11-30-2014: a fan-made model of BB-8 from Star Wars: The Force Awakens appeared on Thingiverse
This happened just two days after the film's first-ever teaser, where the droid appeared for barely 2 seconds!
On November 30, 2014, a Thingiverse user known as "lilykill" published a 3D model of the BB-8 droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This might not seem extraordinary, except that the robot had debuted on-screen just two days earlier (November 28) in the first teaser for the highly anticipated film, visible for only two seconds. Yet, this was enough to create a 3D model, allowing any 3D printer owner to possess the droid long before the film's release.
This is an unusual historical note because, while the event didn't significantly impact the AM industry or technology, it holds symbolic importance. It demonstrated that 3D printing enables incredibly rapid responses to global events—in this case, pop culture. Fan-made Disney merchandise was available for self-production long before Disney officially released it! And, of course, Disney didn't earn a dime from it...
In December 2014, amateur and desktop 3D printers were still devices talked about more than used. However, such projects fueled their popularity. After all, what could be better to print than a gadget from a cult film set to premiere a year later?
Until then, discussions about copyright issues related to physical models were mostly academic; the problem's scale was so small that few cared. Yet, slowly and inevitably, we were reaching the point where someone started having a problem with it.
Imagine being in Disney's shoes. How could this not infuriate them? On November 30, "ball-droid" (back then, we didn't even know the official name BB-8!), and a week later, Le FabShop published a 3D model of Kylo Ren's "lightsaber." Similarly, at that time, we didn't know who Kylo Ren was or his name, but we could already own his lightsaber.
So, Disney, like any large corporation, decided to protect its rights (and its shareholders' assets). Three years later, in November 2017, they succeeded in having Star Wars 3D models removed. There was some controversy, the community protested a bit, but the models—including the "Ball Droid"—disappeared.
However, new ones quickly took their place... Over time, Disney seemed to give up fighting windmills, as today, you can easily find many models from the universe. Nevertheless, this story is worth remembering for its impact on the grassroots popularization of 3D printing.
Source: www.centrumdruku3d.pl