If you’re familiar with 3D modeling, you’ve probably heard about Tinkercad, a user-friendly design platform that allows even total beginners to construct a 3D printable model. For those of you who are new to the platform, there is a plethora of official learning material and educational videos available from Autodesk. You can also check out our Tinkercad tutorial for beginners for a step-by-step walk-through of how to start.
As user-friendly as the platform is, Tinkercad isn’t just for beginners, though. Even expert modelers can benefit from it. The platform allows you to upload models to share your designs around the world, which also means that you can copy a model that has been uploaded by another user and “Tinker” with it yourself.
If you’ve designed something and want to get it 3D printed, check out Craftcloud by All3DP to make your models a reality!
So, without further ado, here are the coolest Tinkercad ideas to inspire your next project.
Buildings
Buildings and monuments pair well with Tinkercad. The most famous ones are no doubt familiar to us and there are plenty of references online to help with the design work. Besides, once finished, they look truly awesome, as we’ll see with the following projects!
Futuristic City
While this project isn’t really a building or a recreation of a real-life place, we simply couldn’t leave this amazing creation by Sevron32, made entirely with Tinkercad, off the list.
The “Futuristic City” is a monumental project portraying a fictional city that lives somewhere in the future. The number of details is astonishing, and includes its inhabitants, vehicles, and even a hidden Waldo! This goes to show how ambitious Tinkercad projects can be.
Japanese Fortress
Castles are one of the most iconic sights of Japan. During the feudal period, these beautiful fortresses were constructed on high stone walls, primarily from wooden materials. Castles were used for protecting the feudal lord and the families that resided inside its walls.
This model presents a Japanese castle with its recognizable and beautiful architecture. It’s a rather difficult model to replicate due to the high level of detail in the roofs and walls – even modeling the tree branches may pose quite a challenge. But it’s definitely worth it!
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: Josiah Miller
- Difficulty: Expert
Statue of Liberty
Yet another very well-known building, the Statue of Liberty (a.k.a. Liberty Enlightening the World) is a massive neoclassical monument designed by the French sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi.
The statue was gifted to the people of the United States in 1886 by France to celebrate the alliance between the two countries. All of the metal workings were built by Gustave Eiffel, and now Tinkercad user CMF Design has taken their turn to reproduce it using digital tools.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: CMF Design
- Difficulty: Expert
Tower Bridge
The famous Tower Bridge in London is both an architectural and engineering feat. It was designed for a public competition in 1877 and took eight years to construct. Besides its monumental look, the Tower Bridge is a bascule bridge that allows large vessels to access the river Thames.
The bridge was opened to the public in 1894 and has since become one of London’s many popular tourist destinations. The 3D model by El_Andrew is available for further tinkering, and you’ll find there are a few details left to add.
Gingerbread House
Next up, we have a fun yet classic design. This gingerbread house scene uses many different types of candy shapes to create the perfect dwelling for any gingerbread man or woman. You’ll even find a little surprise hidden inside the house!
The design itself is not as complicated as it might look at first glance, with many of the same shapes being reused in different sizes. It’s the thoughtful placement of these shapes that makes this design one worth checking out!
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: AlfyreHawk
- Difficulty: Intermediate
Castle
This gorgeous castle scene takes some unique approaches to medieval architectural design. You can tell from a glance that a lot of love went into crafting this scene, from the placement of the trees in the castle to the small flags on the main towers. The backdrop of green hills and blue sky are nice touches as well!
This castle will provide plenty of inspiration for castle modeling in Tinkercad. The only thing missing is a moat, which might make it more vulnerable to invaders!
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: Josiah Miller
- Difficulty: Expert
Hagia Sophia
Located on the hills of Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia is a former Greek Orthodox Christian cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque, and now a museum. The building was constructed between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. It’s famous for its massive dome, and even from the model, you can see why!
It’s considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have “changed the history of architecture”. The world’s once-largest building was 3D modeled by WhySoSerious? with an incredible amount of detail, and could even potentially be 3D printed.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: WhySoSerious?
- Difficulty: Expert
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is probably one of the most well-known buildings in the world and is a true feat of engineering. The “Iron Lady” was designed and constructed between 1887 and 1889 for the 1889 World’s Fair by Gustave Eiffel and his company.
The lattice structure was built with over 7,300 tons of wrought iron and was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 40 years. This Tinkercad design, by Mike_S, is a careful reproduction of the real thing in all its glory.
Lincoln Train Station
The Lincoln Train Station is located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This is the train station where Abraham Lincoln arrived and departed from to give the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.
The location of this train station was crucial in aiding Lincoln to attend the address, as it was later discovered that he was suffering from onset symptoms of a mild case of smallpox at the time. This design by John Rudy has a separate roof to make for an easier 3D printing process, in case you want to immortalize it in plastic.
