Is this is what happens if you steam cauliflower in Mountain Dew using a microwave oven? No, it's something much more mundane: a tiny glowing nuclear mushroom cloud perfect for your desktop, locker or mantelpiece. The original detonated on Shapeways some time back and caused something of a stir mostly because of its outrageous price.

MaximFilms made the T-verse version which you can print for significantly less than the cost of a used car. I wanted something which glows by itself so I boolean punched my 2032 led holder into the stalk et voila: radioactive cauliflower.

The one pictured was printed in glow-in-the-dark yellow and illuminated with a UV led for best effect.

As with anything you want to print to a precise size, the calibration of your printer is critical. I recommend printing just the bottom of the stalk first to make sure your battery fits before committing to a 12hr print. Also be forewarned that this sucker requires almost as much support material finished product so it is pretty wasteful. Printing upside down might reduce the waste a bit, but I haven't tried it.

This thing was featured on the 3D Printing Today podcast available on iTunes, Stitcher radio or direct from the source at http://threedprintingtoday.libsyn.com/