When 3D printers made their debut in 1986, the technology was locked behind a maze of barriers to entry, including software, bulky equipment and limited applications. Skip ahead to today, and toycos are kicking off a 3D-printing revolution, moving the tech beyond hobbyists and industry niches into the mass-market hands of maker kids eager to play a starring role in their toy’s production.

Leading the DIY charge is LA-based Toybox Labs, which began selling its same-name 3D printers online in 2018 for kids ages eight and up. To date, the company has designed and imported more than 3,000 original toys to its online platform—including whole ranges of action figures, vehicles and animals that can be printed within 10 minutes.

Accessing the catalogue is a community of more than 25,000 monthly users, who are able to print any of Toybox’s original toys for free, or pay up to US$5 to print a licensed toy. The company also runs a monthly Play Packs subscription service in the US. Each pack comes with a toy design file to run through the printer that can then be assembled with manufactured parts (a small motor, for example) to make a mechanical toy powered by a proprietary app. Options include remote-controlled cars, musical instruments and battle-style spinning tops.

Toybox inked its first licensing deal in 2020 with UK-based Beano Studios for a line of Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed! action figures. Since then, it has partnered with several other studios to bring their iconic IPs onto the Toybox platform, including Warner Bros. Discovery (Looney Toons and DC Comics), Paramount (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Illumination (Minions).

These big-brand deals have certainly powered up the company’s product offering, but they have also necessitated increased security measures on the platform to protect the high-value IPs involved.

“The only way I can do a deal with Viacom, Warner Bros. and Universal is because we have a patented process that will encrypt our files,” says Toybox COO Malcolm Bird. “When you print Patrick, SpongeBob, Batman or any [licensed character], those files never hit your computer; they go directly to your printer.”

Bird says the company’s manufacturing model is potentially disruptive, eliminating the most expensive and time-consuming elements in the toy supply chain. “Kids use the Toybox machine and plastic filament they buy from us to print their toys at home, [so] we don’t have the injection molding, the packaging or the shipping from China at the last mile,” he explains.

Another benefit of Toybox’s DTC model? The company doesn’t have to negotiate with retailers for shelf space or create unnecessary waste during the manufacturing process. And its catalogue of toys that are at consumers’ fingertips continues to grow in a unique product pipeline compared to retail.

“We started off by developing three toys for Warner Bros.—now they have more than 50 on the platform. However, toy number one is still available to print and can still make money,” says Bird. “There’s an unlimited shelf life for these products online because we don’t take the files down.”

He sees toys as the catalyst that will shift 3D printers from niche to mainstream, moving from the hobbyist realm into standard home office equipment. While the device is targeted primarily at kids, Bird says even parents are picking up the technology—many have begun skipping the lines at local retailers, opting to print out their own decorations and housewares at home instead.

Back in kidland, Hasbro has been “toying” with the technology for decades. “We were early adopters of 3D printing; our first printers were big industrial machines that we put in place around 1997,” recalls Patrick Marr, senior director of model development. “As we saw the printers and the resolutions getting better, we were more and more interested in how we [could] continue to leverage this technology outside of manufacturing.”

Hasbro’s first 3D outing in the consumer space happened in 2014, when it partnered with 3D printing marketplace Shapeways to launch SuperFanArt. This e-commerce site allowed artists to design and sell their original 3D creations based on Hasbro brands such as My Little Pony, Transformers and Monopoly. The move proved to be a bit premature in the market, and the collaboration only lasted a year.

But fast-forward seven years, and Hasbro is now firmly in the consumer space. In July, it forged a new partnership with Massachusetts-based Formlabs and launched a custom e-commerce platform called Selfie Series. Using a proprietary app, toy fans in the US can scan their own faces and put them on one of 14 Hasbro action figures from IPs including Marvel, Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Power Rangers and G.I. Joe.

Hasbro’s Selfie Series lets kids put their own faces on one of 14 action figures, including Ghostbusters

Marr says the company was inspired by fan cosplay at conventions and other public events. “Fans are always looking for new ways to absorb or become engrossed in their favorite brands,” he explains. “We’re looking at mass customization, and going direct-to-consumer is the perfect pipeline for us to engage with our fan base.”

Hasbro debuted the Selfie Series at its San Diego Comic-Con booth in July, and show-goers ate it up. “Within two minutes after opening the doors, we had 200 people in line for selfies, so we knew the audience was behind the project, and they all knew which figure they wanted to become,” recalls
Marr of the response.

Formlabs has also inked similar deals with major consumer brands in the US looking to launch mass customization platforms, including Procter & Gamble’s Gillette for its Razor Maker line of custom and limited-edition razor handles; and footwear manufacturer New Balance for its TripleCell range of customizable shoes.

To date, Formlabs has sold more than 100,000 3D printers to industries including aerospace (NASA recently sent Formlabs printed parts to space aboard the SpaceX Dragon Resupply Capsule) and entertainment (Aaron Sims Creative used Formlabs digital printing to create the Demogorgon prop used in Stranger Things). The printers are most in demand in the healthcare and dental sectors, which account for more than a quarter of the company’s total sales to date.

While 3D printers are best suited to larger industrial projects, the tech’s accessibility and mass customization features will be key drivers in helping it expand to new markets and audiences, says Gary Rowe, Formlabs’ head of business development.

Big-box stores and e-commerce may be the kings of the modern toy retail landscape, but a DTC, 3D-printable future is slowly gaining ground. As more brands and high-value licenses jump onto these platforms, opportunities for more kids to adopt the tech will surely follow.

And really, what kid could resist putting their face on Iron Man’s body or making their very own Minions?

This story was originally published in Kidscreen’s February/March 2023 issue.