Printable and functional Playmobil

thingiverse

I've tried numerous models available online but none of them resulted in a truly functional, printable Playmobil. I decided to create my own model and here it is. To print the parts with sufficient strength and reliability, I had to divide some components into separate sub-parts. The skeleton has a detachable part that can be easily plugged into the main body. The head is also composed of two distinct parts; I separated the neck to print it horizontally, which resulted in a significantly stronger design. It's recommended to print the neck as a separate component due to the tiny last layers; allowing for some cooling time between layers produces a cleaner part. At the end, I split the shoes from the legs to enable printing with another color. The hair is also made up of two parts, which helps avoid the need for supports. You can find models with supports, but the outcome is far superior when using the two-part design, which clips together seamlessly. When it comes to the hands, be sure to print them with a dense support using Simplify3D at 0.1 mm layer height; all other parts require no support and are printed at 0.2 mm. To ensure the hands fit snugly into the arms, remove the small spikes from the wrist area. However, if it's difficult to get the hand to fit, you risk breaking it - I encountered this issue myself when printing my first model. Additionally, assembling the shoes and legs can be a bit tricky; however, the connection is strong and the shoes won't fall off after some movement. Be cautious not to force the shoes off as this may result in breakage - I also encountered this problem during assembly. I've included a complete model with legs and shoes if you prefer to print them in the same color. I hope this design inspires others to try printing their own Playmobil models. Lastly, it's worth noting that all parts can be used with genuine Playmobil components, as they fit together seamlessly. You can find assembly instructions on YouTube at https://youtu.be/IjOVCL4KRk8 and model explode footage at https://youtu.be/9Zu8u0OtUPk.