Weekly Roundup: Ten 3D Printable Things – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Last weekend the seventh film in the Star Wars saga was finally released in theaters and promptly destroyed, and I mean destroyed, just about every box office record in the world. Star Wars: The Force Awakens made well over $500 million at the worldwide box office and was shown on almost 5,000 screens in the US alone. It is safe to say that the movie is an unquestionable hit. It was full of fan favorite characters and a trio of amazing new heroes for an entire new generation of Star Wars fans. Thankfully the new movie had far more in common with the original trilogy than the trilogy of sequels. I must admit, I feel bad writing that sentence because it isn’t like the prequels were terrible, they were just uneven and creator George Lucas clearly aimed them at a very, very young audience. However, The Force Awakens was aimed at every generation of Star Wars fan, and it is a better movie for it.

But I’m not going to bore you with what could turn into an entire book full of my thoughts and feelings about the new movie, because we probably all liked it. Except for you, yeah you, I see you over there with your grumpy face and lack of a soul. But clearly the 3D printing community loved it because after less than a week Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory are already filling up with amazing 3D printed projects and models from the new movie.

So this week I’ve selected the ten best 3D Printable Things from Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER KEYCHAIN

Stormtrooper Key Fob by muzz64

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

This is a great, quick and pretty easy 3D printing project. This two color Star Wars: The Force Awakens First Order Stormtrooper keychain is made by stopping your printer twice and switching between white and black filament. Of course if you don’t want to bother it can just be printed in white and quickly painted, but it’s much cooler to try mixing filaments, provided your printer supports stopping and starting mid-print of course.

KYLO REN HELMET & LIGHTSABER

Kylo Ren’s Lightsaber by Cemal Cetinkaya & Kylo Ren Helmet by Luke Daley

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free & Free

It seems like whining and Star Wars just go together, like Wookies and anger management issues, and the new bad guy Kylo Ren is no exception. While he was certainly a bit of a whiner, although not as annoying as Anakin Skywalker from the prequels, he was still kind of unhinged and a bit of a terrifying bad guy. He also had an amazingly imposing costume, and his broadsword-style lightsaber looked quite impressive in battle.

These fantastic, life-sized Kylo Ren props are perfect for cosplay, or just for display and have been designed by some of the best 3D artists on MyMiniFactory. I wrote up an article about how to make the Kylo Ren helmet a few months ago, so don’t let the complexity of this project intimidate you. Just a warning, you may not have a luscious a head of hair as Kylo did in the movie after wearing this helmet. It looks like in the Star Wars universe they found a cure for helmet hair.

And while there were a lot of complaints about Kylo’s lightsaber when it was first shown last year, I think it’s a really cool, and unique design, and this is a great recreation of it. Just check out the pictures of the real prop here to see how accurate it is.

REY JAKKU LAND SPEEDER QUADCOPTER DRONE

Rey’s Speeder Bike Quadcopter by themodelmaker

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

Now that we’ve all been introduced to the adorable and badass Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we have a new science fiction hero to love. Not only did she survive all on her lonesome on a desert planet, but she did it by scavenging parts from downed spaceships and loading them onto her cool speeder bike. And now you can have your very own version of her speeder that really flies thanks to this great quadcopter design my Michael Themodelmaker (Michael Miszta).

Miszta posted a full parts list, electronics guide and detailed assembly instructions on the Speeder Bike Quad’s Thing page, so if you’ve built a quadcopter before then this project shouldn’t be too much trouble. You’ll also have to do a bit of painting, so this probably isn’t a quick weekend project, but you’ll still have one of the coolest quads around, so it’s totally worth it. Just don’t try to hold her hand!

Here is a video of the Rey Land Speeder Quadcopter in action:

HAN SOLO BLASTER & HOLSTER BELT BUCKLE

Han Solo’s Blaster by Elliott Viles & Han Solo Blaster Holster Buckle by joshvv

Found on: MyMiniFactory & Thingiverse (respectively)
Cost: Free & Free

If there is anything to be taken from Star Wars: The Force Awakens it is that you’re never too old to be a space swashbuckler like Han Solo. Almost every aging Star Wars fanboy in the audience probably wanted to be Han as a kid after they saw the the first movie, and now after seeing the 73-year-old Harrison Ford in the seventh movie we all want to still be him.

Well, thanks to modern technology it’s easier than ever to live out our nerd dreams and become a dashing, yet older and more grizzled, space pirate with these great 3D printable Han Solo cosplay props. You could just 3D print out his cool blaster, or go for broke and print out the belt buckle and holster as well. You may get some weird looks wearing a 3D printed blaster to work, but just tell your boss that you’re a Jedi and he won’t be able to discriminate against your religion. Just remember to always shoot first.

