Aug 23, 2016 | By Benedict
South Park, the legendary animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt stone, has partnered with Source3 to launch the first ever set of 3D printed South Park characters. The figurines, available through Amazon and Shapeways, were made to celebrate the show’s 20th season.
Oh my God! They 3D printed Kenny! To celebrate the 20th season of the iconic animated series, South Park has teamed up with Source3, the world's first platform for end-to-end management of intellectual property in user-generated content (UGC), to launch an extensive set of 3D printed South Park characters. According to Source3, the line will include fan favorites, side characters, and characters too obscure to have been made via traditional licensing and manufacturing.
The range of 3D printed characters will, according to Source3, incorporate full-color 3D prints ranging in scale and styling, and will evolve over the three-year partnership. During this time, the project will feature year-round introductions of new and old characters, giving collectors a chance to assemble the entire cast of the show over a prolonged period of time.
South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been personally involved with the project, hand-signing a limited number of Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny figurines. Customers who purchase the entire set will have a chance to win one of these rare, signed collections, with the competition open to customers using either Amazon or Shapeways, both of which are selling the set of the four main characters for $160 plus shipping. Individual figures currently range in price from $20 to $46.
Other characters released in the first batch of 3D printed figurines include Candidate Garrison, Tweek, Terrance and Phillip, Clyde Frog, and Tap Dancing Butters. Each figure will vary in size from ~1.65" to 4”, and will be shipped in premium packaging that includes information about current and future releases.
“We are thrilled to work with South Park, one of the deepest and most incredible portfolio of characters and moments ever created,” said Scott Sellwood, Head of Partnerships at Source3. “Using 3D printing and on-demand production, we can create an evolving line of character collectibles previously unavailable to fans.”
The acquisition of the South Park brand represents a major coup for Source3, which only last year raised $4 million in seed funding to expand its 3D printable content platform. “New 3D capture and manufacturing technologies are rapidly reshaping the way content owners must approach the market,” said Source3 CEO Patrick Sullivan at the time. “These profound changes represent both a huge opportunity as well as a growing threat to existing routes to market.”
While the forthcoming availability of obscure 3D printed characters will no doubt be received warmly by some South Park super-fans, the official (and expensive) nature of the project might raise a few eyebrows in the maker community. For example, one wonders whether user-designed South Park prints will now be threatened with removal from 3D content-sharing platforms such as Shapeways.
In a more serious project, Source 3 has also partnered with the U.S. Army to 3D print personalized keepsakes for soldiers. As part of a licensing agreement between the two parties, soldiers, service members, family, and friends will be able to design and order customizable, licensed keepsakes featuring official U.S. Army logos and personal photographs of servicemen and women. The ornaments are then 3D printed on-demand in full-color using Color Jet Print (CJP) 3D printing technology.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
Maybe you also like:
- Meet Xpider, the smallest, cutest programmable 3D printed robot spider you've ever seen
- Facial security systems can be cracked with 3D models and 3D printed masks based on Facebook photos
- Taiwanese government brings voxeljet 3D printing tech to its own foundry industry
- Face of 2000-year-old ancient Egyptian mummy recreated through 3D printing
- Mexican scientists are developing a 3D printed microvalve to help treat microcephaly in fetuses
- Uga the turtle is back on his feet with the help of a 3D printed prosthesis
- DIY Instructables shines with sleek looking wireless chargeable 3D printed lantern
- 3D printed custom metal earphones from 'helloear' promise unrivaled clarity for $2,500
- Trailblazing metal 3D printing firm Sinterex aims to become leader in the Middle East market
- Flying Colors 3D's free 3D modeling tool makes 3D design as easy as drawing with pencils
- Airbus and Renishaw partner to develop innovative 3D printed aircraft wing structures
Cool.. where do we buy them? :/ Search on Amazon yielded nothing.
3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
