Start Your Engines
3D printing and cars are more linked than you might think, with more and more great models available online. In recent years, 3D printing has been used to produce car accessories, parts, and even entire cars!
Many car lovers go down the more affordable route of collecting toy or model cars, and 3D printing is a great way to expand your fleet. Hot Wheels and similar miniature cars are fun models to 3D print, either to make a caravan or just as a nifty printer test.
In this article, we’ll be sharing with you our favorite toy car models that you can print yourself. We’ll give a description and some printing tips for each, as well as who created the design, who printed it, and where you can download the free model.
If you want to expand your Hot Wheels collection but don’t have the time or tools to print at home, check out Craftcloud. With professional 3D printing partners around the world shipping straight to your door, you’ll be lining up on the starting grid in no time.
Materials
If you do intend to print yourself, there are some materials that you’ll want to have on hand before you get started.
Not every car design is the same: Some have wheels that you can 3D print, while some will need wheels and axles added. The Hot-Wheels-sized models can use branded wheels, but there are also lots of non-branded options out there. You could also always scale a model to suit some wheels you already have. For any models that don’t come with axles, a paperclip is an excellent substitute.
Whatever the case is, make sure to read the hardware specifications for the toy car you want to build before printing. Happy racing!
Twin Turbo Speedster
First up, this Twin Turbo Speedster models a powerful-looking convertible. The attached wheels even can spin properly.
The designer listed the dimensions of the car to be 70 x 70 x 52 mm, and the design is divided into four parts. This way, the wheels, body, “fabric” roof, and wheel rims can easily be printed in different colors.
The designer recommends printing the body of the car with a medium-to-high resolution but stick to a high resolution for the wheels and roof.
Who made it? kevinmeric
Who printed it? This speedy model has over 200 downloads and nearly 5,000 views.
Where to get it? MyMiniFactory
Tesla Model 3
This realistic design is based on a Tesla Model 3 and is remixed from a non-movable model to add functioning wheels.
The model consists of three printable parts, with two options for the body of the car (with mirrors and without). This is the fourth iteration of this design, which has been improved for easier and more consistent printing. The designer recommends a low infill percentage for the body, but higher for the wheels. Interestingly, they also recommend using 1.75-mm filament straight off the spool for the axles. If you have trouble keeping the wheels in place, you can melt the end of the filament axles to secure them!
Who made it? Flowr
Who printed it? This Tesla-inspired toy has over 100 downloads, but no one has shared a Make yet. However, there are a bunch of Makes of the original model that you can check out for inspiration.
Where to get it? Thingiverse
Classic BMW Race Car
This model is based on a classic BMW race car. The creator acknowledges that the design isn’t a perfect reproduction, as they made adjustments for easier 3D printing, but it’s a nice representation all the same.
This design includes five files to print, for the back, front, body, rims, and tires. There isn’t any printing advice supplied, but as with all miniature models, a small layer height will be a good starting point, and you’ll probably want a higher infill for the wheels.
Who made it? skofictadej287
Who printed it? This classic model has 25 likes and nearly 500 downloads, though no one has shared a print yet.
Where to get it? Cults
Open-Top
This cute model keeps its cards close to its chest: there’s very little information supplied. But we think the open top and bumper make it look a bit like a Jeep.
This is a surprisingly detailed model, assembled from 15 printed parts. In addition to the body and wheels, there are separate doors, seats, a steering wheel, a bumper, wing mirrors, and even a tiny gearshift! The maker suggests using sandpaper and acetone for post-processing.
Who made it? zhouxingtao
Who printed it? This fun design has 10 likes and over 100 downloads.
Where to get it? MyMiniFactory
V8 Ford Falcon
This design is after the Interceptor V8 Ford Falcon as seen in several of the Mad Max movies. This design was based on a car model from the Mad-Max-inspired tabletop game Gaslands.
This model prints at 1/64 scale and can be used with Hot Wheels medium-sized wheels. There are no printing tips from the designer, but the body of the car prints in a single piece.
Who made it? Marcus_GT500
Who printed it? This Mad-Max-themed design has nearly 2,000 views with over 100 downloads.
Where to get it? Cults
F1 McLaren
This simplistic toy is a low-poly design of an F1 McLaren MP4. Specifically, the 1991 model, according to the maker. The car is 10 cm long so it should fit on most print beds, though it’s a bit larger than other cars on this list.
There are only three different parts that should be printed for this car. Assembly for this model is easy and you don’t even need glue! The wheels snap right on and can rotate with little resistance.
The designer recommends printing with supports activated and provides no further printing advice. However, a recorded maker posted a great print and listed their printing suggestions: they printed in PLA with supports activated, no raft, a 0.16-mm layer height, and a 12% infill.
Who made it? konamarian
Who printed it? This fun toy design has 2 recorded Makes and nearly 700 downloads.
Where to get it? Thingiverse
Pull-Back Sports Car
This sporty model was designed using Autodesk 123D. It’s based on a pull-back sports car and prints from a single file, so it should be pretty simple.
The designer recommends printing with a 10% infill using a layer height of 0.05 to 0.15 mm. The designer also suggests printing with supports activated and a raft.
Who made it? cycstudio
Who printed it? This toy car design has more than 3,000 views with over 300 downloads.
Where to get it? Cults
Muscle Car
This muscle car model is a fair bit larger than your typical Hot Wheels toys, but it looks amazing, especially with different colors on the print! The designer posted four versions of the car: three for single-extruder printers and one for dual-extruder printers. You can see the different cars in the maker’s YouTube video, too.
The designer recommends printing with a 0.1-mm layer height with varying infill percentages for the different parts. You can check out the printing details and assembly instructions on the project page.
Who made it? IRBlinx
Who printed it? This muscle car design has over 3,000 views as well as over 200 downloads.
Where to get it? MyMiniFactory
Batmobile
This model, although not as deadly as the movie versions, is a Hot-Wheels-size car that will put your real Hot Wheels to shame! This car uses press-fit bearings for a smooth ride, according to the designer.
This design uses two 10-mm (outer diameter) bearings for the rear wheels and two 7-mm bearings for the front wheels, as well as four M3x8 cap screws for each wheel. You can look on the project page for more material specifications, too.
The designer recommends printing this car with a 0.1-mm layer height. They also state that supports aren’t necessary for this print but could potentially provide a smoother finish on the curves. They also listed that they printed the model with 7.5 meters of filament using an FDM 3D printer.
Who made it? ossum
Who printed it? This toy car design has 1 community print, over 6,000 views as well as over 500 downloads!
Where to get it? MyMiniFactory
1978 Volkswagen Brasilia
This car, although not being a race car like some of the other designs on this list, is another great toy car to print. The design is a 1/64 scale model of a 1978 Volkswagen Brasilia and is the same size as a Hot Wheels car. The car can work with Mattel’s medium-size wheels (11 x 6 mm) or other similar wheel sets.
You can use a small paperclip for the axles, and painting the model will really finish it off. The designer recommends printing with a 0.08- to 0.12-mm layer height, 15% infill, and four or more walls. The designer also stated that the print takes 3-4 hours to complete.
Who made it? Marcus_GT500
Who printed it? This toy car design has nearly 800 downloads.
Where to get it? Thingiverse
Lead image source: IRBlinx via MyMiniFactory
License: The text of "3D Printed Toy Cars: 10 Great Models to Lead the Way" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.