In the past we’ve featured a couple of 3D printed swords from The Witcher 3, and a new one which incorporates electronics makes it a solid trio.

Maker Max Giese has replicated one of the silver swords, into which he has placed a strip of LEDs to mimic the glowing runes as seen in the game.

Giese tells us that modelling the weapon took around 20 hours in Fusion 360, using a low-quality mesh found in the game for the basic design which he improved upon from there.

Aside from making it printer friendly, cutouts for the LED strip were added to the blade, and a space in the handle for a 23A 12V battery was needed.

Through the length of the sword there are also provisions for one millimetre steels rods that add rigidity to the design.

As the finished sword is 120 centimetres long it had to, ironically, be sliced into smaller pieces for printing. With that done printing took around 42 hours, using 0.26 kilograms of transparent PLA. That choice of filament is important here was it was needed to enhance the lighting effect.

With the separate piece attached together and a lot of sanding to smooth it down, a black primer was used to prevent anything but the runes from glowing. Revell model paints were used to add the silver metallic elements as well as the brown handle.

Those looking to make their own can find the free files on MyMiniFactory. Giese adds that anyone attempting this project should be careful in their placement of the LEDs, as his positioning didn’t maximise the spread of the light.

The print is already sliced into 18 separate parts – 11 for the blade alone – so you don’t need to worry about having an excessively tall printer to get this one done.