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.