Vehicles
Whether for water, land, air, or even space, some of us are truly obsessed with cargo and transportation vehicles. Unsurprisingly, they’re a constant theme in 3D modeling, and that’s no different in the Tinkercad world.
DeLorean Time Machine
The DeLorean time machine is a fictional automobile-based time travel vehicle featured in the Back to the Future franchise. In the feature film series, Doc Brown builds a time machine from a retrofitted DMC DeLorean car.
To travel through time, the vehicle requires 1.21 gigawatts of power, originally provided by a plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor, and needs to go 88 miles per hour to activate the flux capacitor. For Tinkercad, though, all that’s needed are intermediate 3D modeling skills.
WWI Biplane
This is perhaps the most detailed vehicle project in all Tinkercad. The so-called “WW I Biplane” is actually a faithful recreation of a British Sopwith Camel F.1 single-seat fighter aircraft.
The model includes almost all of its internal parts (around 99%, according to its creator) and has detailed pilot panels, guns, and mechanisms. The model was put together and designed by SgtMac7 with many contributions from the community (which are all duly credited on the project page).
X-wing Starfighter
This list would simply be incomplete without a Star Wars spacecraft. The X-wing, a fighter jet designed for dogfighting and long-term missions, made its first appearance as Luke Skywalker’s starfighter when he blew up the Death Star – the first time.
The X-wing is one of the most recognizable fighters from the Star Wars franchise, and Tinkercad user ufmoo72 has done an excellent job 3D modeling it.
RMS Titanic
We all know the tragic history of the RMS Titanic. It was the biggest ship afloat when it made its maiden voyage in 1912 to the United States – its first and last journey.
The sinking of the Titanic is considered the deadliest among all peacetime sinking of cruise ships, but its beauty remains in our imagination. Now, thanks to Tinkercad user Springtrap 1912, it has been beautifully recreated digitally as well.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: Springtrap 1912
- Difficulty: Intermediate
Hardy-Daytona
The Hardy-Daytona motorcycle is featured in a classic Final Fantasy VII mini-game. In this mini-game, Cloud Strife must ride this motorcycle to tail a pickup truck full of party members in the escape from the Shinra Headquarters.
Whether you’re a video game fan or simply dig cool bikes, this model can serve as inspiration for recreating other motorcycles or even designing one from scratch.
The Flintstones' Car
Yabba dabba doo! It’s Fred Flintstone’s iconic foot mobile. Although it’s missing some features you would expect on a modern vehicle – such as a windshield, trunk, or even a floor – it was one of the hottest rides in the Stone Age.
This design by Roger Customs goes to show that advanced 3D modeling skills aren’t always required in Tinkercad to be able to create cool stuff.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: Roger Customs
- Difficulty: Beginner
Pirate Ship
Here’s a detailed pirate ship that’s the perfect base for any nautical-themed project. This is a larger ship that needs a full crew to sail the seven seas. This popular design has been remixed over 8,400 times already!
The design is fairly intricate, including stairs, cannons, and a railing for added realism. If you’re interested in a more beginner-friendly pirate ship design, you can check out BerndardoDesign’s pirate ship.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: Misty Dojo
- Difficulty: Intermediate
Characters & Creatures
Some may say that character modeling would be better off with more specialized 3D sculpting software. While there’s truth to that statement, we’ve selected a few examples here to demonstrate that it’s not only possible to design fictional characters in Tinkercad, but to also show how cool they can look.
LSMM-X1A "Land Strider"
An amazing character model, this robotic fighter was created from scratch by The Tinker Dragon. It doesn’t come from a movie or game: It came entirely from the creator’s brain and, according to them, took quite some time to develop and over eight hours to model and assemble.
Sadly, it’s not available for tinkering, but only to download as an STL or OBJ. Still, the LSMM-X1A is a fine example of how figures can be created with Tinkercad without having to model organic shapes.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: The Tinker Dragon
- Difficulty: Expert
Captain Alpha
Another entirely invented character, the so-called Captain Alpha is also a creation by El_Andrew. The level of complexity seen in both the gun and armor is simply incredible, especially when rendered in Sketchfab.
This Captain Alpha model is part of a space exploration team that also includes a heavy soldier Omega and a soldier sniper Beta, two additional characters that look just as amazing. These files, however, are only available for download in STL and OBJ.
Dragon
Who doesn’t love a fierce, fire-breathing dragon? You can never go wrong with a cool dragon when learning to model. This one is fascinating and can pose a good challenge if you’re looking for one. It has many interesting details, like scales running all the way down its body, an irregular mane, horns, and even hands.
Do not fear, though! Except for the hands, this model is symmetric, and many details are just patterns and repetition. Even though it will require some effort, it’s a good approximation to start dabbling in organic modeling.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: Dragon Girl
- Difficulty: Expert
Articulated Spider
Not so much a character as an arachnid, this Tinkercad model by foxngreen2 is fascinating, as it was designed with 32 movable ball joints. The spider is fully 3D printable and becomes an articulated figure once assembled.
