3D printing is an invaluable tool for prototyping designs and manufacturing end-use parts. However, a 3D printer is much more than just a tool. It can also be thought of as a toy (to be carefully played with). A toy for making other toys! Using 3D printing to make toys gives you control over the material, color, size, and other details, so the resulting prints will be unique!
If you don’t have a 3D printer, you can still create some amazing 3D printed toys with Craftcloud by All3DP. With suppliers around the world printing to your specifications, the kids (or adults) in your life will be delighted while someone else does all the work!
With thousands and thousands of 3D printable toy designs, it’s difficult to choose just a few. With that in mind, here are some super fun toys that fit into three main categories: Print & Play, Some Assembly Required, and Batteries Not Included.
Now, let’s stop playing around and get to the list!
Print & Play
These toys can be printed and ready in one go! Here are some toys that will get the fun rolling in no time.
Minecraft Steve's Scooter
Minecraft Steve is the best Steve. Do you know any other Steve who is also print-in-place? Doesn’t matter, even if you do, this one comes with their own scooter – which is also print-in-place. Take that, other Steves.
Of course, this is a great gift for any Minecraft kid, but you’ll have to paint it before gifting it. Or, and this is totally not a cop-out, make it a weekend project with them. Seriously though, if your kid has the skills, painting it should be loads of fun.
Flexi Animals
With a wide variety of filaments available, flexible parts are absolutely feasible. But you don’t have to use TPE or TPU to create flexible parts.
Making use of some awesome print-in-place hinges, you can make flexible toys with filaments such as PLA, PETG, and ABS. You don’t even need special settings! A standard 0.2 mm layer height and at least 15% infill will work just fine.
The shark and octopus we’ve included here are always popular examples, but there are countless flexi animals on platforms such as Thingiverse.
- Who designed them? McGybeer
- How printable/popular are they? The shark has 309 makes on Thingiverse, with glow-in-the-dark filament prints looking especially cool. And the adorable flexi octopus has 1,700 makes and counting!
- Where to find them?
- Shark: Thingiverse
- Octopus: Thingiverse
Tetris Balance
Just like the original, this game is simple and yet so much fun! Players take turns placing Tetris pieces, trying not to make the whole thing collapse. You can even choose the difficulty by using taller or shorter bases.
It’s also one of those “end-of-spool” models where you can use leftover filament. If you’re looking for a box or some alternative pieces, check out the remixes.
- Who designed it? Bhorian
- How printable/popular is it? It’s easy to print, with around 100 colorful makes posted on Printables.
- Where to find it? Printables
Bird Whistle
This bird-shaped whistle chirps like a real bird when you put some water in it. Younger kids love these, and we have to admit we’re a little partial to it ourselves. They’re just fun! Outdoor fun, of course, because dripping is guaranteed.
Our standard PETG recommendation for projects involving water applies here, but plenty of makers out there confirm that PLA works fine. If you want to make it as watertight as possible, we have a few pointers that might help.
- Who designed it? Sevro
- How printable/popular is it? Most of the 67 makers don’t just print one. For example, user AndyLowe printed 50 for kindergarteners.
- Where to find it? Printables
Micro Catapult
Per the designer, LukeTansell, this little catapult can throw small pieces of paper and pretty much anything else you can fit inside. Most ammunition can reach distances of around 2 meters, which is perfect for hitting unaware victims at nearby desks.
In other words, this catapult is a wonderful toy for kids and office workers alike. This design is a print-in-place model that doesn’t require any support material or special settings. Minimal infill and a 0.25-mm layer height are sufficient.
- Who designed it? LukeTansell
- How printable/popular is it? 292 Thingiverse users have printed this model. We suggest using a more durable material such as PETG or ABS, but PLA seems to work fine for most makers.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Garbage Truck
This print offers plenty of fun! It includes moving wheels, working levers for picking up trash, and a trash can (or more!) with a working lid and wheels. Everything is cleverly designed to just print in place and play.
Plenty of makers posted comments noting how much their kids love playing with the truck. If you like this one, you might want to check out some other print-in-place designs by WhopperPrinting.
- Who designed it? WhopperPrinting
- How printable/popular is it? There are 146 fun makes on Printables, where it won the “Toy Cars” contest.
- Where to find it? Printables
Spinning Top
Spinning tops are said to be the oldest toys in the world, dating back to nearly 6,000 years ago. Ancient tops were made of everything from stone and wood to fruit and nuts. And now, you can make your own spinning top with a 3D printer! All you need to do is print, glue the parts together, and have some dizzyingly amazing fun.
