Like always in 3D printing you need to understand if something is worth printing. There are enough toys that work as 3D print, and enough stuff that either will not survive the load, or not be played with (like those figurines). For those categories (especially the figurines) commercial ones might have the same fate, though, so just printing one to shut the child up may have smaller footprint/costs.

A small list of toys that work very well 3D printed:

This propeller pull toy last longer than the commercial ones with pull string.

This stomp rocket also works great, and if the kids listen to instructions will last ages.

This kind of logic game has similar durability than commercial ones.

This kind of balloon toy also is pretty nice - we used to build those from wood when I was small, but 3D-printing here offers quite a bit more options for experimentation together with the kids. (The author has different models in his profile)

From that there’s pretty much a direct line to 3D printed RC models, where the main problem is that many are in the classic model builder mindset where you have to live with the parts you can buy, and due to that end up with a BOM containing dozens of different screw types. This one is an easy to build example not making that mistake, and there are some others as well.

3D printed Kinetic sand modelling tools are 1000 times better than what is commercially available.

most toys that aren’t 3d printed are usually plastic waste also

but i understand your point.

I’ve learned this as well. But printing parts to supplement existing toys…now that’s been great. Hot Wheels accessories is a really good example…

Yup. Most of the time yes. Parts to repair toys were useful, though. Especially one time when the part that broke was a plastic horse (part of a bigger toy) and there’s no way I could make one without the printer, or buy in the scale I needed.

Toys that worked for my kid:

• kazoo, it’s a shitty instrument but pretty fun
• logic puzzles, not a favourite toy but used once in a while

You’re right, and it’s the same reason 2d printers didn’t destroy the book publishing business. It only really makes sense to print things that are either highly situational one-offs for our own purposes or things that someone else created but that aren’t economically justifiable to physically distribute to us.

Commodity items like toys are made to a ridiculous level of cost and process optimization with large and highly sophisticated equipment and molds, which won’t pay for themselves until they’ve sold a hundred thousand toys or more. 3d printers are not competing with that at all. The goal is not to do the same things they already do at scale. The goal is to do the things they won’t and can’t do at scale, that would be cost-prohibitive to set up the process and molds for, that you don’t have time to set up a whole process for because you need it right now. That’s where 3d printing shines. Even companies are using it for rapid iteration because it would simply take too long to keep changing the setup on a traditional process. But it’s never going to replace or “beat” traditional manufacturing and distribution for most things that are done in bulk.

To some extent I agree, however I do have some examples with staying power:

• bath toys, like boats and stuff
• video games props, like pokeballs, Pokédex, ocarina flute, majoras mask prop, wind waker wand

For the latter, it was a father-son project to sand and paint them, so that probably has to do with it. For bath time, it’s probably because the selection is more limited in the first place.

I can count on one hand how many “toys” I’ve printed. I have printed thousands of useful/needed items, though. That tool is indispensable to me. It’s crazy how far prototyping tech has come.

I think it’s actually that the “toys” that can be easily printed are simple novelties, and lots of us get caught up in that. They look super cool online, then you eventually realize that they’re usually worse versions of happy meal toys.

But when there’s a broken part on our train set, or we have a dollhouse that needs another chair, printing is super great.

Printing is easy. Choosing something worth printing is hard.

Yeahhhh, the makerspace I work at gets constant requests for these kinda things and it irritates me to no end… Totally feel your frustration.

I think it really depends.

I print a LOT of barbie furniture and items for my nieces in PLA and it works great, they love it. I also print barbie shoes and jewelry in flex resin, and it’s really perfect.

I also use Resin to print other action figures like the bluey family, a peppa pig lamp for their room etc. But for action figures I have to paint them.too. Sometimes I just let them paint it themselfs and they love it.

Any toy is a “waste” of plastic in the end, it will all eventually break

Couple of thoughts.

First, what you described sounds like most of the toys I’ve bought my kids growing up so if it brought them joy, probably about as valuable as anything else.

Second, my experience is a bit different. My sons have 3d printed nick nacks displayed on their shelves and both have fidget toys they play with on the regular. Also I’ve got a chain fidget in my pocket I’ve been playing with all day.

I’ve also got a box of less successful toys I’d love to recycle if I could but definitely some wins too. So I think there are a lot of toys you’d be right about but also a lot of them are actually pretty interesting and fun to the right person

I much prefer printing mechanical things, and stuff that does stuff (or fixes stuff) is where it’s at for me. For me to print a static model it has to either be sufficiently hilarious or fit with some inside joke in my household (penguins and ducks feature prominently) or I ain’t doing it.

A word to the wise for anyone printing static models or figurines for your kids, or whatever. Print these in TPU instead of PLA. TPU is functionally indestructible except via heat, can’t shatter, won’t hurt as much if you step on it in the dark, and its moderate amount of squishiness means that it’s significantly less likely to deal damage when younger brothers throw it at older sisters.

The fragile part is easily fixed by changing the print material and/or infill percentage. You’re right on all other points though.

3d Printing can lose it’s luster over time if you don’t make the effort of learning 3d CAD software and making new designs. -This is my current struggle as FreeCAD is a painful piece of software to use.

I agree, but with exceptions. More complicated projects made of several separate parts (especially ones not 100% 3D printed) can be hella cool.

Heat set screw inserts, embedded hardware (nuts, magnets, springs), electronics, etc. can all be used to create toys that can’t be purchased.