Long-time viewers will recall my paper craft Arkham Asylum playset I designed many years ago. It worked well for the smaller scale, and served its purpose admirably. Now it’s time for the 1:12 line to get its Asylum. And that meant an upgrade in quality.

Originally, I planned to simply scale up the paper files I used previously. Then I realized that the stone walls I had created as vector art all those years ago could be translated into printable 3D files. And thus a new, time-consuming project was born!

I ran the old vector files through an online convertor, resulting in 3D STL files. I opened those STLs in Chitubox Pro, and from there I was able to slice and merge until I had a suitable set of Arkham cell walls.

This time I designed the cell to include a removable ceiling. It also has a beveled hole cut for a light source. The front wall features a gap that allows an 8×10 piece of plexiglass to slide in. The hallway floor is modified from some miniature gaming terrain I found via Thingiverse.

From there I used my crude skills to fashion a bed and some drawers.

I printed two cells. Everything was printed in Bambu filament on a Bambu X1 Carbon. (Except the intercom. I built that digitally in Chitubox, then printed in resin.)

Once I had two cells complete, I felt something was missing. More cells! Let’s make the whole hallway!

Back to the drawing board. While two more cells printed (each one takes about a week), I set about designing a ceiling and back wall. I also added the proper column between cells. I pushed the envelope a little and designed a second back wall with a “break out” feature.

Everything is modular, and the cells can be arranged as a hall with two opposite sides (for photos), or as one long stretch of four cells (for display).

The only “Kenner style” concession I made to size was the height of the roof. In this case, the roof sits right on top of the wooden beams. In the source material, it would easily be much higher.

This was a real labor of love. In the end, I learned a great deal. If I were to do it again, there are some things I might do differently. But I am more than pleased to have this as is.

Created August 2025