Summary
- Real eggs are getting pricey, and 3D-printed eggs are a fun and cost-effective alternative for Easter hunts!
- You can paint 3D-printed eggs made from PLA material, and there are various designs available online for free.
- 3D-printed eggs offer creative possibilities beyond real eggs, from unique shapes to filling them with treats.
On Easter Sunday, families go out on the hunt for eggs, but this is the 21st-century and those eggs don’t have to come from a chicken, or a chocolate factory!
So why not make things interesting and print some plastic eggs on your (or a friend’s) 3D printer in time for Easter Sunday?
Real Eggs Are Getting Pricey!
According to a report by the Associated Press, a dozen eggs will run you well over six bucks, and that’s if there are any left to buy in stores. While the tradition is to use hard-boiled eggs that are painted and decorated, with egg prices so high this might be both expensive, and a waste of relatively scarce food. That doesn’t mean the hunt can’t happen, it just means looking for an alternative.
Of course, many people simply put out foil-wrapped chocolate eggs, though I’ve always thought this was risky because they can melt even in mild weather, but if you are looking for a cool alternative, 3D-printed eggs might be just the thing.
You Can Paint 3D-Printed Eggs
I knew this would be one of the first questions! Yes, you can paint 3D-printed eggs. At least, if you’re using PLA, which I’ve found to be a pretty good material to use paint on for models.
Of course, if you have a fancy multi-material printer, you can add colors to the designs at the prep phase, or you can just use rainbow filament, which is one of my favorite ways to make colorful prints without the waste and expense of multi-material systems.
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There Are Tons of Creative Takes on the Egg Theme
Since we’re now talking about 3D-printed eggs, they aren’t constrained by the limits of real eggs. With the power of CAD software, you can create fantastical eggs that have seemingly impossible geometric shapes, or even have artwork embossed on the shell.
As long as it’s physically possible for the printer to make, the sky is the limit. Not that you have to design your own, there are numerous free and paid designs online, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
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Another thing to keep in mind is that PLA is biodegradable (though not as much as a real egg, obviously), so if you do forget a few outside, they’ll eventually decay without poisoning anything. Even better, those that you do retrieve can be stored for next year.
Hollow Eggs Can Be Filled With Goodies
I prefer the weird and wacky egg designs, since the egg hunters can always exhange them for treats later if that’s your thing. However, there are lots of hollow egg designs that can be filled with treats, like some sort of Easter piñata.
It doesn’t even have to be specific to Easter. I’ve always liked these threaded dragon eggs, but lockable Easter eggs are also a very cool idea.
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Check Out These Cool Eggs
While there are a lot of different designs for 3D-printed eggs on the net, what really caught my eye (and what I ended up printing) are these amazing geometric Easter eggs by Anton Ninnosek. They are completely free, but you have the option of throwing a few dollars at the creator, and why not, if you can?
I ended up printing these in a sparkly-white PETG filament I had lying around (I’m out of rainbow filament as usual) and they came out great! so much so, that I now have to print a bunch for my family too. Luckily my Elegoo Centauri Carbon can spit out two dozen in 24 hours. Less if you aren’t too fussed about the fine details.
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I actually like them in this color so much, I won’t be painting them, but I suspect my family members won’t be so precious about it.
Of course, you don’t have to stop at just printing eggs. Why not print some Easter bunnies while you’re at it? I bet you can even hide those all around the place pretty effectively.
The only downside of this whole thing is that I’ve opened a can of worms, because my sister-in-law likes these 3D-printed baubles so much, that she’s put me on the hook for Christmas tree decorations too. Oh well, I’d better get started I guess.
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