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How to print a life-size Pokémon (or any character)

A life-size Pikachu, a Charizard taller than you, a full-size mascot for the game room. On a regular printer these all come out in pieces, and with the right prep they go back together without visible seams.

1. Find a good model

MakerWorld, Printables, Thingiverse and Etsy all have character models. A few things make a model easier to print big:

• Solid and watertight. One closed shape scales and cuts cleanly. Game rips with holes or overlapping parts may need repairing first.
• Separate parts are fine. Some models come in pieces already, like a tail or wings. You can scale and cut those too.
• Check the license. Fan models of characters are usually for personal use only. Printing one for your house is one thing; selling prints of a licensed character is another.

2. Pick the size

"Life-size" usually means the height the character is supposed to be. For Pokémon, the Pokédex lists one for each: Pikachu is 0.4 m, Squirtle 0.5 m, Charmander 0.6 m, Bulbasaur 0.7 m and Charizard 1.7 m. For other characters, use a reference height or just measure where it's going to stand.

Before you commit, check the other two sizes too. Wings and tails make a character much wider than you'd guess from its height.

3. Plan the filament

Material goes up with the cube of the scale, so twice as tall is about eight times the filament. A big character printed solid can take several spools. Hollowing it to a 3 to 4 mm wall usually cuts that by more than half and makes it much lighter to move.

4. Cut it into pieces

Each piece has to fit your bed, with a few millimeters to spare. You can make the cuts by hand with the Cut tool in Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer or PrusaSlicer, which is fine for a small character that needs three or four cuts. A big one can need 30 to 100 pieces, and that's where Scale & Cut 3D helps. You enter the real height, and it scales the model, cuts it to fit your printers, adds pegs on every seam, numbers the pieces and lays them out on plates.

Look over the exploded view before printing. If a seam crosses the face or another detail you care about, try a slightly different size, which moves the cuts.

5. Print in color, or print and paint

• Printing in the right colors skips most of the painting. Put each piece in the filament color of that part of the character.
• Printing in one color and painting hides seams better, since you'll fill and sand them anyway. It's usually the better choice for anything big.

6. Join, fill and paint

1. Dry-fit the pieces in order first, so nothing surprises you after the glue goes on.
2. Glue with CA glue for speed or epoxy for strength. The pegs hold everything in line while it sets.
3. Fill seams with filler putty, sand, then use filler primer until the seams and layer lines disappear.
4. Paint, then seal with a clear coat.

A tall character needs a wide base, or some weight inside the feet, so it doesn't tip over.