3D printer extraordinaire Jim Rodda, whom you might remember from his Open Source tabletop wargame Seej, is raising funds to begin a new project: he wants to create realistic, lavishly detailed 3D models of medieval armor made specifically for the Fashionista Barbie doll. Ken’d better watch himself, that’s for sure.
Rodda explains on the Kickstarter campaign site:
Barbie has had many occupations over her long and storied career. Astronaut, veterinarian, pinup, and princess more times than I can count. She has not, to my knowledge, cosplayed as Brienne of Tarth until now.
The field plate armor depicted in the photos and video above is a nice-enough prototype, good enough for patrolling the battlements at Stonemist Castle. But wearing it to a meeting of the Kingsguard? To the Council of Elrond? To prom?Honestly.
A fully funded Kickstarter will enable me to design and produce the next iteration of the prototype armor, a favolosa e bellissima ensemble that befits a lady of Barbie’s high station.
This sounds like a great opportunity for the battle-minded among us, especially if the final product is going to be better than the above, since its realistic non-boob-plateiness is pretty great on its own. Not that there’s anything wrong with revealing non-armor on an occasional basis, since Red Sonja seems to do just fine with it, but you’ve gotta admit that it’s annoying as an overall trend
The $5000 Rodda needs to fund the project will go towards the costs of replacement printer parts, biodegradable plastic for armor printing, and “time needed to design a highly detailed suit of armor, with all the engraving, ensorcelling, and enameling Barbie’s parade panoply deserves.” Time is money, after all, but don’t worry, because the final product will will be distributed under a Creative Commons License. So, regardless of whether or not you choose to contribute, you’ll still eventually be able to modify, redistribute, and even sell any derivatives as long as you credit Rodda with the original design.
Rodda will also print out versions of all his armor to send to Kickstarter backers, along with the digital files. If you pony up $300, you’ll even get a set engraved with a custom herald of your choosing. If you don’t want to wait to weaponize your Barbies, or you have no money to spare, you can also currently download your own Athena-inspired spear and aegis before the campaign ends.
She sprung from Mattel’s head fully formed, and she’s here to kick some Grecian ass.
As of writing, Rodda’s raised about $2,691 with $23 days to go, so we’re confident that he’ll reach his goal, and soon we’ll all be printing out a set of just in time for Barbie’s siege against the Witch King of Angmar outside the White City of Minas Tirith.
(via Boing Boing, image via Jim Rodda)
- Wouldn’t it suck if you had to use Flixster to 3D print stuff?
- Between this and her job as a computer programmer, Barbie’s doin’ pretty well
- We’re not always enamored with every Kickstarter campaign we find
