Game of Thrones Inspires 3D Printed Iron Throne

Possibly if the warring clans of Westeros had only had access to a 3D printer, some of the violence could have been avoided. Why fight over the actual throne, when you could have this lovely 3D printed version? Sure, it’s smaller than the real thing, but maybe you could make up for that by riding a really big horse or wearing some extra jewelry.

When Thingiverse contributor Revennant released this 3D Iron Throne model for others to print (fully capable of providing the best seat in the house for a smartphone), s/he probably didn’t realize that it might have prevented five seasons of strife, sex, elaborate costuming, and, well, more sex. Not that anybody would have wanted that. What s/he probably did know is that with a record gross viewing audience of 18.6 million viewers there would be a lot of people taking a careful look at the model and also contributing their own versions.

The original Iron Throne is supposed to have been forged from 1,000 swords that were surrendered to Aegon the Conqueror, the first Targaryen King and the ruler who managed to subdue six of the seven kingdoms of Westerns and bring them under his control. Of course, someone has since gone and counted the number of swords in the version depicted in the show and discovered that there are only 200. That’s the kind of attention to detail Revennant could expect from her/his audience.

A particularly stellar version of Revennant was produced by Miguel Molina. Rather than using the metal from 1,000 swords, he used filament and a 3D printer. Molina has a close relationship with 3D printing and has created figurines and memorabilia related to video gaming. As an avid fan of retro gaming, his circles eventually expanded to include Game of Thrones and Revennant’s creation. Molina explained his connection with 3D printing:

“I used a LulzBot Mini to create the throne. I actually work at Aleph Objects in Loveland, CO. We build the LulzBot printers and I happen to work on the manufacturing line as an assembler! We take a lot of pride when building our machines so I had no doubts when I bought one for myself.”

Just because the throne is diminutive, approximately 6″ x 4″, doesn’t mean that it was created in a moment. In fact, it took 23 hours to print using HIPS on LulzBot’s fine setting. Once created using Cura, the post processing was also an involved process requiring not only time but a great deal of artistic talent as well. Since there isn’t an ‘Iron Throne’ paint color available at Home Depot, Molina invented his own concoction.

“I used a layer of white enamel spray primer,” said Molina, “then a second layer of black metallic spray paint. then, I hand brushed Citadel brand copper and steel color paints, the same kind of paints used for Warhammer figures, for the fine details.”

When not creating amazing 3D printed miniatures, or working creating the 3D printers themselves, Molina dedicates his time to fixing Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters for the Colorado Army National Guard. With this kind of talent, the folks producing Game of Thrones might want to add him to their ranks. Even if he couldn’t prevent the violence in Westeros, he sure could make everything there look awesome.

Let us know if you might make your own throne fit for a phone in the 3D Printed Iron Throne forum thread at 3DPB.com.