Weekly Roundup: Ten 3D Printable Things – The Coolest 3D Printed Swords

Having fallen down what I call the “Halo Hole” thanks to recently acquiring the Master Chief collection that was included with my recent acquisition of an Xbox One, I was wondering what sort of options were available for 3D printed Halo weapons. After stumbling onto the great Halo energy sword (that I included on my list of course) I had my theme for this week’s round up, 3D printable sword props!

Make sure that you click on the profiles of the designers that I included in this list, because most of them have amazing collections of prop weapons and prop swords and they are all worth an extra look. Sometimes I really have to work to get ten great models that fit my theme of the week, which can be a challenge. But this week I had the opposite problem, there are just too many fantastic 3D printable swords online and it was really hard to pare the list down to just ten.

After far too much waffling and going back and forth I finally put together my list of Ten 3D printable Things – The Coolest 3D printed Swords!

LIGHT UP LEAGUE OF LEGENDS FIORA SWORD

Fiora Project Sword by Simone Fontana

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

The only thing better than a replica of your favorite video game sword is a version of your favorite video game sword that lights up! MyMiniFactory designer Simone Fontana has tons of great 3D printed models and prop weapons under his belt, but this great project is easily one of his best.

Simone used some steel rods to reinforce the massive blade so it wasn’t wobbly or fragile. He printed the glowing part of the sword in a transparent material and installed a simple strip of LED lights and hid the battery pack in the hilt. You can see some video of Simone assembly and painting the sword here:

HALO PLASMA SWORD

Halo Energy Sword by Daniel Schunemann

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

If you’ve ever played Halo, then chances are that the moment that you find an energy sword used by the Sangheili is probably the high point of the game. It is easily one of the most powerful close-range weapons in the game, although personally I think the shotgun is a little better, and it just looks incredibly cool when Master Chief uses it.

This fantastic 3D printed replica looks great and is incredibly accurate, even down to the Forerunner carvings on the handle. Just based on these pictures though it should go without saying that this is a highly advanced project not for beginners.

SQUALL LEONHART’S GUNBLADE

GunBlade by adafruit

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

Adafruit can always be counted on to share some of the best 3D printing projects around, and their tutorial for 3D printing the GunBlade from the classic Square RPG Final Fantasy VIII is no exception. Even better, this is a project that was created to produce a great cosplay prop that is accessible to virtually anyone.

Adafruit has a great online tutorial that you can find here. And check out the full tutorial video that walks you through each of the projects steps:

THE SWORD OF OMENS FROM THUNDERCATS

Thundercats – Sword of Omens by Lloyd Roberts

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

Thundercats hoooooooooooo!

Honestly, I could fill up all of my Ten 3D Printable Things lists with designs from Lloyd, he can always be counted on to put together a great 3D printed prop, and this small-scale Sword of Omens from the classic cartoon Thundercats is an example of his great work.

The Sword of Omens is a relatively easy project that was designed to be printed virtually support free and was cut into three individual parts to almost any sized printing bed can handle it.

HE-MAN’S SWORD OF POWER & SHE-RA’S SWORD OF PROTECTION

Sword of Power & Sword of Protection by christinachun

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

I’m probably showing my age by admitting this, but I remember actually seeing the She-Ra movie in the theater when I was a kid. Like most young boys my age I was a huge He-Man fan, and when I heard there was a spin-off movie coming out I was all over it. It probably wasn’t a very good movie, but at the time I sure enjoyed it.

These great 3D printed replicas are a massive twenty-seven inches long, although there are also smaller versions available for anyone who is looking for a sword that can be printed in a single piece. All of the parts are held together with 3D printed dowels that add stability and help reduce the gaps in the finished piece.

RAZE-LIGHTER DESTINY EXOTIC SWORD

Raze-Lighter Exotic Sword from Destiny by Kirby Downey

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

If there is anyone on this list who could conceivably be called the king of 3D printed swords it is probably Kirby Downey. He has made some incredible 3D printed props, several of them awesome swords. But I think the best of his sword design and fabrication was his huge Raze-Lighter exotic sword from the Destiny video game.

There is a ton of great detail on the Raze-Lighter, including the glowing crystal on the hilt that I think would be cool to print in transparent filament and fill with a LED light. Downey designed the 3D model to be pretty easy to 3D print, so despite the details it is a prop that a moderately experienced 3D printer user should be able to recreate.

SCISSOR BLADE FROM KILL LA KILL

Scissor Blade by Josiah Allen-Litchmore

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

I’ll be honest, I had no idea what Kill La Kill was until I googled it, but I didn’t need to know what it was to know that this 3D printed sword is pretty awesome. Apparently a “scissor blade” isn’t just a cool sounding name, but this sword is actually half of a set of giant scissors. It’s anime, of course the main weapon in it is a pair of giant scissors, I don’t know why I expected anything else.

The designer created two versions of the sword depending on the size of your 3D printing bed. A full-sized version for printers with a 20 x 20 printing area, and a slightly scaled down version for printers with an 18 x 18 printing area. The sword is assembled from 11 different parts and held together with pins that the designer suggests be glued into place.

LEGEND OF ZELDA MASTER SWORD & SHEATH

Zelda Master Sword by Lloyd Roberts

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

I couldn’t make a list of 3D printed swords without including the amazing four foot long Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda video game series. This is yet another amazing project from MyMiniFactory’s Lloyd Roberts and it is probably one of his best.

You can find the sword’s matching sheath here.

DARK ONE DAGGER FROM ONCE UPON A TIME

Customizable Dark One Dagger by stockto

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

On the TV series Once Upon a Time the character Rumpelstiltskin is what is called a Dark One, a creature of great, evil power that only has one weakness. All of his power can be controlled by anyone who holds the magical dagger that bears his name. When a Dark One is created, the dagger of the Dark One will bear his/her name.

This 3D printed replica is fully customizable, so anyone looking to cosplay as their own Dark One can have their name written on the side of the dagger. It is also just a cool collectible for fans of the series.

FULL SIZE KEYBLADE FROM KINGDOM HEARTS

Kingdom Hearts Keyblade by richards

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

Without a doubt, one of the most iconic weapons from a video game has got to be the Keyblade from the Kingdom Hearts series of video games wielded by the game’s main character Sora. The Keyblade allows Sora to defeat the villains of the game, alongside of Disney characters like Donald Duck and Goofy, and to find his friends.

This 3D printable version of the Keyblade is extremely detailed and full sized, but it sounds like a bit of a tricky project. This probably isn’t for beginners, however the comments include tons of tips and tricks to get it right.

Check out this cute short video of the Keyblade in action:

And there you go,  what I think are the ten coolest 3D printable prop swords available online! As always, if you 3D print and make any of these I want to hear about it, so you can email me, or send me one of those twit dealios @SJGrunewald.