Worried about leaving your kids alone with a 3D printing pen (and icky melted plastic)? This 3D Soap Suds Pen is the safer alternative.

The majority of 3D printing pens use plastic filament as their raw material. While the creative possibilities are wondrous, you’d be concerned about leaving children unsupervised with a high-temperature hot-end.

That’s why the idea behind this particular 3D printing pen is absolute genius; swap out the heated thermoplastic for harmless soap suds, and create some foamy 3D printed objects.

The Awamoko 3D Foam Pen comes from Shine, a Japanese toy-maker. An added benefit of making crazy shapes with a 3D printing foam gun is that once your creation is finished, it can still be altered and remodelled.

Check out this promotional video (in Japanese), where a pair of excitable ten-year-olds explain the concept.

3D Soap Suds Pen Turns Bathroom into a FabLab

The 3D soap suds pen works by spewing out foam from a nozzle. With a steady hand, you should be able to create 3D shapes that approximate something like an adorable bunny rabbit.

Foam lacks precision, however, so finer details can be added with the application of little stickers to indicate features like eyes, ears and tails.

Judging by the video, the pen is pretty simple to use. Simply press a button near the head of the nozzle and the suds will be extruded, just like a normal 3D printing pen. It doesn’t require a manual pump, since a motor inside the pen generates the foam automatically.

The raw material for the foam is standard, everyday liquid soap, so there’s no need to shell out on any specialized materials for long-term use.

If you’re tempted to buy your own 3D printing foam pen, you’ll be happy to learn they’re retailing for only $39. The Japan Trend Shop is taking orders now, though the pens won’t be stock until the middle of July.