When I’m this excited about something, it’s incredibly difficult to organize my thoughts into a post for you. To start off, the 3Doodler is possibly the coolest thing that my family has had the opportunity to play with all year! The 3Doodler is a pen that can write and draw three-dimensional things! You remember that cartoon episode when we were kids where the guy drew a doodle of himself and it came alive? This is like that (except your drawings aren’t going to try to sabotage you)!
The 3Doodler is a 3D pen, which means that it heats colorful strips of plastic to a pliable consistency that allows you to draw with the pen mid-air. To give another visual, I would say that it’s kind of similar to a hot glue gun except that the pieces of plastic are firmer and allow you to actually form shapes and draw anything at all that you can imagine. It’s incredibly simple to use and stencils are optional, making it great for most ages!
To use the 3Doodler Create+, you simply load a strip of plastic into the pen’s chamber. If it’s a flexible or ABS strip, you’ll set it to that mode and it will heat to the right temperature and then the light will change color when it’s ready to use. If it’s a regular plastic, that mode sets it to a different temperature. (The 3Doodler PRO can actually do wood, metal, and nylon too. I’ll be getting my hands on that bad boy at some point too!)
The 3Doodler Start is intended for kids ages 6+. The pen itself is fatter, making it a little easier to hold and maneuver for your newbies. With the 3Doodler Start, you can buy the kits that include themed stencils to help create new things. For instance, we have the 3Doodler Start Architecture which comes with four packs of plastic and stencils for landmark structures like Le Louvre, the leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Colosseum. The plastic is BPA-free and non-toxic so while it’s a unique burning smell that Mom might have to get used to, it’s totally safe and outrageously fun! They use these things in schools because you can do so many cool, educational things with them and really, the 3Doodler exercises several different types of coordination.
I think that for the 3Doodler Create+, there was a slight learning curve but once I got the hang of what I was doing, I started to spend hours creating new things. It started out with a space to practice your name. Mine was a big scribble at first, but by the end, I was able to write my son’s name in cursive beautifully and he loved that!
Everyone was over the moon to see the Christmas icon I drew from my mind, without any kind of stencil. With all of the colors, glossy, matte, vibrant, or dark, I can draw just about anything I imagine. It reminds me of a 3D printer except with a little more of my own creativity thrown in and way more affordable! I’m planning on drawing doll accessories, keychains, desk decorations, and so much more!
As for the kids, I know that the 3Doodler Start will be the most argued over gift. My son’s going to want to draw a car and my oldest daughter will want to draw the Eiffel Tower. They’ve been asking me all about what kinds of things they’ll be able to make and I’m excited for them to get to exercise their creativity. I can see it being at the center of a lot of our educational activities and maybe even some games and challenges. Who can sketch the best cartoon version of the sibling to their left? How quickly can you draw our house? Even just simple exercises that would get their attention, like draw what the answer to 8×7 is.
The 3Doodler Create+ and 3Doodler Start are hands down, the coolest gift the kids and I got for ourselves this year and I highly recommend it. As soon as this post is published, I’m sending the link to my family who have seen some of my creations and already added it to their Christmas list!
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If you get a 3Doodler, let us know what you think and more importantly, share your creations with us!
*The Quirky Mom Next Door received the above item(s) in exchange for our honest review. All opinions and experiences are our own only.
I just purchased one of these for my Granddaughter’s birthday. She loves it. It does use a lot of the colors up, but she lets me know which one she needs and keeps on Doodling. Thanks for your review, I think this is a great gift for any child that is old enough to use it.