Raiders of the Lost Ark Nazi Crate

thingiverse

This is a recreation of the WWII German crate as seen in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, and I'm happy to share my process with you. Since I couldn't find a suitable model online, I decided to create one from scratch using Hatchbox wood filament. It was my first project with this type of filament, and I'm pleased with the results despite some cleanup required after printing. I was surprised that the extruder continued to deposit material even between print layers, but it wasn't a significant issue. Perhaps adjusting the extrusion multiplier would have helped, but I used a value of 0.94 with a 0.35mm nozzle and achieved good results. The filament emitted a rich mahogany scent during printing, reminiscent of a campfire. Initially, I debated whether to include the German stencil or simply print a large black mark over it as seen in the movie after the crate was burned. I opted for the former, which required some creative problem-solving to achieve. To maintain the wood slat look on top, I printed the lid upside down and removed excess support material without issues. However, I had to carve out interior sections of the lid to ensure a proper fit, so I resized them in Tinkercad to provide a better experience for future printers. For the rope handles, I fed 1.75mm wood filament through a gear that grabbed it, then cut off a 2-inch length and painted it darker brown. After inserting the filament into the crate holes and burning the ends to secure them, I achieved a nice rope look with minimal flame manipulation required. The original model included rope holes, but they printed too small for my filament, so I drilled out the holes using a small bit. To prevent similar issues in the future, I widened the holes in Tinkercad. To create the stencil, I used an image from the movie still and applied it to Photoshop, then converted the .jpg file to an SVG using online converter software. After placing the graphic into Tinkercad, I extended the lettering and added a hand stamp, which I used to apply water-based black acrylic paint to a foam sheet. This process required some trial and error, but the results were well worth it. If you're not interested in the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme, I've included an alternate file with a crate without handle brackets. The dimensions for this model are as follows: Crate: 5 3/8" long x 3 1/4" wide x 2 3/4" high Lid: 5 3/8" long x 3 1/4" wide x 5/16" high Handles: 10 1/4" long x 1/16" wide x 3/8" high I've included a picture of the finished crate, which should give you an idea of how close I was able to replicate the original. Share your prints and have fun!