Make your own space invading angel this holiday season...

The need for an angel was realised immediately after the tree had been erected and we noticed that since we had taken the last hours of the day to erect it - the shops were now closed.

The space on top of the tree was needing to be filled... now if only we could find someone that is only too happy to invade said space..?

Step 1: Choosing Your Design

As there are many characters within the space invaders "franchise" you have to pick one that can be 3D printed.

Once chosen you need to ascertain a few things:
1) How large can you make the total design?
2) What size of unit will the blocks be set as (10x10x10mm) ?
3) If I get this to print, what will stop the blocks from snapping away from one-another?
4) Will I print it standing up or lying down?
5) How will the 'tree mount' parts be placed on the model without being seen from the front?

So, if in point 2 you decided to go with 7mmx7mmx4mm like I did, you will need to count how many units high and wide (total) your chosen character is.

Here I opted to make the 11 unit by 10 unit design you see as it would fit within my printer easily and would be easier to place on the tree without being able to see the "tree mount" parts.

The below image shows two invaders in production simultaneously.

Step 2: The Design

Without going into too much detail I use Sketchup Pro 8 and whipped this up in about 30 minutes.

I've (hopefully) attached it here for you to download and you can use it to base your project on.

I reduced the size a little after creation to save on plastic, fit the scale of the tree and also to reduce print time.

You will also notice the noted sections that hold the squares together. They stopped the printer creating parts that would fall apart when touched but still not be seen from the front (so much).
There is also a rear view so you can see the sections that are easily visible from the rear.