Mattel has brought back its ThingMaker toy from the 60's with a modern outlook: it was presented at the New York Toy Fair as the 3D Printer from Mattel in collaboration with Autodesk.
Aslan Appleman, senior director at Mattel, said: "In today's digital age, it's more important than ever for families to transcend the digital world and make their ideas real". But Mattel's own new 3D printer isn't coming out until the fall, even though you can preorder it on Amazon starting Monday.
The ThingMaker's target is to provide users an easy way to build and create their designs without dealing with the technical side of 3D printing.
While 3D printers typically require modeling software expertise, not mention copious amounts of supervision, the ThingMaker keeps things family-friendly with a simple app for designing toys and a safety-focused construction that keeps little hands away from the printer's heated elements.
For more information on ThingMaker 3D Printer and ThingMaker 3D Design App please visit thingmaker.com. But an issue with this nascent technology space is that despite being around for a couple of years now, 3D printers are still very expensive to purchase and use, making them inaccessible to most. Now it's a 3-D printer that lets children print their own toys. ThingMaker was the name of a "toy creator" which was popular and sold by Mattel during the 1960s. Because the software was outsourced to Autodesk, it actually works with other 3D printers too - not just the ThingMaker 3D.
The announcement was made a few days ahead of the Toy Fair trade show in Manhattan this weekend.
Whether creating figures such as dolls, robots and dinosaurs, or wearable accessories like bracelets and necklaces, Mattel's new ThingMaker eco-system is the answer for at-home creative play. For now, Amazon holds the exclusive sales of Mattel's printer.
Mattel's ThinkMaker 3D will use a hard PLA plastic filament, which has quickly become the standard in the 3D printing movement. So don't settle for the toys on the market - create your own with Mattel's ThingMaker. Mattel's other brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price all have official support here, so there's a strong chance we'll get this unique product on our shores.
All parts are connected by ball and socket joints and, depending on the size of the toy, printing can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours to complete. "For bigger prints, click print before [you] go to bed and wake up to a brand new toy".
