Official 3D Printed Star Wars Collectibles are finally available. Thanks to 3D Printing technology, they’re almost identical to the originals.

Want your own Kylo Ren lightsaber hilt? What about Rey’s staff? Official Star Wars: The Force Awakens prop makers PropShop is creating replicas so real they might as well be the real thing. For die-hard fans, this may be one of the greatest, and least expected, uses of 3D Printing.

UK-based PropShop created the original props used in the recent Star Wars film. These designs were digitally modeled and 3D printed multiple times to find the perfect size and details. Since the props already exist in digital, it only makes sense that collectibles should be 3D printed from the very same files.

The “Star Wars Collectibles: Ultimate Studio Edition” may be impressive, but the price tags aren’t for the faint of heart. Lightsaber hilts and Rey’s staff go for $1,250, and the melted iconic Darth Vader mask for $3,500. More complex designs, like the Poe Dameron X-Wing helmet, take some 20 hours to print.

3D Printed Star Wars Collectibles (Image: Mashable)
3D Printed Star Wars Collectibles (Image: Mashable)

3D Printed Star Wars Collectibles As Close to True Replicas As Possible

The cost may be relatively high, but it’s far from exorbitant given that it’s almost a 100% exact replica. Unlike hand-made pieces or reproductions, these 3D printed replicas are made from the exact same data as the original. It’s basically a collector’s dream come true.

“The reason this is unique and the reason we decided to do this in the first place is, I think, it’s very different to what replicas and what collectibles have been made before,” PropShop director James Enright told Mashable. “Because of the technologies we’re using, we are confident these replicas are probably the nearest things to the actual props themselves.”

Choose your weapon...or helmet (Image: Mashable)
Choose your weapon…or helmet (Image: Mashable)

Collectors don’t want cheap items or kinda-sorta-replicas; they want the real deal, and 3D Printing is perhaps the only way to make designers and buyers happy. From original conception to prototyping, these designs were made to be printed. Each print, of course, also requires an amount of hands-on work from the prop makers, meaning we aren’t quite in an era where real replicas can truly be 3D printed outside of the studio. But this is a huge step in the right direction for collectors, everywhere.

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