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Australia Today

Australian Man Charged Over 3D-Printed Guns Is a Cosplay Fanatic

Steven Sicen Sun is one of the first Australians to be charged over the manufacture and possession of 3D-printed firearms.
Gavin Butler
Melbourne, AU

There are three things that Steven Sicen Sun absolutely adores: video games, cosplay, and 3D-printed guns. One of those things landed the 28-year-old Sydneysider in trouble recently when police found four replica, print-at-home firearms—along with the blueprints used to make them—in his apartment, and arrested him. He is the first person to be charged over the manufacture and possession of 3D-printed guns in Australia.

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The Firearms Squad was first alerted to Sun’s handcrafted cache when he listed one of his imitation weapons for “$1 million negotiable” on a Facebook buy, swap and sell page. Authorities launched a search on his apartment shortly thereafter, seizing an arsenal that included 3D-manufactured Glocks and a 3D-manufactured Sig Sauer pistol. None of the guns were capable of being loaded.

Following his arrest, and staring down the barrel of 50 months behind bars, Sun described himself to police as a “cosplay enthusiast” who’s passion for fashion and role-playing got “out of hand when making the firearms appear as realistic as possible”, according to Fairfax. He reportedly became obsessed with making video game props and costumes following his parents’ deportation to China in 2015, and told the court that his creations “needed to be screen accurate”.

Judge Penelope Wass accepted that Sun did not list the printed firearm—which she noted was one of “the least dangerous” weapons under legislation—with the legitimate intention to sell, but rather because he wanted "his work as a craftsman acknowledged," the ABC reported. Sun meanwhile claimed that he had considered the manufacture of hyperrealistic, homemade firearms to be a legal “grey area”—admitting that it was a “silly, idiotic, stupid, and naive” thing to do.

The court further heard that Sun suffered from adjustment disorder and anxiety. He was ultimately spared jail, and instead handed a 12-month good behaviour bond. His impeccably crafted, incredibly accurate firearms will be destroyed by police.