Forget sketchbooks, prototypes and room-filling 3D printers; 3Doodler is back with another 3D printing pen, and this one looks better than ever.

This third generation pen has been renamed “Create”, just in case you weren’t sure what to actually do with one.

3Doodler has overhauled pretty much everything from the last version, upgrading the drive system for smoother drawing and better reliability. That should hopefully mean no more de-gunking your pen on a regular basis.

You’ve now got 65 different plastics to choose from, with matte, glossy, clear, metallic, glowing and sparkly finishes to give your models that extra bit of panache.

The controls are a lot simpler this time around, so you won’t get through spools of plastic before you’ve got the hang of things – after a few goes you should be up and running.

You can see everything at work while you doodle now too, with a transparent panel showing off the pen’s internal workings.

The new pen has slimmed down from the original model, and looks a lot sleeker with its smoky blue colour scheme. It’s a lot lighter now as well, with a slimline aluminium finish.

3Doodler Create is going on sale this week for $99 (R1,480), but you can knock that down to $50 (R750) if you’re already a 3Doodler 2.0 owner.