Playsets are the thing in 3D printing: MakerBot announces playsets free to download

The fun thing about a disruptive technology like 3D printing, is that its utility and destiny is defined along the way. Right now, playsets are the thing in 3D printing.

From BoingBoing:

MakerBot has announced "MakerBot Playsets," a series of freely downloadable dollhouses, furnishings and dolls for your 3D printer. Whip up as pieces as needed, on demand, and amaze the wee ones (and compulsive hoarders) in your life.

So without further ado, straight from the soundstage backlot of Annelise’s Replicator music video, The Right Heart, we present you with the MakerBot Fairytale Castle Playset and the Damsels! 

MakerBot’s own design superstar Michael “Skimbal” Curry, creator of such Thingiverse megahits as the Turtle Shell Racers and Gothic Cathedral playset, starts the ball rolling by architecting a pair of MakerBot Playset buildings. Introducing two new Thingiverse superstars: Cushwa and PrettyLittleThings are doing a tremendous job furnishing these playsets with their imaginations.1

Makerbot playsets: free, downloadable 3D files for dollhouses, dolls and accessories

Also check out DVice's take on this:

The notion I find most seductive when it comes to 3D printing is its parallels to digital distribution. If I want something, I can find it on the Internet and zap it right into the home — my 3D printer will whip it up. We're not there yet, but we've got a little peek of that future through MakerBot Playsets. 

The beauty of a project such as the MakerBot Playsets is that a couple of super skilled designers can create something that everyone can enjoy. Sadly, since 3D printers are a little more expensive than toasters — though they're definitely getting more and more affordable — said "everyone" is still a pretty small group.  

Still, you can't help but love the work done here. The mastermind of the playset is Michael "Skimbal" Curry, whose work we've showed off before, with help from other designers around the Thingiverse, MakerBot's 3D printing community hub. Curry can crank out the framework and a few models, and then others can come in and fill, say, a doll-sized television or egg-shaped chair. 

One step closer to a replicator: MakerBot's 3D-printed playsets