Monsters of the Mountain: Alien Dino Duck
This collaborative monster dreamed up by my kids took far longer to design than I’d hoped, but I think it was worth the wait!
Design Notes
After receiving the initial drawing from my kids and sketching out my own doodle, the process started out strong with the legs and wings coming together incredibly well. However, once I got to designing on the body, I just could not seem to get things working or looking the way I wanted in FreeCAD v0.19. I stalled out on it for a few months while working on a “vacation project,” occasionally fiddling with trying to get the shape right.
A few weeks into April, my daughter was asking about how this critter was coming along. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to talk about persistence, dedication, and patience on projects. Instead, she taught me a lesson on perspective when she suggested, “what about how you made Dinosaur Princess?”
My jaw hit the floor. I had gotten so fixated on using one tool for the job that I was blinded to any alternatives. I quickly designed both a body and a boolean “block” in FreeCAD, imported them into Blender, sculped away at the body until it looked the way it did in my head, and subtracted the boolean block.
With the body completed, the momentum of creativity propelled itself forward, and the head came together with minor difficulty.
Helpful Tools
3D Printer capable of working with flexible materials
Needle Nose Pliers
Super Glue
1. Print out Parts
Files can be found at the bottom of the page.
AFJ-FreeCAD (x5), ADD-Antennae (x2)
Material: Flex (98A)
Infill: 15-20%
Supports: No
Brim: No
ADD-Foot (x2)
Material: PLA
Infill: 50% or more
Supports: No
Brim: No
Everything else
Material: PLA
Infill: 15-20%
Supports: No
Brim: No
The 10mm Cute Eyes were made with a material change within Prusa Slicer. Side Note: they also look great on Gladys.
2. Assemble Joints
Press-fit AFJ-FreeCAD into all of the joint components as shown.
3. Assemble Limbs on Body
Press-fit the other end of the joints onto ADD-Body as shown.
The legs can be tricky, so alternatively, you can assemble those AFJ-FreeCAD components onto the body first, and then the legs.
4. Assemble Feet
Using a little super glue, fit ADD-Foot into their respective legs as shown (x2).
5. Assemble Spikes
Using a little super glue, fit ADD-Spike into the body as shown (x4)
6. Assemble Head
Using needle nose pliers, press-fit ADD-Antennae into the head component.
Using a little super glue, fit ADD-Beak into the head component.
7. Eyes
Using a little super glue, fit the 10mm Cute Eyes in whichever orientation you prefer.
(If you’re still all-in on the Googly Eyes, you’re going to want to use ADD-GooglyEyeHead that is also included in the file package).
8. Do as an Alien Dino Duck Do…
According to lore (my children), Alien Dino Ducks can shoot lily pads out of their mouths, and their antennae give them telekinetic powers. I think they look like they’re planning surprises when their wings are up to their beaks.
Files
Click the Download button below for a zip file containing all the components.
Files are available under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.
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