Most will know that The Lord of the Rings is a novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, which has been adapted into various radio, TV, and movie series, as have other books of his, all beloved by fans. The universe has its own geography, mythology, and even many different languages and writing systems. This, along with plenty of well-loved and long-lived characters, make The Lord of the Rings a favorite series for many and has led to a new television series, The Rings of Power, which debuted in early September and is based on Tolkien’s appendices to the original trilogy.
The Lord of the Rings has many emblematic props and characters, and makers and designers have taken it into their own hands to replicate them to feel like they’re in Middle-earth. We’ve gathered the best prints for you to try out yourself and have even included the One Ring. Just be careful with… the Precious.
And if you find a design (or more!) you love but don’t have a 3D printer nearby, try Craftcloud. There’s a wide range of materials and finishes, as well as expert-level quality and precision. Even Galadriel would approve.
Witch-king Helm
The Witch-king was the founder and ruler of Angmar for more than six hundred years and then went on to help the Dark Lord Sauron as his second-in-command, helping him in his return to power. He’s an evil and powerful character, and his appearance is iconic, especially thanks to his helm.
This model of the helm was made 3D printable with 3dsmax. The model is very small, but many makers have reported successfully scaling up by as much as 3440% to make it large enough to fit a human head. It’s divided into different sections, but even so, be ready to spend some material on the supports.
- Who designed it? falken76
- How printable/popular is it? This popular print has 17 shared makes and two remixes. It’s suitable for FDM printers, but will need supports, and it can be scaled up to fit your head.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Sauron's Mace
The Dark Lord Sauron is the creator of the One Ring. He created the Rings of Power in his path to conquer Middle-earth. In the films, he wields a powerful mace, which can destroy hordes of men with one hit. Even in videogames inspired by the films, he is wielding his mace, making it one of his more emblematic weapons.
This model is life-size, meaning it can actually be assembled with a rod and used, although it won’t be as powerful as its fictional counterpart. As such, it’s quite big and takes some time to print. It’s divided into different parts and has a total printing time of about 29 hours.
- Who designed it? planet3dprinting
- How printable/popular is it? This model has been downloaded over 2,100 times and has three community prints. It can be printed in parts that fit in slots so you don’t need to glue them together.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Balrog
The Balrog are creatures from The Lord of the Rings universe, and they’re also known as the Valaraukar. They may look different according to the artist’s interpretation, but they always have in common a big, horned face, a monstrous body, and big, bat-like wings. They can also use fire, although that’s not so easy to 3D print!
This model of a Balrog comes without the base and is somewhat big, with total dimensions of 550 x 514 x 445 mm, so a small-size printer won’t do the job unless you scale it down. However, the model is quite detailed, so reducing its size would most likely cause a drop in quality.
- Who designed it? ihawmbudbhia
- How printable/popular is it? This model has 1,000 downloads. It’s printed all in one piece, without the base.
- Where to find it? Cults
Erebor Key
The Key to the Side-door was made by Thrór and Thráin, Kings of Durin’s Folk, and is the key to open the secret entrance to the Lonely Mountain. The Lonely Mountain is also known as “Erebor” in Sindarin, the Elf-Tongue.
The 3D printed Key to the Side-door is presented in different ways, according to what you find most convenient. It can either be printed in separate parts so that you don’t need supports and can then be glued together, or it can be printed as one piece, with supports.
- Who designed it? HasiGH
- How printable/popular is it? Erebor’s Key has seven shared makes and can be printed without supports.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Gollum
Sméagol, later known as Gollum, is one of the most well-known characters from The Lord of the Rings. What many people don’t know is that he’s actually a Stoor, one of the three races of Hobbits. However, he looks quite deformed because he was badly corrupted in mind and body by the One Ring’s power.
This project is divided into parts that have to be assembled and it requires supports. The maker warns that there are delicate parts like the loincloth, fingers, and ears, so scaling down isn’t recommended.
Orthanc
Orthanc is a tower located in the center of the Ring of Isengard (Iron Fortress). There’s no weapon or magic that can harm it significantly, although this probably won’t apply to its 3D printed counterpart.
The tower of Orthanc is quite tall (less than half of the tower is pictured above) so, even scaled down, it’s still a significant design to print. For this reason, it’s divided into many parts to be printed in sections and glued together. Each section is highly detailed and the result, when assembled together, is quite stunning.
- Who designed it? mieszkolacinski
- How printable/popular is it? The tower of Orthanc has over 4,700 downloads and six makes shared by the community. It’s very detailed so scaling it down isn’t recommended, and it’s split into parts to make it printable within a desktop printer’s Z-axis height.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Leaves of Lorien
The Leaves of Lorien are a very cool item for any fan. They are pins worn by all the members of the Fellowship of the Ring, except for Gandalf. As the name suggests, these pins are in the shape of a leaf, with a silver thread going around it.
The model presented here is remarkably similar to the pin shown in the movies, and as such, many people have made it with successful results. The pin was modeled in a convenient size to wear as a large brooch or cloak fastener, so scaling up shouldn’t be necessary, and scaling down isn’t recommended, as it’s quite slim and could become too fragile.
- Who designed it? rgrannan
- How printable/popular is it? The Leaves of Lorien have eight shared Makes, will need supports, and are suitable for both FDM and resin printing.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Doors of Durin
The Doors of Durin are located in the Silvertine mountain and mark the entrance to Moria, which is a dwarven kingdom. One very characteristic thing about these doors is that they are made with Ithildin, which was used to uncover messages you could only see with moonlight. This cool effect was replicated by the maker of the doors by making them thin enough and using white PLA. This, combined with a light behind the doors, make them look like they’re shinning under the moonlight.
- Who designed it? kijai
- How printable/popular is it? This popular model has over 8,600 downloads and 11 community prints, which reveal awesome results! It’s meant for FDM, though a couple of successful resin prints have been shared, and the author recommends using white PLA to achieve the best results.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
Sauron's Helmet
As mentioned before, Sauron is the creator of the One Ring, and is actually one of the two people (in this universe) ever known with the title “The Dark Lord”. Along with his emblematic mace, he wears a helmet to complete the dark and sinister look. Although the interpretation regarding the look of the helmet changes from artist to artist, and even in the movies, it’s always spiky and evil-looking.
This specific model is based on its aspect in the movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. This human-sized helmet is made in parts to be able to fit a desktop printer, and also because it’s a very complex model and is composed of too many layers to be made in one go.
- Who designed it? arifsethi
- How printable/popular is it? This print might look challenging, but it has three successful Makes. It needs supports, and glue is recommended to ensure good adherence, as well as using infill of at least 20%, if not higher, to avoid it being too fragile.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
The One Ring
The One Ring is obviously the most well-known item in The Lord of the Rings, as the whole story focuses on it. Sauron poured “a great part of his own former power” into the ring, and its influence affects almost all those who come into contact with it. Its powers include changing size (like it did in this print to become bigger) and turning people invisible by transporting them to the wraith-world.
This print is scaled up to make the words engraved in it be legible, as in its normal size, a 3D printer wouldn’t be able to get the intricate words which say, in Elven tongue “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.” Additionally, this print is intended for dual printing, to make the words noticeable. A glow-in-the-dark filament looks incredible for the inscription!
- Who designed it? kijai
- How printable/popular is it? The Ring of Power has over 4,300 downloads and a handful of shared makes. It’s meant for dual printing and is larger than you might imagine.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory
License: The text of "Lord of the Rings 3D Print: 10 Models to Rule Them All" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.