Ever since 3D printing became popular, Marvel fans have been working on ways to 3D print their very own Iron Man suits.
It turns out that, with enough time and effort, this is indeed possible. However, with so many options on the table, one must decide which version they want to print.
In this article, we’ve compiled some of the best builds from the beginning of the MCU franchise through Phase Three, to suit all your needs (pun totally intended). In doing so, we’ve tried to cover some of the following finer points:
- Which movies do the suits appear in?
- Who made the suits?
- How were they printed?
- What post-processing was done?
- How much material did they take to build?
- Are they ready to be worn for a cosplay costume?
If you like what you see but don’t have the setup to get it done yourself, consider using a 3D printing service. With Craftcloud by All3DP, you’ll instantly find the best price and provider for your needs, with no additional fees! Your Iron Man suit parts will be delivered to your doorstep, faster than you can say, “The truth is… I am Iron Man.”
In the meantime, suit up and get ready for some great builds!
MK1
The MK1 was the first Iron Man suit to be made by Tony Stark, making it an iconic costume for any Marvel fan. This project was designed after the MK1’s appearance in the Iron Man movies and is a project from Do3D, a name you’ll see again in this list, and for good reason. The files normally cost $199 (at time of writing they’re discounted), but the model is very detailed and the price can be well worth it if the MK1 is your suit.
Everything that you’ll see on the MK1 from the movies is included in the design, from the belt-driven leg joints to the memorable simplistic helmet design. With so many parts, it comes as no surprise that the project has taken some users over 15 kilograms of filament. But, when post-processed right, as seen in the image above, you can make the suit look amazing!
- Who made the suit? Do3D
- Where to find it? The files are available for $119 (normally $199) at Do3D.
- How was it printed? The model’s parts have been successfully printed in PLA on FDM 3D printers like the Tevo Tornado and Ender 3.
- What post-processing techniques were used? A mix of bonding, painting, and polishing.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? One maker mentioned it took around 15 kg of filament.
- Which movies does this appear in? Iron Man
- Is it cosplay-ready? Yes, it should be.
MK3
The Iron Man Mark 3 suit is one of the most popular suits from Tony Stark, as it was one of the only ones to appear in all three Iron Man movies, and it also had cameos in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Spider-Man: No Way Home. You can find a 3D printable version of the entire MKIII suit on Hex3D’s Facebook page, though a Patreon donation is necessary to download them.
The suit was successfully printed by at least one maker, Tommy’s Propshop, who stated that the full armor set took over 11 kilograms of filament. Additionally, a lot of post-processing, including sanding, painting (for the iconic red-and-gold color scheme), and polishing, was done to make the suit look like the one from the movies. Sadly, the suit doesn’t look like it can be worn with comfort, as a lot of the features are too small and inconvenient to wear normally.
- Who made the suit? Hex3D
- Where to find it? The files should be located in the Hex3D Patreon page, and you can also find more information in the Facebook group. Because it’s private, you’ll have to request access first.
- How was it printed? This suit can be printed on traditional FDM printers in filament materials like PLA. One maker used a mix of Artillery Sidewinder X1s, Ender 3s, CR-10s, and Anycubic Mega Xs to print all the pieces and it turned out great!
- What post-processing techniques were used? A handful of post-processing techniques were used, including sanding, bonding, painting, and polishing.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? In the video, one maker mentions it took 11 kg of filament to print all the parts.
- Which movies does this appear in? Iron Man I, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spiderman: No Way Home
- Is it cosplay-ready? No; based on the video from Tommy’s Propshop, the suit isn’t meant to be worn.
MK6
This Iron Man MK6 suit is the most accessible on our list, as it can be found on Thingiverse. Conveniently, there are many videos that show the suit in action, including a great dance routine.
Seen in both Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, the suit was successfully printed by the designer in PLA on a Prusa i3 printer. Finishing required sanding, painting, and extensive electronics integration to get it just right. In addition, it took at least 20 kilograms of material.
Next to the full suit, the design contains a battle-damaged mask in case you want your Iron Man to look less than pristine at the next convention. Like many of the builds on our list, the maker admits that this isn’t the most comfortable costume to wear, due to the Iron Man design itself, but on the other hand, it still looks amazing.
- Who made the suit? DaDave
- Where to find it? The files are available for free on Thingiverse.
- How was it printed? This design was printed with a Prusa i3 in PLA.
- What post-processing techniques were used? Sanding, painting, and electronics integration were used in this build.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? More than 20 kg were used for the whole suit.
