You just don’t outgrow model-building. This satisfying hobby never gets old, especially when you create something you’re proud of.
Whether you’re new to model-building, or you’re a model-building fiend, there are model kits for all levels.
Model kits come in all kinds of material, including wood, metal, plastic, and even paper, so you might want to try out a few different types to see what you like best.
Here are the best model building kits for adults who want to spend time creating something epic and impressive!
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1. CubicFun 3D Pirate Ship
This incredibly detailed pirate ship model is comprised of paper and foam parts. You simply have to pop out the pre-cut pieces from a set of sheets, and then carefully construct the ship.
When you’re done, it’ll look great on display in your home—plus, it even lights up! Make a few other 3D pirate ships, deck out an entire bookshelf or organizer, and you’ll have some sweet decor.
2. Metal Earth ICONX Silver Dragon 3D Metal Model
Before you create this beautiful metal model, you’ll want to make sure you have a pair of tweezers and clippers.
Each steel piece starts out completely flat—you’ll need to bend and secure each part as you build. This Metal Earth model is a challenge, but the end result makes the whole process worth it.
3. ROKR 3D Vitascope Model Kit
Most models don’t serve a purpose other than decoration after you’re done building them.
However, this wooden vitascope kit functions like an old-school film projector when it’s all put together. Place the included film in the projector, crank the handle, and you can watch a short clip!
4. LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle Kit
There are a ton of awesome LEGO kits for adults, including the LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle Kit.
This 962-piece LEGO kit challenges you to create a detailed ship that comes equipped with cannons, masts, and a crow’s nest.
When you’re done, you can place the ship inside of the brick-built bottle, put it on display, and impress your friends.
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5. Paper Nano Tokyo Tower Building Kit
Paper Nano’s Tokyo Tower model kit requires a steady hand.
Not only do you have to delicately fold and bend each paper piece, but you also have to fasten each piece with a small dab of glue.
With a bit of patience, you’ll have a tiny Tokyo Tower sitting on your desk in no time.
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6. Amy & Benton 3D Wooden Clock Kit
This wooden clock model is yet another kit that you can put to good use. The 47 wooden pieces fit together like a puzzle—it’s a quick kit that you can finish in about an hour.
Once you get the clock running, you can mount it on your wall, or set it on a table. It’s elegant and rustic!
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7. Destiny Gundam #11 Model Kit
You don’t have to be a diehard Gundam fan in order to start building Gunpla models.
This Destiny Gundam model is made of high-grade plastic parts that you can snap or clip out from the included trays.
Each piece fits together without glue, making for a fun and clean building experience.
Related: The best beginner Gundam model kits
8. Bandai Spirits Hobby Star Destroyer
Any Star Wars fan will have a blast building this Star Destroyer Kit. This highly-detailed model gives you an accurate look at the ship.
It even comes with an in-scale Millennium Falcon to recreate the scenes from Star Wars: A New Hope . When assembled, it totals about 12.5 inches long.
3D printing is an exciting hobby to get into, one that’s dripping with creative potential. But it’s definitely not a cheap hobby.
Even with the dramatic drop in cost of 3D printers over the past few years, you’ll still need to invest hundreds of dollars if you want to start 3D printing stuff at home—and that’s just the cost of starting up.
Maybe you don’t have the money to acquire your own 3D printer, or maybe you don’t have the time to learn the ins and outs of the materials and techniques to make sure your prints aren’t duds.
For some, it’s actually more cost effective to use an online 3D printing site than to buy your own setup, especially if you only have a few items to print. (It can take many, many prints to break even on a 3D printer.)
Here are the best online 3D printing sites where you can upload the file you want to 3D print, select the materials and specs, and have them ship the finished product out to you.
Most importantly, make sure to shop around and get multiple quotes from these sites so you get the best price. Depending on your print specs, one site may be significantly cheaper.
5.3DExperience Make
Regardless of the size of your project, 3DExperience Make should probably be your first place to check when shopping for price.
3DExperience Make boasts partnerships with 3D printing manufacturers from around the world, so there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find one relatively near you (which can help keep shipping costs down).
If you expect to use their services often, you should consider using their provided software package that lets you view your print job at any time and view it’s progress until it’s done.
The downside to 3DExperience Make is that it’s really just a middleman who find and manages 3D printing connections for you, so they’re better equipped for handling large orders than small, one-off print jobs.
That said, with so many potential manufacturers in their network, you’ll likely be able to find one who has the capacity—big or small—to handle your print job at a reasonable price.
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4.i.materialise
Don’t confuse i.materialise with Materialise. Whereas Materialise is a large company who works with clients to produce industrial-scale 3D printed products, i.materialise is their service for hobbyists.
i.materialise specializes in smaller-scale projects where you only need to 3D print a handful of items rather than thousands. (If you’re more interested in the latter, definitely check out Materialise instead.)
