This 3D Toy Printer Lets Kids in the Modern Tech Age Build Their Own Fun

It looks like our 1960s plastic mold and oven heated toys are now officially antiques, folks.

Mattel, which was responsible for the Thingmaker—a contraption that let kids build their own plastic figurines at home—has moved into the modern era with its new 3D printer toy studio.

Set for release this fall, the major toy distributor unveiled its generationally appropriate in-home toy maker during this year’s New York Toy Fair. If you can’t wait until the leaves turn though, you can pre-order the item on Amazon starting Monday.

The $300 ThingMaker 3D works with an iOS or Android app loaded with blueprints. The app, which wirelessly transmits designs from your smartphone or tablet, allows users to render toys resembling everything from necklaces to skeletons. The ThingMaker Design application uses Autodesk software that ensures the app doesn’t crash, providing you with a fast and easy to navigate interface.

During the Toy Fair, Mattel displayed nearly two dozen color options for the printer, though it remains unclear how many colors will be loaded and available once the toy is officially released. Apparently, there is also a decent chance that users will be able to use different printing materials as well, Gizmodo reports.

The printer already uses the industry standard hard PLA plastic filament, but there are plans to include a softer, more malleable plastic, as well as plastics that change color when exposed to UV rays and ones that glow in the dark.

Mattel guarantees that the toys printed using the 3D studio are safe enough for children 3 years old and up. Plus, the printing head retracts when not in use, making it much harder for users to burn themselves after accidentally touching it.

 
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