Malaysian designer behind swole Pokemon sees work ripped off and sold for profit

When it comes to 3D printing and designs, the community has been able to pull off amazing custom designs simply with the will of imagination.

Creating custom works based on their favourite IPs such as Pokémon saw fellow 3D printing enthusiast Chan Yen Yee develop a rather whimsical series featuring starter Pokemon, Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Pikachu as muscle-bound Pokémon.

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With a body which would make every Machoke green with envy, these custom swole Pokémon designs earned the praise from the community.

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Additionally, with Chan hand painting his designs, the concept really came together and it would seem to have caught the eye of profiteers.

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Slightly over a month since the initial designs were released, toy stores from Taiwan and Philippines were taking pre-orders for Chan’s designs. 

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The troubling thing here is the profiteering over an indie’s custom designs and also passing it off as their own.

Given the 3D printing community is one of mutual respect and the free exchange of shared knowledge the sale of Chan’s designs as toys by retail stores is a vile act which should not be condoned.

With Squirtle currently in the works, we hope that this episode does not dissuade Chan from crafting more designs in a similar vein.

In the meantime, we can do our part to not feed the retailers who are looking to cash out on the community’s efforts.