Makers suggest printing with a standard 0.2 mm layer height and 20% infill. Any materials, colors, and machines will do the job.
- Who designed it? YSoft_be3D
- How printable/popular is it? With 439 makes on Thingiverse, this is clearly a popular model.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Squigglepeep Vikings
If you’re looking for some fun baby-safe and glue-free toys, Squigglepeeps may be the perfect print. These rotund Vikings and their boat are too big to choke on, making them great toys for babies and other young children. Simply print and play: no supports, no glue, just fun. Print with at least two perimeters, and a 0.3-mm layer height works fine since there’s no real detail to worry about.
Reading up a bit about food-safe 3D printing may be useful, depending on the intended use of the toys.
- Who designed it? dutchmogul
- How printable/popular is it? Squigglepeeps are much more fun in color, and nearly 40 makes prove the printability of this design. You can even check out several neat remixes.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Collapsing Swords
This may probably not be the best thing to hand your kid to keep them occupied in a China shop. In the right environment, however, collapsible swords are loads of fun. The designer has created collapsing pirate swords, katanas, daggers, lightsabers, and more to add even more fun to make-believe games.
A successful print of a collapsing sword requires a printer with good retraction, wipe, and coasting settings. Be sure to use a 0.4-mm nozzle and print slowly to avoid letting the blade sections fuse together. After you pop the sword off your build plate, give it a few wiggles, and gently retract and collapse the blade to allow for a smoother collapse over time.
- Who designed it? 3DPrintingWorld
- How printable/popular is it? Around 130 makes have been posted in a variety of colors, materials, and printers. Just be sure to dial in your retraction settings and consider using a forgiving material like PLA instead of PETG.
- Where to find it? Printables
Transformers
Transformers are still incredibly popular. Optimus Prime and Megatron will keep your kids busy while they fight over Cybertron.
Amazingly, this Optimus Prime 3D print is transformable from Optimus’s classic truck form to a fully functional standing robot, even though it’s only printed in one piece. He can be printed without supports in PLA.
Of course, no Optimus Prime would be complete without an enemy to fight. Consider also printing the matching Megatron to have a proper battle. It should be noted that Megatron is printed in two pieces due to his fusion cannon, so he may not be as easy to print as Optimus Prime.
- Who designed it? DaBombDiggity
- How printable/popular is it? There are 11 confirmed makes of Optimus Prime and 7 of Megatron, confirming the Autobots’ domination over the Decepticons!
- Where to find it?
- Optimus Prime: Thingiverse
- Megatron: Thingiverse
Chunky Trucks Collection
Titan Transporter, Power Pusher, and Mighty Mixer are just three of the 13 adorable designs in the Chunky Truck Collection, which includes various construction worker designs and even a crossing guard. The trucks are chunky enough for babies to play with. However, you might want to keep the construction worker toys away from kids who might put them straight into their mouths!
All of the designs are printable without supports. Consider printing with at least 25% infill and three perimeters to increase the longevity of the toys.
- Who designed it? MakerBot
- How printable/popular is it? Each design has several makes proving their printability. Prints with paint jobs are particularly impressive, though solid color prints are probably just as fun. You can even print multi-material remixes by cipis.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Warhammer Bolt Gun
This bolt gun should be familiar to you if you’ve ever played Warhammer 40,000. Now, you can physically create one of these weapons! Printing with small printers is only possible if you scale down the model since it’s rather bulky. Around 500 grams of PLA filament will be consumed.
One of the members who has printed this model commented about its wide handle and suggested slimming the 3D model for easier handling.
- Who designed it? lancegreene
- How printable/popular is it? The entire gun can be printed as a single piece. It has been downloaded over 960 times with 9 makes shared.
- Where to find it? Printables
Some Assembly Required
These toys may require some parts to be collected and put together.
Mini 13
This extremely popular jointed figure is super modular and customizable. As the little sibling of the popular Lucky 13, Mini 13 is easier and faster to 3D print than the original model.
The designer recommends PETG for the frame parts, three perimeters, and a layer height of 0.15 mm. One of the main merits of this posable, snap-together print is the large community behind it. The remixes present limitless possibilities, with accessories, weapons, or even full character transformations!
- Who designed it? soozafone
- How printable/popular is it? There are over 400 posted makes on Printables with many fun action scenes with multiple actors, props, and vehicles.
- Where to find it? Printables
Linkage Construction Kit
So your kids are engineering-oriented, are they? They’ll love this linkage construction kit. They’ll engineer their little hearts out with cranks, sliders, and accordion scissors.