Despite servicing hobbyists, i.materialise’s 3D printers can print using more than 20 different materials, meaning you’ll almost certainly be able to find what you need for your specific print job.
3.Sculpteo
Sculpteo offers plenty of material options to choose from, with the added benefit of worldwide shipping and being able to get an instant quote for your item as soon as you upload your file.
They offer support at every step of the process, from the design concept phase to choosing the right material and finish for your final product.
Sculpteo’s best feature is its library of free online learning materials that teach you everything you need to know, from how 3D printing works to prepping your 3D print file, from choosing the right materials to the various applications for which 3D printing can be useful.
2.Shapeways
While all of the 3D printing sites on this list can print and ship your own 3D models, Shapeways additionally offers base models to choose from, which you can customize to suit your needs.
They have hundreds of templates to choose from that you can tweak until they’re just right, then have them printed and shipped.
Of course, Shapeways offers multiple different printer technologies to choose from. From thermoplastics to resin to metal casting, you can pick the perfect material for your use case.
The pricing will vary wildly depending on the complexity of your print job and the material(s) you choose, but there are enough options that you should be able to find one that fits your budget.
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1.Xometry
If you need a large number of items 3D printed and shipped, then look to Xometry , who’s partnered with 3D printing manufacturers across the US who can produce large-scale product runs at an effective cost.
While Xometry can do smaller projects and print runs, they specialize in larger runs. By pairing you up with a best-fit manufacturer, they can leverage economies of scale to get you the best deal.
Just like the other online 3D printing services on this list, Xometry offers numerous materials and printing techniques, and they offer the best rates on metal casting options (thanks to their industrial specialization).
If you need over 1,000 small metal items 3D printed and shipped, you should definitely get a quote from them.
Even if you’re far from having the skills of an electrical engineer, you shouldn’t feel intimidated by soldering. Once you learn how to solder and start practicing, you’ll realize that it’s actually quite simple.
Soldering is the perfect nerdy hobby. It requires precision, patience, and almost always creates a satisfying result. These are just some of the reasons why you should pick up soldering as your next hobby.
What Is Soldering?
In short, soldering is the process of using a soldering iron to melt solder onto another surface. Solder melts quickly when heated, and cools almost instantly. This makes it ideal for creating bonds, especially in the world of electronics.
Why You Should Start Soldering
As you look up soldering tutorials, don’t let all the technical jargon turn you off. It might sound boring to you, but I promise that it’s nowhere near lackluster. The below reasons were enough to convince me to start, so they should convince you too!
1. Customize and Repair Your Controllers
Have you ever wanted to change the plain white light that shines underneath your Xbox One controller’s home button? With soldering, you can easily switch the boring white LED with something a little more colorful.
Soldering isn’t even the hardest part of this process—taking apart the controller and putting it back together is half the challenge. You can change (or add) LEDs in just about any controller, but it varies in difficulty depending on which controller you want to mod.
Soldering comes in handy for repairing your controllers as well. For example, you can pull off a joystick replacement on an Xbox One controller while just knowing the basics of soldering.
2. Work on Retro Consoles and Games
You start playing a game on your old-school GameBoy, only to find that it doesn’t save your game anymore. Just about everyone has experienced this situation, and has pretty much given up on their game in the process.
But when you learn how to solder, you don’t have to give up on your favorite game. Simply buy a replacement save battery, open up your GameBoy cartridge, solder the new battery on, and you’re all set.
You can perform basic repairs on other retro consoles too. This skill definitely comes in handy when you want to get your old systems up and running again.
3. It’s Cheap to Get Started
One of the best parts about having soldering as a hobby is that it doesn’t cost much. The Plusivo Soldering Iron Kit includes everything you need to get started, and it costs under $50.
When you run out of solder, you’ll have to buy more of that too—thankfully, solder doesn’t cost a fortune either.
4. Gateway to More Advanced Projects
Once you get acquainted with soldering LEDs and making simple repairs, you can start dabbling in harder ventures. Projects involving the versatile Raspberry Pi and Arduino sometimes requires soldering.
You’ll have to have some coding knowledge to deal with theses systems, but at least you’ll have the soldering part covered!
5. Reward Yourself With a Challenge
Soldering isn’t always easy—it can get frustrating to deal with tiny LEDs, a nest of wires, and small circuit boards. You can quickly end up in a cycle of soldering and desoldering just because you keep making a stupid mistake.
When you finally complete your project, you can sit back and admire your work. No matter how simple the project is, it’s always satisfying to finish the job.
Are You Going to Pick Up Soldering?
Like all other hobbies, soldering takes time and patience. It’s a hobby worth picking up if you’re a gaming enthusiast, or if you just want to challenge yourself.
