One of the things I love about 3D printing is finding projects that are simple to print but still give you something fun to build when the printer is finished.
Kit cards are a perfect example.
At first glance, a kit card doesn't look like much. It's basically a flat collection of parts printed inside a frame. But once you break those pieces free and start assembling them, that flat print can turn into a Jeep, a tank, an airplane, a spaceship, or just about anything else someone has designed.
If you've ever built a traditional plastic model kit, the idea should feel pretty familiar.
What Is a 3D Printed Kit Card?
Traditional model kits usually come with the individual parts attached to plastic frames called sprues. You cut or snap the parts away from the frame and then assemble them into the finished model.
3D printed kit cards work in almost the same way.
Instead of coming out of an injection-molded plastic kit, all of the individual pieces are printed together inside a single flat frame. Small breakaway tabs hold each piece in place during printing.
Once the print is finished, you remove the individual parts from the frame and assemble them into a three-dimensional model.
It's basically miniature IKEA furniture, except the furniture fits in your hand and there's a pretty good chance your assembly instructions are going to be one picture somebody posted on the internet.
You Can Print Almost Anything
One of the best things about kit cards is the variety.
For this project, we printed several small military vehicles, including Jeeps, a truck, and a tank.
We printed them using R3D High Speed PLA Pro Matte Olive Green https://r3dprint.com/s/makerbuildit, which turned out to be a great color for the military vehicles. The matte olive finish gives the models a look that works really well for this type of project.
But military vehicles are only one option.
There are kit cards for airplanes, spacecraft, NASA rockets, rovers, fantasy models, and even things like 3D printed D&D dice.
Star Wars fans have an especially dangerous rabbit hole to fall into. There are designs for just about every ship and droid you can think of, including models like the Millennium Falcon.
You could easily start with one little spaceship and somehow end up printing the entire Rebel Alliance.
Watching a Kit Card Print
Kit cards are also surprisingly interesting to watch while they're printing.
At the beginning of the print, you mostly see a collection of random shapes appearing on the build plate. As more layers are added, the individual parts slowly start becoming recognizable.
Wheels appear. Body panels take shape. Tracks, wings, and structural pieces start to become obvious.
Eventually you can look at the print and realize exactly what all those strange little shapes are going to become.
The parts are connected to the outer frame using small tabs. Those tabs have to be strong enough to keep everything in place during printing, but weak enough that you can remove the parts without damaging them.
The larger pieces usually snap out pretty easily.
The smaller and thinner pieces require a little more patience.
And with small 3D printed parts, patience is important.
In 3D printing, excessive force and immediate regret are often part of the same motion.
Removing the Parts
Once the print is complete, the first step is removing all of the pieces from the frame.
Some parts can simply be snapped free by hand. Others may need a little more care, especially if they contain thin sections or small connection points.
The goal is to break the supporting tabs without breaking the actual model.
Once everything has been removed, you're left with something that looks very similar to a traditional model kit—except your 3D printer created the entire thing in one print.
Then comes the fun part.
Assembly.
From Flat Card to 3D Model
This is where kit cards become much more interesting.
Every model starts as a completely flat print, but once the pieces are assembled, each one ends up with its own shape, details, and personality.
A flat collection of pieces becomes a little Jeep.
Another becomes a tank.
Another becomes a spaceship.
The assembly itself is part of what makes these projects enjoyable. Sure, you could probably download a fully assembled Jeep model and print it as one piece.
But that isn't quite the same.
With a kit card, you get the printing project and the model-building project together.
You print the parts, remove them from the frame, figure out where everything goes, and assemble the finished model yourself.
For me, that's part of the fun.
The Jeep's Final Mission
Of course, once we finished assembling the little Army Jeep, there was one important question left to answer.
Could it tow a field cannon?
Because naturally, if you print a tiny Jeep and a tiny field cannon, you're eventually going to try connecting them together.
That's just how these projects work.
A Simple Project That's Actually Fun
Kit cards aren't necessarily the most complicated things you can make with a 3D printer, but that's part of their appeal.
You download one file, send it to the printer, and end up with both a print and a small model-building project.
They're also great projects if you want something relatively quick to print that still gives you something to do after it comes off the build plate.
And there are enough designs available that you could probably keep printing them for a very long time.
The hardest part may actually be deciding what to print next.
Do you build a miniature Army?
A collection of airplanes?
NASA spacecraft?
Or every ship from the Rebel Alliance?
That's the dangerous thing about 3D printing.
One project usually turns into five more.