I surprisingly couldn’t find any recent threads on this, so with Black Friday coming up I thought I’d start a new one rather than bump something old.
I’m hoping to pick up a 3D printer as a Christmas gift for the family - mainly for our kids (ages 3, 7, and 8). The big priorities are:
-Multi-color printing (so they can make toys and figures that look fun right out of the printer)
-Affordable price range (ideally just a few hundred dollars, nothing too high-end)
The main use would be kid-friendly projects: toys, figures, and little creative builds.
There are so many “Top 10” lists out there that it’s hard to know what’s actually worth considering. Has anyone here found a good option that balances cost, ease of use, and fun for kids?
The Bambu Lab one is probably about as close to "it just works" as it would get. Some people don't like them because they're more proprietary and 3D printing as a lot of open source enthusiast types.. but lots of people just want something that does the thing when you push the button.
I mean strictly speaking ANY FDM printer can print multi colour as long as you can babysit it and manually change out the filament, just a lot easier with a system that can switch the filament for you.
But be aware that multi colour printing can generate a lot of waste.. like more waste than the actual print in some cases.
I think Bambu Labs just introduced a new printer that has multiple hot ends and cuts the waste to almost nothing but that's in their higher end ones that are in the thousand+ range.
In 3D printing world cheaper can often means harder to get something you want which is usually the opposite of kid friendly.. and even the best ones still run into things where you have to figure out why it isn't printing what you want and fix them.. the filament is too humid, or the bed needs to be cleaned, or this particular model needs larger pads for better bed adhesion, or the default generated supports allow too much shake which makes the print fail.. it's a deeep rabbit hole, just be warned. Be prepared to have to learn stuff to help when things don't do what they'd like.
But for simple stuff like just downloading a popular flexible dragon model from the Internet and printing it I think it's hard to go wrong with the A1 mini. I unfortunately don't know anything about Flashforge so can't speak to that one.
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I have the Bambu A1 with the AMS. I definitely recommend the Bambu ecosystem for beginners into the hobby as they have made everything very easy to use. I have had very few issues with any of the prints that i have done, whether that is downloaded files or ones that I have made myself.
The biggest limitation with the mini is the smaller print bed. I think the upgrade to the A1 is worth it for the larger print bed alone.
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But be aware that multi colour printing can generate a lot of waste.. like more waste than the actual print in some cases.
Thanks, guys. I dug more deeply on this one in particular and didn't realize the difference. Like 10-20x the material and print time according to this video.
Time is most important to me for fun use and trying to get kids to share, so I think I'm going to go with the A1 Mini. If they get super into it I'll upgrade in the future.
edit: After thinking about it more, this video is an extreme example of the waste issue. Because the nemo fish has its colors stripes in the vertical direction, there are tonnnnes of color changes every layer so lots of waste. If, in theory, he could have built it standing on its nose there would be way fewer changes and fewer waste issues. General googling seems to suggest its still a lot (1-2x?)
Last edited by Frequitude; 11-28-2025 at 11:03 AM.
Colour changes do add alot of waste, but there are some tactics to reduce that.
1. You can simplify models so colour changes are limited.
2. You can dump the waste into another model on the build plate where colour is less of a concern
3. filling the plate with models when doing multi colour prints spreads reduces the waste per model as it will switch colours optimized for the plate.
4. live with it and not stress about a couple of dollars of plastic. Filament goes a long way when printing little fidget toys and fun things for kids.
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Yeah the waste issue is probably a lot more important for people trying to make a business of it where waste = money in both materials and extra time. But for personal stuff yeah not a huge deal if you use $1.50 in filament vs $1.
The one guy who I watch who was testing the new Bambu H2C showed this difference for the same print which is pretty crazy:
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
I got the Bambu Lab P1S with AMS during their Black Friday deal and it has been awesome.They are totally right when they say you just set it up and start printing. It took about 15 minutes to set up and I printed Benchy the boat as a test. Worked perfectly. My wife and kids are complaining that the printer is running all the time now. I would highly recommend.
