Weekly Roundup: Ten More 3D Printable Nerdy Model Kits

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, a 3D printer is a nerd’s best friend. You know that dream toy that you want more than you want oxygen but isn’t popular enough for anyone to manufacture? Well, with a desktop 3D printer you can just make all of the obscure, barely known nerdy things that you want and never have to wait for something to be sold in stores. Granted, you’ll have to wait for someone to design a 3D printable model, but trust me, there is a 3D printed version of just about everything out there. And if there isn’t, give it time, there will be.

Last time I made a list of 3D printable model kits I found so many amazing options that paring it down to ten was virtually impossible. I managed of course, but I had so many leftover model kits that I really wanted to share with you that I had to make a second list. Believe it or not, I had found so many cool model kits that even cutting down the leftovers from my last list was really hard.

So here are Ten More 3D Printable Nerdy Model Kits:

DALEK FROM DOCTOR WHO

Openable Detailed Dalek by Ellindsey

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

The Doctor’s nemesis isn’t a single person, it’s the very concept of the Dalek. A being whose entire purpose in life is to destroy life is literally the antithesis of what the Doctor is, and it is no wonder that he hates them so much. This fantastic kit is a wonderful recreation of the modern Dalek, and the model really opens up to reveal the Dalek’s true face.

The designer has also posted extremely detailed assembly instructions, so despite being a complicated model, it should be relatively simple for just about anyone to make. All of the parts are individual STL files, so you should be able to actually print them in different color filaments pretty easily and avoid painting altogether.

DOOF WAGON FROM MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

MAD MAX FURY ROAD DOOF WARRIOR WAGON by Evavooo

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

It is going to be years before we see another major Hollywood blockbuster that is as original and iconic as last year’s epic Mad Max: Fury Road. You’re just not going to get a character like the Doof Warrior, fearlessly playing a flame throwing guitar on his giant speaker truck, very often.

The assembly guide from MyMiniFactory.

This great model kit for the Doof Wagon is a pretty simple print, but the parts are large enough that you’ll need a decent-sized 3D printer to make them. This will take a bit of painting, but the model really isn’t very complicated.

WALL-E

WALL-E by Leon Alexander Single

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

The lovable title character from Pixar’s WALL-E, the last robot on Earth, is immortalized in this great 3D printable kit. The design is almost completely movie-accurate, and was made to snap together. The parts will need to be glued, but the kit is pretty self-explanatory and should be a relatively easy build.

You can either try to print the parts in colors that match the character from the movie, or give it a more realistic paint job. The creator of this kit did a great job painting his and it will make an excellent guide if you try to paint your own.

CLASSIC 1960’S BATMOBILE

The Classic Batmobile by larry009

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

BIF! POW! ZONK! Those are the sounds that your 3D printer will be making when you print this cool, retro Batmobile that is based off of the design from the classic, and cheesy, Batman TV series from the 1960’s. The finished model has a ton of great details, including a screen accurate interior and bat symbols for the doors.

The designer included both 3D printing and assembly instructions, and it looks like he made the parts really easy to print. A few of the parts may need a raft, but other than that this is a pretty straightforward kit. You will need a transparent filament for the windows, of course, but everything else can be printed in a single material and then painted.

POWER LOADER FROM ALIENS

Power Loader & Power Loader 2 by AaronH15241

Found on: Pinshape
Cost: Free

One of the greatest action/sci fi movies of all time is Aliens, the James Cameron-directed sequel to Alien. It is hard to pick the best action scene from the movie, since there were so many amazing ones, but the penultimate showdown between the queen alien and Ripley is probably near the top of that list. It takes place in a spaceship’s cargo bay, where Ripley faces off against the xenomorph while wearing a power loader exo-suit.

We’ve featured this design before, and it’s definitely worth another look now. This kit is a highly detailed recreation of that power loader suit, even down to the seat belts and the various tubes and wires that drive the suit’s hydraulics. This kit has a ton of parts, so many that the creator had to upload them to two different pages. But that makes it really easy to 3D print everything in different colored filaments so you won’t need to do any painting.  

TYRANNOSAURUS REX SKELETON

T-Rex Skeleton by MakerBot

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

MakerBot has put tons of great 3D printable models up on Thingiverse, but this anatomically correct T-Rex skeleton is probably the best thing they’ve ever shared. It’s a fantastically detailed model that shows off every bone in the legendary dinosaur’s body. It takes more than 24 hours to print all 79 of the snap-together parts, and thankfully MakerBot was kind enough to include illustrated assembly instructions. This is perfect as an educational tool, to use as a science project or just to have a cool 3D printed model on your shelf.

Here is a time-lapse video of the T-Rex skeleton being assembled:

BLUTH COMPANY STAIR CAR FROM ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

Arrested Development Stair Car by jwilcott

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

I won’t be bold enough to suggest that Arrested Development is the funniest TV series ever made, but I will say that it’s probably one of the funniest TV series ever made. If you’re familiar with the show then you will need no introduction to the Bluth Company stair car. When the Bluth family became temporarily embarrassed former millionaires they lost everything, including the family’s private jet. They got to keep the stair car though; in fact, it was the only car that they had left.

Banana for scale.

This hilarious model is really easy to assemble, and includes working wheels. You’re probably going to need to paint the finished product, but the model has raised most of the areas that will need to be painted so it shouldn’t give you any trouble at all. If your printer supports it then you can even change filament colors mid-print so you won’t even need to do any painting.

TRON LIGHTCYCLE

Lightcycle Model Kit by cbabbage

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

This Tron Lightcycle has a TON of little parts, but don’t let that discourage you; the kit is actually really well-designed and easy to put together. The parts were all designed so they can be printed in different colored filaments, making it easy to make without needing to do any painting. You can even print some of the parts in glow in the dark filament to really make it stand out.

The designer has included a super detailed printable illustrated assembly guide, so building it should be a piece of cake. The model kit also includes a 3D printable stand for the lightcycle.

BENDER BENDING RODRIGUEZ, SR.

Bender articulated by Simonarri

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

The robot known as Bender, or his full name Bender Bending Rodriguez, Sr., designated Bending Unit 22, is the foul-mouthed, alcohol-loving sidekick of Futurama’s erstwhile hero Fry. He’s not especially fond of humans, or aliens, or even other robots, but he seems to like Fry enough to not kill him. I know many a nerd is going to want their own articulated Bender sitting on their shelf.

This great kit will take a bit of work to assemble, and it will need a lot of post processing to get everything to work properly, but man is it worth it. The kit includes a bunch of props, including a cigar, bottle of beer, top hat, head jar and even an optional beard.

PLANET EXPRESS ROCKET FROM FUTURAMA

Planet Express Ship [Futurama] by ChaosCoreTech

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

I couldn’t include a Bender figure without including a 3D printable Planet Express ship to go along with him. This versatile kit can be sized up and turned into an exact replica of the ship, left normal size and painted or remixed as part of a diorama. The designer didn’t leave any details out, including the logo on the tail fin, the port holes and even the side hatch.

Here is a video detailing how the model was designed, printed and then painted:

And another Ten 3D Printable Things column comes to a close! Thanks so much for reading and making this column so much fun to put together. My 11th favorite thing in the world is to see what 3D printing projects all of you are working on, so please make my day and share with me! You can either email me, or you can find me on Twitter @SJGrunewald. Happy 3D Printing!