This week’s selection is the cute Tardigrade 3D model by designer Matt Meyer of MatMire Makes.
Meyer is a very prolific designer of 3D models, having quite a portfolio of fascinating objects available on his MyMiniFactory page. Typical designs from Meyer include articulated animals, such as snakes, bunnies, fish or lizards.
Now he’s produced a Tardigrade, one of the most unusual animals on the planet. A tardigrade is a microscopic eight-legged animal that is known for its amazing ability to survive in extreme environments. According to Wikipedia:
- Pressure – they can withstand the extremely low pressure of a vacuum and also very high pressures, more than 1,200 times atmospheric pressure.
- Dehydration – the longest that living tardigrades have been shown to survive in a dry state is nearly 10 years
- Radiation – tardigrades can withstand 1,000 times more radiation than other animal
- Temperature — they can survive for decades at -20C and several minutes at +151C
However, tardigrades can reach 1.5mm in length. That’s not the case with Meyer’s 3D model, which is far larger — and much cuter.
This 3D model is very straightforward to print, even though it’s an articulated model: the eight legs can move. Fortunately, Meyer has designed the creature to be fully 3D printable in place. This means you print only two objects, and it is mostly assembled. The only thing you need to do is snap-fit the head on to the body, which you can see in this video:
While the Tardigrade is certainly cute, it can be even better if printed in colors.
Perhaps the best color for this 3D model is pink, as shown here by Reddit contributor Erick Dread.
The Tardigrade was released by Meyer some weeks ago on his Patreon, but has recently has been re-posted to his MyMiniFactory page, where it can be purchased at a very low cost.
Go Tardigrades!
Via Patreon, MyMiniFactory and Reddit
