8 weird and wonderful Benchy variations to 3D print this weekend (Oct 30 - Nov 1)

Published Oct 30, 2026, 3:31 PM EDT Tim has been covering technology for almost 20 years, in that time spanning a broad range of topics from security to product reviews. He is especially focused on the Apple ecosystem, productivity, and consumer advice. Over the years Tim has written thousands of articles, reviews, and round-ups in addition to producing video content and original photography. A graduate of journalism, he found his footing as a freelancer with a laptop and loves how he is able to work from practically anywhere. Now a Senior Editor for iPhone, Mac, and Smart Home at How-To Geek, Tim still loves to write. He can also be found crafting round-ups and productivity posts for the Zapier blog. Earlier in his career Tim spent nearly a decade as a writer and eventually Apple section editor for MakeUseOf. Tim currently lives in Brisbane, Australia. Outside of work he loves to hike and work out, play video games, and spend quality time with his wonderful partner and two cats Inka and Roger. Sign in to your How-To Geek account The original Benchy is a relic of the past, a benchmark print that no longer challenges modern printers. But Benchy occupies a special place within 3D printing lore as an unofficial mascot of sorts, an immediately-recognizable model that the community keeps coming back to. So here are some delightfully pointless Benchy derivatives you might want to print this weekend. The worst Benchy ever Purposefully bad Credit: MakerWorld / NOVA Turning the entire concept of Benchy on its head, the worst Benchy ever is an earnest attempt to create a truly cursed 3D printing benchmark. The author has designed the print to intentionally feature undesirable traits like horizontal offsets, elephant’s foot, stringing, over-extrusion, poor overhangs, plus excessive print temperatures combined with inadequate cooling. The result is a glorious mess. My favorite part of this model is the fact that the “magic” is all in the print profile, with the actual model looking pretty normal in the slicer. A Benchy made of Benchys I heard you like Benchy Credit: loanshark / MakerWorld Do you fancy burning through nearly 200g of filament in an 18-hour print to create a Benchy made up of other Benchys? That’s exactly what this model is all about. Like it or not, there are a lot of overhanging elements here, so this one is actually a fairly challenging print. It’s also pretty huge, which makes sense given the amount of detail required. Benchy to the Future A print you can paint and finish yourself Credit: Apumia / MakerWorld This Back to the Future-themed Benchy model was released in 2025 as part of Benchy’s 10-year birthday celebrations and comes in two versions: one that you’ll need to paint and finish yourself, and another that’s optimized for multi-color printing. You can finish the model with a coat of metallic paint and some wires for show to get that DeLorean look. High detail Benchy Benchy on hard mode High detail Benchy is another print that will put your printer through its paces when it comes to reproducing fine details. You might want to use a small 0.2 nozzle for this one to get the cleanest possible print, and make sure you print with the best print profile you have available to you. Mecha Benchy Your own Benchy figurine Credit: Nshark3d / MakerWorld Ever wanted a posable Benchy figurine that you could put on your desk? That’s exactly what Mecha Benchy is, with all the articulated bits and pieces you’d expect (and everything is, predictably, made from Benchy models). This is a revision of the original and features easier support removal and lower filament cost. For a slightly different take on the same theme, take a look at the combined robot Benchy which connects standard Benchy models together. Floating Benchy models Fixing Benchy’s biggest shortcoming Credit: Gozales34 / MakerWorld A glaring issue with the standard Benchy model is that it doesn’t actually float, despite taking the form of a boat. This means you can’t even turn your old prints into pool toys when you’re done with them, which is something that some have taken it upon themselves to fix. One such model is the yacht Benchy. It retains overhangs, a sloped roof, and fine details but with one big improvement: it floats! Just remember that PLA and water don’t mix well in the long term, so you might want to print in PETG if you intend on playing with this in the bath. For an alternative, check out the balloon-powered Benchy which doesn’t just float but uses a balloon to propel itself forwards. Support Benchy Possibly the coolest Benchy on this list Credit: captainhagbard / MakerWorld The support Benchy is a Benchy that retains all of the original contour elements like the the sloped roof and flat chimney, with the rest of the model replaced by 3D printing supports. The best thing about this model is that it isn’t designed to look like it’s made of supports, but rather the supports are generated in the slicer so that every print is unique. Customize how it turns out by changing the support settings within your slicer. Massive Benchy Because sometimes bigger is better Credit: Burgur77 / MakerWorld If all you want is a massive version of a standard Benchy, you could just scale the original model up. Alternatively, you can print the big Benchy, which is already scaled up to a size where it fills the build plate on a Bambu Lab P2S. Be warned, the print requires more than 300g of filament to complete. Fancy a bit of a history lesson? Learn where Benchy came from and how the plucky little boat took over the 3D printing world.