Forget Malibu! Barbie Goes Medieval

There is no lack of cool projects in the world of 3D printing, but this one takes the cake. Zheng3’s Faire Play project gives your the opportunity arm and armor your Barbie! Swords, shields, armor and helms, all available to kit out your dolls and act out a battle for the Iron Throne or the One Ring! Or whatever else you’d like.

Courtesy of Zheng3

Courtesy of Zheng3

The project was funded on Kickstarter, and there seem to be plans to launch other Kickstarter campaigns in the future, to create an even wider variety of Barbie armor. In the time since we learned about it, Zheng3 has produced a recurve bow that is now for sale through the site. People who are interested in becoming backers or just being kept in the loop about new projects can sign up to become a member of The Horde, or can keep an eye on The Forge to see the new products as they become available.

And Barbie can now add Medieval Knight to her already pretty spectacular resume.

Zheng3 is also a designer of Seej armaments, battlements, and ballistae (among other things). Seej, in case you didn’t know, is an Open Source tabletop wargame. It was “designed to advance the state of 3D printing through competition and player-directed evolution. Players print their own armaments and fortifications for use in battle. If you can print it, it’s legal to use in the game.”

With an infinitely expandable rulebook, it can only be a matter of time before Barbie wargames are a thing. If they aren’t already.

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