Or perhaps the kids actually just an excuse for you to play with four-bar linkages and make your own crane designs. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it a secret. In fact, why don’t you check out the Strandbeast remix; those planar leg mechanisms look really cool. For the kids, you know.
- Who designed it? 3DPrinty
- How printable/popular is it? It’s a very recent upload with only one shared make. The design is simple enough and the instructions are very clear, so everyone should print this easily enough.
- Where to find it? Thangs, Printables
Little Cities – Fire Station
Here’s an entire play set in a box. This set includes a fire station with a button that lets out a fire engine with working wheels and a ladder. This part of the city connects to other parts in the Little Cities series, like the quarry, the hospital, or the fun fair.
This is a colorful print with some very forgiving tolerances, and no MMU is needed. If you print this fire station, you might want to check out the other Little Cities modules by neil3dprints.
- Who designed it? neil3dprints
- How printable/popular is it? Six users printed this fire station on Printables. All of them turned out nice and colorful!
- Where to find it? Printables
Skewbits
Devin Montes at Make Anything came up with a pretty cool new puzzle game while trying to solve a totally different problem. Not discarding our mistakes can actually lead to great things, and here’s a video that proves it.
The game, Skewbits, is very tactile. Players morph the four base pieces into various shapes according to the preset puzzle outline. We have our money on kids spending more time in freeform creative mode, however.
- Who designed it? Make Anything
- How printable/popular is it? Only a month since publishing, the game already has nearly 1,400 downloads, and four makes have been shared.
- Where to find it? Thangs
Surprise Eggs
Bigger isn’t always better. In fact, sometimes the most fun comes in small packages, and these 3D printed surprise eggs are no exception.
These tiny vehicles with moving wheels and other accessories are so adorably fun, and there are lots of options to choose from, too! You can print surprise eggs filled with everything from a steam roller to a fighter jet to a fire truck.
No supports are required for these models. Remember to use at least 40% infill to make sure that the small features are nice and sturdy. Since these prints have such tiny details, they double as torture tests for your printer. With a well-calibrated machine, everything should be smooth sailing.
- Who designed it? agepbiz
- How printable/popular is it? With dozens of makes for each of the 13 models, this is a very popular collection. Some makers have even had extra fun with these by scaling them up as high as 300%.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Hotrod Racer Balloon Car
Physics and racing cars, what’s not to love? Use some colorful filament, add a couple of balloons, and the race is on!
This remix adds a mouthpiece for inflating the balloon, so you never have to disconnect from the car to re-inflate. The designer recommends using optional aluminum rod axles for maximum speed, but some users vouch for the fun they had with the fully printed version.
- Who designed it? PollyJeanius (remixed from VF)
- How printable/popular is it? There are 23 posted makes with most users posting several prints in different colors. Well, they’re called racers for a reason, right?
- Where to find it? Printables
Polypanels
Polypanels have various shapes and sizes, but the edge connectors are always the same, allowing you to run wild with ideas. The parts snap together and can create flexible or firm shapes, so the possibilities are limitless! You can even design your own custom Polypanels.
- Who designed it? MakeAnything
- How printable/popular is it? Thousands of makers have printed and created designs with the Polypanel system. You can check out dozens of community Polypanel designs and prints on MyMiniFactory.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Castle Playset
You may recognize this design team, CreativeTools, for their very famous 3DBenchy. Like the Benchy, this castle playset is meticulously designed for 3D printing. Make this castle big, make it small, make it any way you like.
According to the designer, “The set contains walls, towers, houses, characters, animals, and a myriad of different props. All parts are small enough to be 3D-printed in a build volume of 140 x 140 x 140 mm.” In no time, you’ll be building and playing in a medieval world of your own.
- Who designed it? CreativeTools
- How printable/popular is it? 33 makes of this set have been posted on Thingiverse. Each make is different, showing the varied possibilities of this modular playset.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Mini Monster Trucks
Not everyone can have a monster truck, but if you have a 3D printer, you can print your very own mini monster truck… which is almost as cool. Complete with print-in-place suspension and customizable friction-fit rim caps, this truck is right-off-the-build-plate awesome.
You can even choose from a variety of body or wheel styles. For a two-tone tire ring, pause the wheel print at 19.8 mm and swap filaments.
- Who designed it? jakejake
- How printable/popular is it? No Pinshape users have posted makes yet, but this design has 249 makes on Thingiverse. The prints look great with mix-matched component styles and colors.
