3D printing is hot. While it’s great for designers and artists, it’s also starting to become useful for consumers and collectors who’d like to print out their favorite characters. In fact, if you own a Makerbot 3d printer you can now purchase officially licensed 3D Uglydoll models to ‘make’ your very own Babo, Ox, Wage and Ice-Bat. Each of the posable figures takes 3-4 hours to print and stand between 3.5 and four inches tall. The 3D models are compatible with the Replicator 2, Replicator Mini and 5th generation Replicator printers from Makerbot. The individual models are available for $1.99 while the set of four is $4.99 from the Makerbot digital store.
The option of printing out ‘toys’ and collectibles rather than buying them fully formed is pretty cool and starts to get at the idea of the 3D printer as a household appliance in addition to being a tool for designers/makers. The availability of licensed, ready-to-print models from popular brands such as Sesame Street and now Uglydoll should help to make the concept even more attractive. Key in all of this is how practical the process is for making one of these from download to finished figure. We’re curious to see if and how quickly this idea takes off. If you happen to download and print one of these new Uglydoll figures, please let us know how easy it is to make.