- Which movie does this appear in? Iron Man 2, The Avengers
- Is it cosplay-ready? As has been said on the Thingiverse page, “It looks great, but it is not comfortable.” Nevertheless, it was still worn for cosplay.
MK39
The Mark 39 was created by Tony Stark sometime after The Avengers. It’s a suit meant to still function in space, as the one worn during the Battle of New York wasn’t able to withstand the conditions when he was trying to get rid of the atomic bomb that had been sent to Manhattan.
Unfortunately, the suit didn’t last long as seen in movies – at the end of Iron Man 3, Tony activates the “Clean Slate Protocol”, and it’s destroyed along with other suits. Still, it’s a noteworthy design that caught the eye of creator Frankly Built.
The recreation seen above is based on a second design from Do3D, something that Frank explains in the first video of the series that follows his journey as the suit is built.
At time of writing, the STL files are free (normally priced at $199). Whether this is a temporary or permanent offer remains to be seen. If you decide that this is the suit for you, the good thing is that you can rely on Frank’s detailed suggestions and experience recreating it, from splitting the models depending on the part and printer to adding decals, how to protect the paint job, and how to put it on.
- Who made the suit? Do3D
- Where to find it? The files are (at time of writing) available for free at Do3D.
- How was it printed? Frankly Built’s version was printed with a Creality CR-10 Max in PLA+.
- What post-processing techniques were used? Sanding, priming, painting, and electronics integration were used in this build.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? More than 15 kg were used for the whole suit (15 spools).
- Which movie does this appear in? Iron Man 3
- Is it cosplay-ready? As Frank shows, yes, although you’ll need to get some additional components (compression knee braces, gloves, etc.).
MK45
This Iron Man MK45 suit, which appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, is a great take on the MK45 design. One of the most amazing aspects of this suit is that it’s lightweight compared to others while still maintaining a wearable nature. In addition, the files for this suit are only $199.
This suit was printed in PLA (along with some flexible filament for joints) on standard FDM printers. It does take a significant amount of sanding, priming, and painting to get it to this level, but coming in at only 12 kilograms of material, it may be the lightest suit on our list. With this suit, you’ll be jumping for joy as you walk into the next convention in true Tony Stark fashion.
- Who made the suit? Do3D
- Where to find it? The files are available for $119 (normally $199) at Do3D.
- How was it printed? The suit was printed with PLA on standard FDM printers.
- What post-processing techniques were used? Sanding, priming, and painting with automobile paint.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? 10 to 12 kg of material, including support structures.
- Which movie does this appear in? Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Is it cosplay-ready? Yes, if the joints are printed with a flexible material. According to Do3D, you can even dance in the costume!
Hulkbuster
Originally prototyped out of wood and cardboard, this incredibly impressive Hulkbuster suit is the Iron Man cosplay of our dreams.
The original Hulkbuster was designed by Tony Stark to keep the Hulk in check. He had teams of engineers to help source and manipulate the strongest metals. Meanwhile, the designer of this suit, James Bruton, had to make do with more traditional cosplay materials, such as styrene sheets, electronics, sheet metal, and foam.
In terms of post-processing, this costume required sanding, painting, and heat forming to get the shape for various parts that required a molded look. While it isn’t clear how much material was used to build the suit, it took many hundreds of pieces in a variety of materials to put together. Thankfully, the costume is cosplay-ready and was easy enough to wear and function for Defcon 5.
- Who made the suit? James Bruton
- Where to find it? Unfortunately, the files aren’t available.
- How was it printed? Some of the Hulkbuster was 3D printed with ABS material on a Lulzbot 3D printer, however, a large portion of it was also made from Ninjaflex, foam, metal, styrene sheets, and electronics for full functionality.
- What post-processing techniques were used? Sanding, painting, and heat forming.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? This costume took many hundreds of pieces to put together in a variety of different materials, however, the overall amount of 3D printed material is unknown.
- Which movies does this appear in? Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Is it cosplay-ready? Yes, it was fully functional during Defcon 5.
MK85
The MK85 is the most recent and final version of the Iron Man suit. As seen in Avengers: Endgame, the MK85 is said to have a nanostructure that allows it to pop out of Tony Stark’s chest. Sadly, this technology isn’t real today, but you can still 3D print your own version of the full MK85 suit like Frankly Built did in his YouTube video.
