Shop3D produces 1.4 million miniature parts for “Trench Crusade” via 3D printing

Shop3D reports completing one of the tabletop industry’s most extensive print-on-demand undertakings. Within eight months, the service provider produced more than 1.4 million individual parts for Factory Fortress’s skirmish game “Trench Crusade” and shipped over 12,000 backer orders worldwide. Around 75 percent of pledges were fulfilled in the first three months as capacity continued to ramp up. Production took place exclusively at the company’s own facilities in the UK and the US, enabling fast turnaround times, duty-free shipping routes, and numerous custom combinations.

“We’ve done what most thought was impossible: manufacture a $3+ million toy campaign with 3D printing,” said Alex Ziff, CEO of Shop3D. “This proves 3D printing is a production tool that can outpace injection moulding for the right projects, and it’s no longer just for prototyping.”

“From the start, we knew that one of the keys to the success of this Kickstarter was a reliable 3D printing partner with robust end-to-end capacities. After a lot of research, Shop3D emerged as the only company that could get the job done. When our project blew up and the quantities required to fulfil pledges increased dramatically, Shop3D took it in their stride and worked tirelessly to get the job done, overcoming any hurdle met along the way in record time,” said Jamie Parsons, COO at Factory Fortress.  “It is safe to say that without them, there would be no Trench Crusade.”

Operationally, Shop3D relied on an integrated pipeline spanning pre-production, pledge management, series production, packaging, and global logistics. Hundreds of 3D-printing systems ran in shifts; in total, 653 distinct part geometries and 3,754 pledge variants were processed, requiring a pick-and-pack flow with tens of thousands of combinations. According to the company, the “Trench Crusade” campaign raised over US$3 million on Kickstarter, including over US$5 million with late pledges.

“Large‑scale fulfilment doesn’t have to mean disorganisation or delay,” added Ziff. “We designed this pipeline to prove that creators can scale ambitious projects without compromising quality or visibility. Trench Crusade shows what’s possible when manufacturing, logistics, crowdfunding management, and creative vision are all aligned”.

“The fact that we printed every part at this scale proves that 3D printing is the present of toy manufacturing,” said Alex Ziff, CEO of Shop3D. “This was full-scale production, with real volumes and deadlines, and real global logistics, all handled in-house.”

“This success underscores Shop3D’s commitment to helping Kickstarter creators scale their visions, from campaign launch through final delivery, with the tools, expertise, and end-to-end services to make every stage of fulfillment seamless,” said Ziff.

For tabletop manufacturing, the project highlights the strengths of digital supply chains: variant diversity without tool changes, parallel scaling across machine pools, and tight coupling between data management and logistics. Shop3D wants this approach to be seen as a blueprint for future campaigns.