The next time your kid complains about not having the latest and greatest toys, just point to them towards this photo of what children in the late 1800s had to play with. On one hand they’ll certainly start appreciating what they’ve got, but on the other they probably won’t sleep for a week because this thing will haunt their dreams.
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This is Quin. She’s a fully posable (and Barbie-compatible) doll that can be made on a 3D printer and snapped together. Her creators, the folks at 3DKitBash built her to prove that you can build usable, playable toys on a 3D printer. They also built her because she looks amazing.
The 3D files will cost $55 once the project funds in January and you can order her pre-printed in ABS plastic for $245. You can also order clothes and other perks from their Kickstarter page.
The pair who created Quin are Natalie Mathis and Quincy Robinson. Mathis is the Director of Institutional Advancement at a fine art museum in Cincinnati, Ohio and Robinson is a toy inventor and sculptor. He’s worked for Mattell and Hasbro and writes “If you’ve been in a toy isle at a Target or Wal-Mart, chances are, you’ve seen my work.”
“I’ve also been known to rehabilitate orphaned possums,” he said.
The team is based in Cincinatti, Ohio where they’ve seen a renaissance of sorts in the 3D-printing community. Robinson said that “there is not a 3D Printing device that you’re not a couple of handshakes away from within this modestly sized, yet very capable, city.” The city itself is using the resources of General Electric and Procter & Gamble to expand engineering education and making in this burgeoning town.
“We’re all about trying to test the boundaries of what can be achieved with desktop 3D Printing, and a doll (in my mind) is a pretty big test for good or bad,” said Robinson. “You can’t do a half-ass job and it be considered good. And if it’s not good, it’s ugly. Sculpting or printing-wise. Quin is the result of us trying to prove ourselves and present something to the current (and future) community that demonstrates where we are, and what we can expect. We as a community have the ability to create and offer easy-to-print, modular models, with lots of character, and offer lots of customization potential.”
Robinson and Mathis see Quin as more than just a toy. They expect other 3D printing enthusiasts to remix and modify her for their needs and doll fans can mod her to work with their collectable accessories.
“I really see Quin as being more of an inventing/customization platform. She can perform like a traditional fashion doll, but I hope her ability to be so many things will appeal to the creative tech savvy builders out there that need a no-mess platform to demo their thoughts on,” said Robinson.
Will Quin survive the ravages of a three-year-old in a bad mood? The team thinks she can.
“If you told me three months ago that I’d have a 3D Doll that would be as reliable as a standard Barbie and be able to stand on her own; I would have scoffed… But it’s true! A well printed Quin has the structural soundness of a Barbie with acutely sized tabs to lock legs together and snug joints to aide in poses,” said Robinson. “She’s sturdy.”
Barbie’s always been on the cutting edge of fashion
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Sex education is an important tool for minimizing the spread of certain diseases and unwanted pregnancies, but how far is too far? If you’ve ever asked yourself that question, here’s the answer. This Baby’s First Baby doll comes with a tiny fetus it’s apparently just given birth to. And the doll’s packaging boasts that the baby’s baby is pregnant too. How horrifically awful. More »
With over a billion dollars at the box office, The Avengers are having a banner year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted some Avengers themed collectibles for your desk, right? How about some awesome Avengers Matryoshka (Russian stacking dolls)?
This set of Avengers stacking dolls was made by Australian artist Irene Hwang of BoBo Babushka. Each one is hand painted, and the set includes eight stacking Avengers ranging from the 9″ tall Incredible Hulk to the 3/4″ Loki. I know, Loki is a bad guy, but she made him so tiny it’s almost like he’s not even there.
The set also includes Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury – complete with tiny eyepatch. The full set is available over on Etsy for $200 (USD), and you can check out more detailed images over on BoBo BaBushka’s Blog. Be sure to check out her Etsy shop for all kinds of other cool Matryoshka, including Kiss, The Flight of the Conchords, The Big Bang Theory, and Reno 911.
Toys playing with their own overly-engineered, brand-name, Apple gadgets is what could probably be called—quite accurately—the pinnacle of pretension. Still, anything made miniature is automatically cool. And these tiny iPods, iPads, iPhones, and MacBooks are no exception. Not even when Woody from Toy Story is posed with a doll-size iPhone to look like he’s Instagramming his sushi dinner.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
