3Doodler 3D-printing pen is plastic fantastic in hands-on video

3D printing doesn't have to happen in a massive printing box. You can do it with a simple pen. This is the 3Doodler, a Kickstarter-funded project, who's getting its first public airing at the IFA trade show in Berlin. Now, the principle of this gadget is quite simple. It looks like a big chunky pen. You stick a rod of plastic in the back, and when you press one of these buttons on the front, it gets heated up on the inside and kind of pushed down to the front in a plasticky liquid goo. That's when things get creative. After that, you use that hot plastic to sculpt tiny sculptures. We've seen some very impressive demonstrations here like this Eiffel Tower model. But having a guy myself, it does feel quite simple to create fun little 3D doodles. I imagine with a bit more practice, you could create something very, very cool. Look, I made a flower. Now, what about the plastic itself? Well, each 3Doodler comes with 2 packs of plastic. There are 32 different kinds of plastic in total and they're gonna cost $10 each to buy. To give you an idea of how much plastic you'll be using, I'm told that that Eiffel Tower sculpture involved 5 or 6 different sticks. It's gonna be on sale in the first few months of next year. It's gonna cost $99 and extra sticks of plastic are gonna cost $10 each. It looks very cool. I think it's very exciting, but make sure you check out CNET.com/IFA for more coverage from this show.