AR.SCALE PARTS 3D PRINTED ENGINES

When it comes to the engine bay on a diecast replica, my philosophy is that you can never have too much authenticity or detail.

- MATT BOYD

Of course, model manufacturers have to balance the amount of detail they offer with production costs, and just how much of that cost they can reasonably pass on to the collector. Which is why, when it comes to customizing diecast cars, up-detailing engines—or swapping them out altogether—has become one of the most popular mods builders take on.

It used to be that to do a motor swap you had to salvage the engine out of another model and do a 1:18 imitation of what happens in the 1:1 world all the time. But adapting them to a different application or adding detail could still require considerable fabrication work to get them to fit and look right. But the recent growth of relatively affordable, high-quality 3D printing technology has brought about a new era. Now, enterprising designers can create their dream engines—and even individual custom parts— and print them without the huge tooling costs previously required.