Singing Santa - Improved!
3D Printed Singing Santa - Improved!
02/14/2026 - Version 1
Continuing on updating my props with an improved version, I present a singing Santa - Improved! (the main man!). It is designed like all the other props.
I don't plan on printing this for myself. Received a lot of positive feedback about the original Santa!
I'm making these designs available for others to give back to the community that I have benefited from over the years.
If you do print this, I would be very interested in seeing your work and any suggestions for improvements. While I have looked at the pieces and ensured they fit on a
printer, I can't promise there isn't any errors. Please let me know if there is and I will correct as quickly as I can.
After updating this prop to the "Improved" version, I do plan on making a version for seeds.
Description:
This is the same prop as the original Santa but improved! It uses the same Xmodel and has the same number of holes and pieces.
It is composed of 51 separate pieces. (there are 2 test pieces used to test print and don't attach to Santa).
Most pieces are 6mm thick with a 2mm thick raised edge that is 10mm high. This has proven to be plenty strong through several New York Winters.
Its approximate size is 1330mm wide x 1444mm high (53in x 57in).
It holds 251 pixels.
I recommend 12.5mm bullets with 4" spacing.
I know it is a lot of pieces and may be complex to put together. This is the most complex one I have created yet. I hope it is worth the effort!
Improvements(?) include:
- The puzzle joiners have been modified to mate better without modification after print or changing slicer settings like "compensation" and "expansion" settings. If you have printed my other older props, please make sure you remove these settings as I suspect there will be issues now with holes being too big!
- I have added 6.5mm holes at various places over the model to allow for mounting using standoffs found in the collection of "Mounting Hardware" you will find in my published "Things." Here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7263329
You may need to "modify" (e.g. grind down" the standoffs/prop to make them fit near a pixel/near a raised edge. I tried to avoid this but it isn't easy!
The extra printed pieces and hardware are worth it! For the Santa, there is an extra hole in part 29 to allow for more support for the hat. You can place a vertical piece of pipe between the 1st and 2nd horizontals using the 2 more pass through T's. - I have added small holes on either side of the joints to allow using Zip Ties to keep the pieces together, better and without glue! Sure you will have to add zip ties but the holes are made for smaller ties and these are quite cheap!
4.The hole size was modified and made slightly bigger to allow for easier placement of pixels. I can't guarantee this will be the same for all pixels. I learned this recently as some of my original pixles from years ago didn't have consistent diameters. Great lights, still running after 6 years but they had to be shaved down some to fit the holes. My newer lights fit well as these seem to be more consistently the same diameter. - Unfortunately due to these changes, you will not be able to use parts from this and use with the older version of the prop. You will have to print an entire new prop. I will be leaving the older version on Thingiverse so you will have access to original files.
Printer:
Each piece is sized to fit on an Ender 5 Pro printing bed (they fit in a 220x220 bed). Should be able to at least print several pieces at one time but
this won't always be the case.
I have reprinted all my Improved props with PETG. Previously used PLA+ without any issues in the cold of Upstate NY but I was printing my props again and used PETG.
I created the small "test pieces" so you could set up your printer without wasting much material. The two test pieces will allow you to trial your dove tail fit.
XLights:
There is an Xlights custom model provided for this prop. Faces and Submodels are defined. This remains unchanged from the original Santa.
Updated: