Flying surprise butterfly prank toy

UPDATED to V4. Combined fuselage and hub into one part so glue is no longer required. Simply twist the rotor into a propeller shape using a lighter or hot water then insert the rotor into the fuselage. I recommend using size #8 rubber bands. Make sure to turn off horizontal expansion or elephant foot compensation if printing the multicolor files.

UPDATED to V3. Design updated to be thinner overall which should make it easier to hide. Some other design improvements as well.

UPDATED to V2. Includes STLs for multicolor print that can be done with a single-extruder printer. V2 parts should be a bit more durable.

I saw some neat rubber band powered surprise butterflies that fly out when people open cards, books, or packages. I wanted to make some that are 3d printable.

Video of the toys in action:

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/hgmtpw/i_made_some_prank_butterflies/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Required:

Lighter

Rubber band

Super glue

To build:

Use super glue to attach the hub to the fuselage and let dry.

CAREFULLY use a lighter to soften the wing arms on the rotor and twist them slightly so it becomes like a propeller.

Install the rotor into the hub and attach the rubber band on the hooks.

You may need to clean up the hub and the rotor so that the rotor spins freely. I found that just spinning the rotor inside the hub for a while wears it in and then it works better.

The wings should be one layer or about 0.2mm thick. Different slicers seem to have trouble with single layer thick parts so it might take some tinkering to get right. I've included several different model options you can try to see which one plays nice with your slicer (one with 0.4mm thick wings, one with 0.2mm thick wings, and one with 0.12mm thick wings). Make sure your bed is level! I find cura prints the models best with an initial layer height of 0.24mm.

To print multicolor parts:

1. slice and print "multicolor_part_1"

2. swap filament

3. slice and print "multicolor_part_2"