A Big Year for the 3D Printing Pen: 3Doodler Start Wins Toy of the Year Award at Toy Fair 2017

3D printing isn’t all fun and games. There’s a steep learning curve, prints don’t come out perfect every time and 3D modeling isn’t for the faint-hearted. At least, that’s the way it was. As we recently reported, modeling apps like Morphi are making 3D modeling child’s play. 3D printers are becoming more plug-and-play and some even look like toys, like XYZ’s da Vinci MiniMaker. 3D printing pens, like the 3Doodler by WobbleWorks, Inc., even negate the need to know 3D modeling. You just draw with plastic. At the 114th North American International Toy Fair, otherwise known as Toy Fair 2017, 3D printing was making its presence known.

By all accounts, WobbleWorks had a successful toy fair. Their 3Doodler Start Essentials Pen Set won Rookie of the Year in the Toy of the Year Awards 2017. The 3Doodler Start was designed for children; its nozzle is protected so there are no hot parts to worry about and it uses 3Doodler Start Eco-Plastic, a filament designed specifically for the Start that cools and hardens quickly. The Start also has a battery so it can be operated wirelessly. The 3Doodler Start Essentials Pen Set includes a 3Doodler Start Pen, 2 packs of 3Doodler Start Eco-Plastic, Micro USB Charging Cable and 3Doodler Start Activity Guide, and retails for $49.99.

The 3Doodler Start Essentials Pen Set wasn’t the only thing that WobbleWorks had to show at Toy Fair 2017. At the show, they introduced their new range of products for 2017, which includes themed kits and licensing agreements with Cartoon Network, CBS Consumer Products and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

As we previously reported, Wobble Works is releasing themed kits that are focused on robotics, architecture and product design. The kits are meant to inspire young creators to engineer buildings, design functional products, and build their very own robots. The 3Doodler Star Robotics Pen Set enables children to design their own moving robots in 3D. They can follow the step-by-step activity guide and use the included motor and DoodleBlocks (3D templates) provided in the kit. The 3Doodler Start Architecture Pen Set comes complete with illuminating wire, and the new DoodleSheets (2D templates for creating 3D objects) are perfect for creating structures as diverse as the Coliseum or a skyscraper with working lights. The 3Doodler Start Product Design Pen Set includes a watch face and can be used to create customized clocks, wrist watches, smartphone cases, mini boomboxes, and much more.

3Doodler is also releasing the 3Doodler Start The Powerpuff Girls Pen Set & Activity Kit, through a licensing agreement with Cartoon Network, which is styled around the Powerpuff Yourself online concept. The kit comes with a special edition 3Doodler Start pen, new DoodleMold and themed DoodleBlocks, making it easy for kids to create their own Powerpuff characters.

There are also some exciting new products for the 3Doodler Create, the company’s flagship product. The 3Doodler Create Star Trek Pen Set, under license by CBS Consumer Products, boldly goes where no other 3D printing pen has gone before. Now, adults can create alien worlds, lifeforms and civilizations from the iconic science fiction TV show. The kit is launching exclusively through ThinkGeek and consists of a special edition Star Trek engraved pen, activity guide and materials for drawing everything from the Starship Enterprise, Spock ear, Klingon forehead ridges, phasers and more items from the Star Trek universe.

“The 3Doodler Create Star Trek Pen Set will allow users to venture into their very own space-filled adventures,” says Daniel Cowen, Co-President of WobbleWorks,.”We are thrilled that Star Trek fans will now be able to draw some of their favorite gear from the show using such a cutting edge product – a bit like having a handheld replicator of their own. We’re sure Scotty will love it!”

At the show, I saw some of the new architecture themed kits that are part of the 3Doodler Create Project Kit series. Through a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, architecture aficionados, like myself, can draw their own scale models of Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Farnsworth House or Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water, with the 3Doodler Create Farnsworth House Project Kit or the 3Doodler Create FallingWater Project Kit.

Also at the 3Doodler booth were some really creative and inspiring examples of what is possible with 3Doodler pens and materials. Erica Gray’s gold dress was made completely from 3Doodler’s Flexy filament. The dress took 330 strands of filament and 3 weeks to complete. It was inspired by the gills, form and patterns found on the golden stingray. It’s a beautiful piece and even features built-in pockets.

It seems like Wobble Works really has something for everyone with their various 3D printing pen sets and themed kits. I know I’m looking forward to testing some of their products and building a little FallingWater model for my desk, or a phaser. Maybe two.

What would you like to create with a 3Doodler pen or kit? Please share your thoughts in the 3Doodler forum at 3DPB.com.

Below are some more images from the 3Doodler booth:

[All photos: Michael A. Parker for 3DPrint.com]