- Where to find it? Pinshape, Thingiverse
Wind-Up Car
Most cars that move on their own have motors and batteries. Not this one! All you need is a 3D printer and some filament to print two credit card-sized sheets, from which you simply pop out the components to assemble into a brilliantly entertaining wind-up car. Be sure to check out the assembly tutorial if you need some extra help.
The designer suggests printing the cards at 100% infill, which is quite standard for thin pieces that need to be strong. As per suggestions, remember to include support for the wind-up key. Prepare for a 4-hour print time for the first card and a 2-hour print time for the second, for a total of 6 hours.
- Who designed it? bribro12
- How printable/popular is it? Several makers have posted pictures of their cars on MyMiniFactory. The dual-color wind-up car is especially fun.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Click-in Position Chain
In principle, this consists of multiple parts of exactly the same piece. But when they’re brought together into a chain, they can be formed into what seems like an endless array of possibilities! We found it hard to put down once we started arranging and rearranging the chain into all kinds of shapes.
To print, precision is key, as the nubs and nodules will need to fit close enough to one another to maintain contact, but loose enough to be re-arranged. For sturdiness, we would recommend PLA, though for precision, we’d like to see how a resin print would perform.
- Who designed it? Berain
- How printable/popular is it? The creator showcases his own design in classic white. With a well-calibrated printer, it can very well be done. It’s been downloaded hundreds of times, although no makes have been shared yet. Maybe yours will be first!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Customizable Lego
Lego bricks are among the most popular toys in the world, and the wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes is incredible. However, with 3D printing, you can print your very own bricks customized to whatever design you are making.
Whether you need a replacement brick or a completely new kind of brick, this customizable Thingiverse model has you covered. Simply open the model in Thingiverse Customizer and go wild with the dozens of adjustable variables to create your perfect brick.
These bricks aren’t exactly identical to real Lego, but they’re compatible in every way.
- Who designed it? cfinke
- How printable/popular is it? Only 14 makes have been shared on Thingiverse. However, with over 1,700 remixes, this customizable model has gained quite some traction in the 3D printing community. Be sure to check out the remixes to find someone who’s already customized the brick you need.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Squishy Turtles
A toy list would never be complete without squishy turtles. Even the name sounds fun! With countless shell designs to choose from, this is a quick and easy model to print for babies.
Designed with a similar suspension design as the Mini Monster Trucks, these turtles bounce up and down when you push down on the shell. Run wild with colors and designs, and be sure to check out the creator’s design process.
- Who designed it? jakejake
- How printable/popular is it? Over 700 Thingiverse users have offered pictures of their prints. The possibilities are endless for color and shell design combinations.
- Where to find it? Pinshape, Thingiverse
Sword Rattle
Baby rattles are cool, but you can hardly top the cuteness of a rattle shaped like a sword. This next design isn’t just fun for babies to play with though, it’s also incredibly fun to print.
First, you need to print two runs of the beads file, and midway through the sword print, drop the beads into the blade. This ensures that your rattle never loses its rattler. After you print all the files, simply secure all the pieces with super glue or epoxy, though naturally be aware of what you’re gluing with and ensure that there’s nothing worrying that a baby’s mouth could get at!
- Who designed it? Targ
- How printable/popular is it? Thingiverse users have printed this model 129 times using various materials, printers, and even scales. The 300% print is especially fun! Also, note that metallic filament looks great for the blade.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Math Spinner
You’re never too young to start learning math!
This math spinner toy is the perfect way to do that: It’ll have your kids learning addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication with ease for every number from 0 to 9.
It should be noted that this print requires an existing pipe with an outer diameter of 32 mm to thread the spinners onto. However, if you can’t find one, you could always print it.
- Who designed it? pauloblank
- How printable/popular is it? This math toy has been downloaded over 10,000 times, and 3 users have shared their own prints.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Batteries Not Included
Building toys inspires creativity and invention. These will feature other parts that aren’t usually 3D printed, such as batteries and motors.
Skee-Ball
This old traveling carnival game is always a favorite with kids. They get to score some points, just not always the points they want.
As for printing, it’s an easy one-piece print with no supports necessary. Make sure to use classic perimeters, not the new Arachne engine, to avoid walls that are too thin.
You can use 20-mm balls or print some spheres from the same designer. In that case, we recommend an infill of 50% or higher, for playability.
- Who designed it? TripleGWorkshop
- How printable/popular is it? Three makers have printed this design without a hitch.