I scoffed at using glue stick as an aid for bed adhesion for the first couple of years. After I had a couple larger prints without a lot of bed contact area have issues with warping and separating from the bed I dug out an old UHU stick and gave it a go. Worked like a damn. Didn’t leave residue on the print and stuck the prints down really well. It looks ugly on the print plate but the water-based glue cleans off no problem with a little soapy water. I use the little plastic scraper that came with my printer to smooth down the glue after I put it on the plate.
I finally got a resin printer when I found a good deal on a Saturn 4 Ultra 16k.
It is definitely cool to have a near pristine model just appear out of the goo. The level of detail is pretty amazing and I haven't even tried to push it, just starting with the default resolution.
But I will say that the whole process is just super annoying. Took quite a while to calibrate it basically having to ignore the manufacturer's recommended settings for their own resin to get where it should be. And every resin needs to be calibrated, so I guess find the one or two you like and then just stick with those.
And supports seem 10x as mystical as FDM supports.. which wouldn't be a problem just print a bunch of stuff and learn except dealing with the toxic resin is messy and difficult. I've found lots of things I'd like to print but it's going to be a looong while before I really feel like I can comfortably support something and be able to print it. For now will stick with pre-supported stuff where someone has (hopefully) done a good job of that for me. The first full figure I'm printing has been very well supported, seems like minimal supports that pull off really easy leaving almost no marks but print like a champ.
Did I mention the process is messy? Cross contamination is a huge issue to make sure you aren't getting resin on your tools or spray bottles or chair or whatever you might want to touch.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
We've been loving the A1 Mini in our house. It really was "set it up, get the Bambu software, and start printing".
Only thing is I'm feeling like the initial phase of printing random toys and fidgets for the kids is kinda subsiding. Any recommendations for next level cool stuff to print or other websites beyond Bambu's for available projects/files?
We just bought the A1 mini. It's pretty cool. We play warhammer the cost of everything is so expensive. My son wanted to start buying terrain and I thought for the cost of the terrain, I can easily get the printer.
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We've been loving the A1 Mini in our house. It really was "set it up, get the Bambu software, and start printing".
Only thing is I'm feeling like the initial phase of printing random toys and fidgets for the kids is kinda subsiding. Any recommendations for next level cool stuff to print or other websites beyond Bambu's for available projects/files?
Kind of random, but i've been fascinated by native american sty;e drone flutes recently and see there are a few companies selling 3D printed ones. Curious if the A1 Mini would be capable of such a feat?
We've been loving the A1 Mini in our house. It really was "set it up, get the Bambu software, and start printing".
Only thing is I'm feeling like the initial phase of printing random toys and fidgets for the kids is kinda subsiding. Any recommendations for next level cool stuff to print or other websites beyond Bambu's for available projects/files?
It'd probably be looking into organization prints, custom prints (ie: to differentiate family members), full size multi piece prints puzzles and games (ie: board games with custom pieces such as checkers, chess, go, chinese checkers, 3D puzzles etc.)
We've been loving the A1 Mini in our house. It really was "set it up, get the Bambu software, and start printing".
Only thing is I'm feeling like the initial phase of printing random toys and fidgets for the kids is kinda subsiding. Any recommendations for next level cool stuff to print or other websites beyond Bambu's for available projects/files?
Printables.com is a great site. I’ve been looking to get into Gridfinity. It’s an incredible rabbit hole. There are literally tens of thousands of models online that work with the system, and it can be endlessly customized with online generators and/or a bit of CAD.
My Creatily was easy to get going with. Now I’m faced with daunting prospect of designing or adapting models for my needs. What design tools do you use, which are easyish to learn, what are the good learning resources?
I've played around in Fusion 360 but it's definitely not easyish to learn, but it fits with my drafting style brain and would be good for stuff that's geometric oriented.
I've been told ZBrush is good for more organic type stuff but haven never tried it.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
3D Printers
