3D printing

3D printing is the creation of a 3D object by a printer programmed with digital files. Among other things, it is used as an art medium to craft figurines. Chris has taken an interest in the technology.

Background

On 24 August 2016, Chris uploaded I'd like someone with a 3D Printer, Locally, please, requesting that a local possessing a 3D printer and knowledgeable in how to use it help him in printing figures. A ween by the name of Lil E responded but scammed interviews out of Chris before bailing on the 3D printing talks.

Praetor used 3D printing to manufacture medallions since at least 2020, but the amount of items made with this technology increased by 2024. Currently, Praetor makes the Praetor medallions, Sonichu Totem Minis and the Sonichu Amiibos via a resin printer.

Websites

Thingiverse

Thingiverse hosts user-designed files for 3D printing. Among those are a Sonichu figurine and a (nonfunctional) Amiibo base.

In Figure Painting, a series of videos uploaded on 22 November 2023, Chris is seen painting Sonichu Amiibo which match with the files from Thingiverse.

Cults3D

An account by the name of cwcvilleguardian (matching Chris's username for YouTube) joined Cults3D and downloaded files of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Transformers, and the Sonic Totem. cwcvilleguardian has also earned badges for downloading more than 50 files and purchasing 10 as of April 2024.

Plagiarism

In the Figure Painting videos uploaded in November 2023, Chris is seen painting a 3D-printed Sonichu Amiibo. Notably, it is a combination of two items published on Thingiverse: the figure itself, made by OrionRS and published on 25 September 2018, and the nonfunctional base, made by VirtualTurtle and published on 5 September 2015. On 31 March 2024, OfficialCWCmart listed a batch of Sonichu Amiibo for sale, with the disingenuous title claiming that the Amiibo were "handmade by CWC" (the description only claims that Chris blessed, painted and signed the Amiibo), and no credit is given to the 3D print designers.

According to the licensing terms set out by OrionRS (which requires attribution and disallows commercial usage) and VirtualTurtle (which requires attribution), the OfficialCWCmart listing violates both.

On 15 January 2024, on the website Cults3D, cwcvilleguardian purchased a file of the Sonic Totem. The file had been created by user HiImDrue a year prior "as a joke" and listed for $0.62 (50p in HiImDrue's currency) with a "don't buy" disclaimer. Five days later, OfficialCWCmart began selling Sonic Totem figurines based on the file design for $35 each.

HiImDrue, also known on Reddit as druehmp, created a thread in r/ChrisChanSonichu to complain about Chris profiting off the Sonic Totem file. In comments, druehmp wrote about sending a complaint to OfficialCWCmart's host Etsy for not being credited, and sending a message to Chris to request being credited.