3D printers are celebrated for their capacity to replace missing or broken parts. How about an entire T-62 tank?

Now hold on a second — this is only a model replica. It is, however another expression of the myriad uses for 3D printers. Designed in Maya and requiring almost three weeks to print all 62 parts from about 70 meters of PLA filament. The assembly is not terribly involved, made easier by printing a few large sections such as the crew section and hull while the parts don’t get much smaller than the turret hatches. Nonetheless, he final product is about as true to life as you can get when designing the parts from scratch.

The model for the tank is available for purchase here in STL format.

Model trains, ships, figures and so on have literally thousands of different offerings for the hobbyist, but for those with particular interests or taste, 3D printers — combined with some skill in a modeling program — will fill your niche. And, if you have some serious inspiration, how about a remote-controlled spider tank from Ghost in the Shell?

[via Yurii, of Gambody]