The project is very intensive with the full suit being made up of dozens of 3D printed parts, as seen in the footage. Additionally, many electronic components were also used, such as servos to allow the face cover on the helmet to lift up and lights to illuminate the chest area. As seen in the maker’s video, the suit is pretty difficult to get on, but the integrated joints make it great for cosplay because you can still move around while wearing the behemoth.
- Who made the suit? Frankly Built
- Where to find it? While the maker commented that they got the files from Do3D, it’s not specified which ones were used.
- How was it printed? The parts for this MK85 suit were printed on two Creality CR-10S, per a comment from the maker.
- What post-processing techniques were used? An assortment of sanding, painting, and polishing were used to post-process the parts.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? We estimate that it took between 10-20 kg of filament to print the pieces for the suit.
- Which movies does this appear in? Avengers: Endgame
- Is it cosplay-ready? Yes, because of the built-in hinges and movement abilities.
Bonus
These next two suits are bonus options because of two very different reasons.
The first takes the concept to a much more realistic approach, even though that’ll make it that much harder to replicate. The second’s meant for Pepper rather than Tony, so, not quite an Iron Man suit.
Still, we couldn’t leave them out, and you’ll see why.
Adam Savage's Titanium MK2
Arguably the most impressive project on our list, this build is a collaboration between Adam Savage and the Colorado School of Mines, who together managed to create a titanium (Ti64) 3D printed Iron Man suit that can actually fly.
This MK2 suit, found in the first Iron Man film, was printed with a DMLS additive manufacturing machine called the EOS M 400-4. It uses lasers to fuse the metal together layer by layer.
As you can probably imagine, the post-processing on this suit was extreme. Everything had to be done by hand, from bolting and riveting parts together to wiring up the Iron Man suit for flight. And that doesn’t even mention the finishing paint job that looks like it walked right out of the movie itself.
According to Interesting Engineering, the build required more than 300 titanium parts to be 3D printed. Though the exact amount of titanium is unknown, the entire setup weighed under 20 pounds in order to ensure it could fly. As for cosplay readiness, we wouldn’t recommend wearing this suit to the next convention. Despite its relatively low weight, it wouldn’t be the most comfortable thing to wear.
- Who made the suit? Adam Savage, in collaboration with the Colorado School of Mines
- Where to find it? This is one project that isn’t meant to be reproduced at home, so no files are available.
- How was it printed? It was printed on a DMLS 3D printer using a titanium alloy (Ti64).
- What post-processing techniques were used? Bolting, riveting, gluing, casting, wiring, as well as painting the final suit.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? It took over 300 parts and weighed just under 20 pounds.
- Which movies does this appear in? Iron Man
- Is it cosplay-ready? According to Richard Browning, “It feels like wearing a massive wetsuit.”
Rescue Armor
The Mark XLIX armor is a special suit created by Tony Stark for his wife, Pepper Potts. Known as the Rescue Armor, this suit was seen in Avengers: Endgame when Pepper Potts and Iron Man were escorting Spider-Man to the time-travel van. The suit’s blue exterior makes it stand out from the other Iron Man suits, and you can get your own 3D printed version from the maker site JoeToys.
While the suit is undoubtedly expensive, it features a 3D printed helmet and EVA foam body armor, all painted according to how the suit was seen in the movies. Additionally, there are a few electronic components, such as LED lights on the eyes, chest reactor, hand repulsors, and more. You can also purchase the more expensive version of the suit to get some other features like a motorized helmet, helmet voice changer, and back flaps.
And don’t worry about the suit fitting because the design is scaled to fit your body measurements, which you provide when you order the product. Note, though, that there is a pretty long wait (3 months right now) for the printed suits.
- Who made the suit? JoeToys
- Where to find it? While you can’t purchase the 3D printable files from this site, you can buy the fully 3D printed armor set for just under $1,700. The prints are scaled to fit your body dimensions, which you send to JoeToys in the order form.
- How was it printed? According to the product description, the body armor is made out of EVA foam material, and only the helmet is 3D printed. Sadly, the specific printing technology or filament (or resin) material used isn’t listed.
- What post-processing techniques were used? JoeToys uses durable automobile paint to coat the armor pieces and helmets.
- How much material did it take to create the suit? This information isn’t provided.
- Which movies does this appear in? Avengers: Endgame
- Is it cosplay-ready? Yes; this suit features integrated lights, hinges, and everything else you need for cosplay purposes.
License: The text of "3D Printed Iron Man Suit: The Most Incredible Projects" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.