LED STAR WARS ACTION FIGURE STAND

LED Star Wars Force Awakens Movie Display Base by jtucker72

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

There is no question that plenty of Star Wars fans are buying up the new line of toys based on Episode VII, and while some toy collectors leave everything in the packaging, some of us like to open them up and display them. This great light up display stand is an awesome way to make your favorite figures stand out. The base is made for the large-scale Star Wars: The Force Awakens Black Series 6 inch action figures.

Just pick the color LED light that you want to put inside of it, or even use the color shifting LED lights and put your favorite figure on top of it. The base is 4 ½ x 4 x 3 inches and includes three cutout windows for pictures. You could either print out stills from the movie, or use your own pictures to personalize the base even more. The designer noticed that all of the figures have varying sized foot pegs, so the Thing files also include multiple several different pegs so you can match up the correct one for your figure.

POE DAMERON’S BLASTER

Poe Dameron’s Blaster by AprilStorm

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

I’d say that there is probably a very good chance that just about everyone left the movie theater after watching The Force Awakens with a bit of a crush on Poe Dameron. Was it his loving concern for his adorable droid buddy BB-8? Was it his bromance with escaping Stormtrooper Finn? Or just the absurdly good looks of actor Oscar Isaac? Whatever the reason, here is a special way to keep him close to you: a 3D printer version of his blaster.

This version of his blaster may not be super accurate, as the designer based it on the version that shipped with the Poe action figure, but it still looks great, and is an excellent prop for cosplay or display purposes. AprilStorm included two versions of the blaster, a smaller size that prints as a single part, or a larger version that is broken up into three parts.

Pictured blaster printed and painted by Thingiverse user mooslug.

MILLENNIUM FALCON MODEL

Fillenium Malcon by aaskedall

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

Of course the real star of the new Star Wars movie was probably the most iconic spaceship in the history of science fiction: the Millennium Falcon. Discovered by Rey on the desert planet of Jakku, the ship once again proved that it’s the fastest ship in the quadrant and the envy of every smuggler in the system.

This small model is perfect as a Christmas tree ornament, hanging decoration or a display model. The model needs rafting, but will not need any supports. The Thing files also include both the original radar dish, or the new radar dish from Episode VII (Which careful viewers will note is clearly a replacement for the original after it was broken off during the battle of Endor in Episode VI) *pushes up nerd glasses*

FIRST ORDER STORM TROOPER HELMET & BLASTER

Stormtrooper VII Blaster by Kirby Downey & Fully Wearable Stormtrooper Helmet by Lloyd Roberts

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

In the new movie, the remains of the Empire that was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance was replaced by the terrifying, and far more fascist seeming, First Order. With the new eviler makeover came with it a new Stormtrooper. As part of a collaboration between MyMiniFactory designers and YouTube Vlogger Barnacules they are building a fully wearable First Order Stormtrooper costume.

The project is ongoing, but so far they’ve made a great wearable helmet and a replica of the blaster rifle used by the faceless Stormtroopers.

Here are the first two videos from the project:

RESISTANCE X-WING PILOT HELMET

X-Wing Pilot Helmet by Julian Lizan Sanchez

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

The Rebel X-Wing pilots from the first Star Wars trilogy were, of course iconic thanks in part to heroic Luke Skywalker joining their ranks to destroy the first Death Star. And after the fall of the Empire they only become more iconic as the primary strike force of the new Resistance lead by General Leia Organa and star pilot Poe Dameron.

This 3D printable helmet worn by the Resistance pilots is completely wearable and prints out in five different parts. It will, of course, need to be glued together and painted, but it’s a pretty great and detailed recreation of the movie prop.

ANAKIN & LUKE SKYWALKER LIGHTSABER

Anakin/Luke Skywalker Lightsaber by Jeff Lagant

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

More than anything, if there is one thing that ties all of the Star Wars movies together, it is the lightsaber that was constructed by a young Jedi padawan named Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi-turned-Sith Lord lost his first weapon during his final showdown with his mentor and friend Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi, who saved it and passed it on to his son Luke Skywalker in Episode IV. When Luke lost his lightsaber during his confrontation with Darth Vader it was thought lost until it made a surprising appearance in The Force Awakens and ended up in the hands of a very special young Jedi.

This super-detailed replica contains about twenty different parts and can be taken apart and put back together. It can be used as a coplay prop, but honestly it makes an amazing display piece that can be partially assembled to show off all of the intricate details, including the Kyber Crystal that is used to make the powerful weapon work.

Enjoy all of the new 3D printing projects that I’ve just given you. And as always, may the Force be with you!