2:35 Why he built the Discord 4:22 What The Padded Room is 5:33 His brother's tax return, and the Ender 3 he actually bought 7:30 Ditching filament for resin: the Mars 3 and D&D figures 8:21 The filament printer he calls the wrong choice 9:19 The X1C: 10,000 hours, nothing replaced 11:13 Where to find Vic — 3DprintsbyVic.com 11:46 Back into resin, and the closed ecosystem that came with it 13:54 "My business killed my hobby" 17:10 First print, favorite ice cream, favorite show 19:58 The month his community voted Avatar 20:36 The 6'5" battle droid, and a 1:1 R2-D2 in 2027 23:41 Nerding out inside HueForge 25:05 He found HueForge, watched one tutorial, and uninstalled it 26:15 The rule: filament pays for itself 27:05 "I'm an inventor" — Working Genius, and why he keeps starting things 28:45 How he answers "what do you do" 31:17 Making a YouTube thumbnail pose, live 32:17 Coffee: the xBloom and a Flower Child light roast 35:19 Streaming, and HueForge and Chill on Discord 38:03 The website tour: the masterclass and the free tutorials 39:44 The Filament Index: tracking transmission distance 43:07 MarginForge, and pricing a HueForge 46:53 A $150 laptop, Minecraft, and Clash of Clans 48:38 The first time he hasn't burned out 51:57 Competing with his own subscribers at a show 53:23 Multiplying yourself: how the no-drama Discord works 57:42 Three buckets of advice for creators 59:57 Wrap-up and raid-out ‪@3DPrintsByVic‬ His site: https://3dprintsbyvic.com Watch The Padded Room live Tuesday Nights at 7pm ET:   / asylumlifemakes   Coffee Break Live, Mon-Thu 1pm ET:   / asylumlifemakes   https://asylumlife.com   / discord