- Where to find it? Printables
Veggie Toys
The Open Toys project started as a way to turn commonly wasted leftover materials such as wood and cork into toys like helicopters, airplanes, birds, and so on. However, the project evolved to replace wood and cork with materials more readily available and easier to pierce: fruits and veggies. With Open Toys, you can transform veggies and fruits into fun, customizable toys.
The design team offers helpful steps in printing and playing with Open Toys and a delicious Ratatouille recipe to transform your veggie toys into a delicious meal. Talk about playing with your food!
And yes, food-safe filament would be the way to go.
- Who designed it? le FabShop
- How printable/popular is it? Six makes on Thingiverse prove the printability of this Potato Head-esque design.
- Where to find it? Instructables, Thingiverse
Rubber Band Gliders
With a 3D printed glider, you can stretch even more fun out of a rubber band! Just hook, pull, and let fly! With dozens of options on Thingiverse, you can take to the skies with a whole fleet of rubber band-powered gliders.
For the model shown above, 100% infill is suggested for a sturdy glider, and remember to print at 0.1-mm layer height to allow for staggered layering that will greatly increase the longevity of the thin wings.
- Who designed it? pcgear
- How printable/popular is it? 14 Thingiverse users have posted makes of this model, and the impressive results speak for themselves!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Whirligig
Sometimes, the best toys are those that have been around for thousands of years. This 3D printed whirligig will keep your kids entertained as they try to spin it faster and faster, just like kids did back in ancient times.
This toy isn’t hard to print, since the design is simplistic and requires no supports.
As a bonus, you can tell your children that variations of this toy have even been used to separate blood using centrifugal motion.
Wi-Fi Propeller Boat
This Wi-Fi-enabled, remotely controlled boat has a complex assembly that features two propellers. It requires a Wi-Fi kit, controller, DC motors, ball bearings, batteries, resistors, connectors, and fastening tools (glue, servo tape, etc.) to connect to the 3D printed parts and operate successfully.
Although it resists splashes, it’s not waterproof and shouldn’t be submerged.
Autodesk Fusion 360 was used to design its components. And when it comes to manufacturing, PLA filament material is recommended. You can follow the detailed instructions to set up the final assembly.
- Who designed it? Greg Zumwalt
- How printable/popular is it? Its parts have 12 different STL files that can be edited in 3D Slash before 3D printing. They have been viewed almost 6,000 times and favorited 63 times.
- Where to find it? Instructables
Tic Tac Gun
The original Tic Tac Gun is no longer available, but as you would expect, a better, easier-to-build version soon appeared. This design uses a rubber band to propel tic tacs at those who sorely need them.
You’ll probably want to avoid shooting them into an open mouth, though, as that presents a choking hazard. Having that said, long-range “mouth golf” is pretty fun!
For this design, you’ll need four M3 screws and nuts as well as a rubber band. Also, don’t forget to print it with non-realistic colors, as some people might not get that it’s a toy at first glance. Fun is great, but safety first!
- Who designed it? DA17
- How printable/popular is it? There are 17 confirmed makers out there serving justice and fresh breath. Wait, what?
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
PulleyBot
As the name suggests, this toy’s composed of a system of belts and pulleys that act as its transmission system. It has eight non-printed components, including AAA batteries, a gear motor, an O-ring, and a rotary shaft, which all need to be assembled with the printed parts using a screwdriver, wire stripper, solder, super glue, a hex wrench, and a hacksaw.
FDM is recommended for printing parts, and it should take around six hours to print them all. While quite a lot of parts and work are needed, there are detailed instructions to guide you through the process.
Also worth checking out by the same maker is the GearBot, which has a very similar mechanism to PulleyBot, where gears act as the transmission system instead of belts and pulleys to drive the toy.
- Who designed it? Alex Crease
- How printable/popular is it? Its parts have 10 different STL files. This is a featured toy that has been viewed over 27,000 times and favorited over 230 times.
- Where to find it? Instructables
Tesla Cybertruck
You might have heard about Tesla’s battery-powered electric Cybertruck. Here, we have a remotely controlled toy version of this vehicle with a scale of 1:20.
It consists of separate 3D printable parts with the main chassis being the most significant, and it requires 9-V alkaline batteries, LED lights, a switch, spray paint, glue, and a remote control to operate.
- Who designed it? ToddsWorld
- How printable/popular is it? This vehicle has 4 STL files, each of which has been downloaded over 1,100 times.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
License: The text of "3D Printed Toys: The 35 Best 3D Prints for Kids" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.