With 25 different pieces, this spider can be configured in various combinations, from friendly to predatorial. This eight-legged creature was designed as part of a ball joint challenge on Tinkercad.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: foxngreen2
- Difficulty: Intermediate
Articulated Figure
This is an articulate action figure available on Tinkercad, with ball joints allowing a free range of motion for posing your figures. The modular design means you can customize each part of the figure to create a personalized articulate figure.
While the figure uses very simple shapes, the process of creating a working ball joint design is no easy task, requiring precise measurements to ensure everything fits together after printing.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: CMF Design
- Difficulty: Intermediate
The Mandalorian
Moving onto fictional characters, Din Djarin, known to many as just Mando, is a lone gunfighter and bounty hunter. He was taken in as a foundling by the Mandalorians, a clan of skilled warriors, and spends most of his time collecting bounties across the galaxy while simultaneously carrying the whole Star Wars franchise on his shoulders.
This awesome Mandalorian model is a great inspiration for character 3D modeling in Tinkercad, especially since it’s covered in armor plates that are somewhat easier to create.
Deadpool
This next model comes straight from the comics: Deadpool, the jocular superhuman healer from Marvel. He was first revealed in 1991 as a supervillain to the X-Men, before eventually becoming the chatty and unconventional hero portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in the movies.
The model by KrasherOx is a second version and comes with a bright background and custom flooring. Deadpool is in a classic superhero position, and his muscle tone really shows what can be achieved in terms of anatomy with Tinkercad.
Robotic Bee
Here’s another creature that was impressively designed in Tinkercad. The Robotic Bee by The Fungus! portrays a mechanical bee that could very well be found in a science fiction movie.
Its creator claims the project includes over 200 different shapes, and the amount of small design touches and details is incredible. If you were looking for projects in Tinkercad to get inspired, you might just have found it!
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: The Fungus!
- Difficulty: Expert
Gadgets & Devices
Last but not least, here are some cool gadgets, devices, and machines. Tinkercad is an important tool for makers, and many different functional projects can be designed entirely within the program.
Hobby Knife
Here’s a cool 3D printable tool created by cheftuecke for all your real-life tinkering. This foldable hobby knife is made from simple 3D printed parts, a blade, and a few screws.
Note that each individual part isn’t really complex to model on its own, but when put together, they create a useful and cool-looking crafting tool.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: cheftuecke
- Difficulty: Beginner
R2-D2 with Electronics
Okay, we promise this is the last Star Wars model on this list. But we just couldn’t leave out everyone’s favorite droid, R2-D2, powered by Arduino. This galactic droid build can move its little head and blip an internal LED just like R2 in the movies, which is why we’ve classed it as a gadget rather than a character.
All the details about this project, including the breadboard layout and the Arduino code, can be found in a YouTube video and on Thingiverse.
- Project: Tinkercad, Thingiverse
- Designer: ChaosCoreTech
- Difficulty: Expert
Sea Serpent Reading Light
Our next useful gadget is this moldable reading light that can be arranged in an assortment of configurations. The sea serpent has been a part of mythology for hundreds of years, with sightings still being claimed today. Over time, the legend has since been adapted into material objects, from medieval shields to this cool-looking lamp.
This design also makes use of ball joint connections for the movable parts. And as you might have guessed, the structure is 3D printable.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: From A to Z
- Difficulty: Intermediate
Color-Sensing Skittle Sorter
Arguably the coolest device on Tinkercad, this functional Skittle sorter will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. It’s a color-sensing machine that will do all the hard work of sorting your skittles before eating them. Quite useful!
This device obviously requires some electronics, such as an Arduino Uno, a color sensor, and motors. The complete design of this project with additional information about how to reproduce this contraption is available on Hackaday.
- Project: Tinkercad, Hackaday
- Designer: MrPrezident
- Difficulty: Expert
Catapult Card
Catapults are a staple of the engineering design process. They have been around since Ancient Greece, largely used in the European medieval period during wars. Nowadays, they’re mainly used for fun toys, project designs, and physics tests.
This project design is interesting because it doesn’t consist of a mere catapult. It’s also a structure that can be condensed into planar figures. The modeling abilities required to replicate this project aren’t as complex, perhaps, but the design abilities required to come up with it are.
Weather Machine
This machine might seem simple, but it performs some very advanced calculations to accurately predict the weather. It uses beginner-friendly designs to collect data on temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed, wind direction, and the amount of rain that falls in a day.
The project uses an Esp32, along with all of the proper sensors, to collect this data. A Wi-Fi connection is needed to send all this data to your phone for easy viewing. For more information, the entire build process is laid out in a step-by-step guide on the project page.
- Project: Tinkercad
- Designer: Giovanni Aggiustatutto
- Difficulty: Expert
License: The text of "30 Cool Tinkercad Projects, Designs & Ideas in 2024" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.