Weekly Roundup: Ten 3D Printable Easy To Build Car Kits

One of my most popular Ten 3D Printable Things columns was my Model Car Kits column from a few months back, and I’ve gotten a ton of requests for more. You all have spoken, and you love 3D printable model kits, and I’m happy to find them for you. There are a ton of great options out there for every skill level, and they can be used either as toys or finished, painted and displayed.

One request that I did get was for some easy to print model kits, because the last batch were all pretty complicated builds that would require a lot of time and modeling skills. So this time around I found a bunch of model car kits that were really easy to assemble, many of them only needing to have the wheels attached to them. I also tried to find options that would allow for a lot of variation of sizing; most of these models can easily be sized up and down depending on your printer, and most of them won’t even require any support material.

So here are Ten 3D Printable Easy To Build Car Kits:

FORMULA E RACE CAR

Formula E Race Car by petropixel

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

The newest auto racing series is the FIA Formula E Championship, which includes racers that are powered entirely by electricity. This 3D printable version is easy to make and can even be used as a soapbox derby racer by adding some weight to the inside of the car.

All of the parts snap together or can be secured using superglue, and the designer of the car has included some basic 3D printing and assembly instructions. There is even an alternate front wing style available in case you’d like the car to reflect this year’s Formula E racer specifications.

NISSAN SKYLINE INSPIRED CONVERTIBLE

Skyline convertible by Michele Badia

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

This simple little toy car was designed to resemble a Nissan Skyline convertible, and despite quite a bit of detail it’s a very easy model to assemble. There are really only 5 parts to this car not including the wheels, and everything was designed to easily snap together, although it will require a bit of superglue to hold everything in place.

The designer suggests that you print the parts out at the highest resolution and infill you can to make the car as durable as possible, especially if it’s going to be given to some kids as a toy to play with. The parts can all be 3D printed in different color filament, of painted before assembly.

MINI COMPACT CAR

la FabShop Mobile by LeFabShop

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

French design collective LeFabShop created this diminutive 3D printable car to demonstrate how a model with moving parts can be made in a single print. Once printed, the mini car’s tires will move just by loosening them a little bit.

The model was designed to be easily scaled up if you want a bigger version, and it even prints successfully as large as 320% scale.

ASTON MARTIN

Aston Martin by Bodymasters

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

This extremely detailed model of an Aston Martin prints as a single piece, with only the tires needing to be printed and attached separately. The tires, while separate, will not roll but they can be printed in a different color material. The model can be scaled up and down a bit depending on the size of your printer, though it will most likely start to lose detail if it’s reduced too small.
The completed model would be relatively easy to finish and paint with just a bit of sanding and maybe a bit of XTC-3D or other smoothing material. However, depending on how small the model was printed, that may cause it to lose detail, so be careful.

PETERBILT SEMI-TRUCK

Peterbilt Model Truck by Oleg Khmarnyi

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

With less than a dozen parts, this Peterbilt semi-truck model is easy to put together, but still has a ton of great details. As with all of the models on this week’s list, this is really easy to assemble with just a touch of superglue.

The entire truck body is a single part, so it will require a printer with a relatively large printing bed, but the rest of the parts are pretty small and manageable for almost any sized printer. Of course cutting the truck body in half is always an option; it looks like it can easily be split at the rear of the cab.

CLASSIC 1967 SHELBY COBRA

1967 Shelby Cobra by willkear

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

The 1967 Shelby Cobra is the quintessential 1960’s era sports car and is widely considered one of the best cars of the era. This 3D printable version was made to be used as a Pinewood Derby car, and it is built to match the required specs for their axles and wheels. It even includes a small compartment on the bottom that will allow you to weigh down the car as needed.

The model includes 3D printable tires, but it was also designed so official Pinewood Derby tires can be attached to it. The model is detailed, but not overly so, making it perfect for post processing. It can be sanded and painted, or just printed at a high resolution with a quality material.

TOY SPORTS CAR

Phantom car by Michele Badia

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

Another design that is perfect for kids to play with, the Phantom car is a really basic toy sports car with working wheels and easy to assemble parts. The parts are all small enough to be printable on pretty much any size printer, and they can all be printed in different color filaments.

The tires can even be printed in a soft or flexible material like NinjaFlex to really give the car some traction. All of the parts will need to be glued together except for the wheels, which simply snap together.

1959 CADILLAC CONVERTIBLE

1959 Cadillac by larry009

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

The 1959 Cadillac is another iconic mid-century sports car. This fantastic 3D printable model is probably a little bit more work to assemble, but despite the amount of detail it’s actually a pretty easy build. It has less than 20 parts, and the smaller bits like seating and windshield can all be printed separately, making it easier to use different color filament and materials.

The designer has included some easy to follow printing and assembly instructions, including tips on post processing and finishing the model.

MERCEDES C9 RACE CAR

car (mercedes c9 inspired) by barney

Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free

While this 3D printed version of the classic 80’s race car Mercedes C9 isn’t completely accurate, it does a really great job of approximating the look and feel of the original car. The designer has included a version of the car that is split in half and will need to be glued together, as well as a single-part version that will print all in one go. However, the single part version will need to be printed with some supports and rafting.

The wheels print separately from the rest of the model and simply need to be attached. They can either be printed at the same time as the car body, or printed separately in a different material.

MINI MOKE JEEP

Mini Moke- Kit car by Oleg Khmarnyi

Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free

This design is based on the classic Austin Mini Moke that was a popular car throughout Europe in the 1960’s, but stayed in production well into the 1990’s. The model prints almost as a single part, with only small bits needing to be printed separately, like the tires and steering wheel.

While the windshield and the steering wheel will need to be glued onto the Mini Moke body, the wheels only need to be snapped into place to work.

That’s it for this week, I hope that I found you a new 3D printing project for the weekend! I hate writing into the void, so please let me know that you’re reading by dropping me a line; I would love to see what you’re working on. You can either email me, or just send me a tweet @SJGrunewald and show me what’s good.

Have a good weekend and happy 3D printing!