This week’s selection is the life-size Battle Droid by Droid Division.
This 3D model is quite a project, as it is fully life-size, or larger depending on your own size: this model, when built is 6’4” (193cm).
Its design is clearly “inspired” by the Battle Droids that appear in Star Wars, but you won’t see any mention of Star Wars in any of the online pages for this item. Nevertheless, Star Wars fans will recognize this immediately and possibly want to 3D print the entire model themselves.
The model is produced by Droid Division, a small online design shop that markets this and similar 3D models on Etsy, which is becoming a popular service for niche designers. Droid Division’s portfolio currently includes a number of full-body droid 3D models, as well as parts and accessories.
Buyer Seth Steid explained on Reddit the effort required to 3D print the parts for this huge design:
“It is mainly in PLA+, but used some regular left over PLA in parts, and the fingers are actually on my new SLA printer. Probably 7-8 kg of filament.
I didn’t really keep track of print time but it was around a month of printing on and off. The check alone took around 5 days between the two pieces.”
That’s quite a lot of 3D printing, and that doesn’t count the effort required to properly finish the parts. Steid apparently has yet to sand and paint his print. But for droid fans, the work will definitely be worth it.
Droid Division sells the digital files and an extensive PDF explanation sheet on Etsy. The 3D model is broken down into smaller parts that can be easily 3D printed on desktop devices, including the popular Creality Ender line. The parts include holes for dowels to ensure alignment during assembly and strength beyond simple glueing.
Droid Division said:
“The Droid STL files include everything you need to print the whole Droid, his Backpack/Antennas and a set of Commander Macrobinoculars as in the pictures (apart from fixings and strengthening poles), and include information/link for a free BattleDroid Blaster STL that has been remixed to fit these files.”
The price for the model is US$55.63, quite a bit more than the price of some 3D models, and certainly more than many free 3D models one can find in public repositories. However, the high quality of this model is such that over 164 buyers have given Droid Division a full five star review on Etsy.
If you’re leaning towards attempting a build of this model, there is one big caution. Steid wrote:
“It stands right around 6’4. Last time my girlfriend was over I didn’t have the arms assembled yet, so it was just standing in the corner with no arms and head down. She was definitely creeped out by it so I had to put it in the office.”
