A Sydney pop culture fan and costume enthusiast facing possible jail time for making replica guns with a 3D printer says he had no idea his hobby could land him in such strife.
Sicen Sun was arrested in 2017 after he advertised one of his imitation weapons for sale for $1 million - negotiable - on a Facebook buy, swap and sell group.
He's since pleaded guilty to charges including possessing a digital blueprint for the manufacture of firearms, manufacturing a pistol without a licence permit, and possessing an unauthorised pistol.
"With 20/20 hindsight I just realise how silly, idiotic, stupid and naive my actions were," he told his NSW District Court sentence hearing on Monday.
"I could not even begin to contemplate that a hobby would land me in such strife."'
The 28-year-old has an interest in cosplay - which sees fans dress in costume as their favourite fictional characters - and said he only ever meant for the replica firearms to be used as props.
They included a P90 sub-machine gun seen in Stargate and a MA5C rifle from the video game Halo.
Sun said he knew there were "grey areas" around the legalities of what he was doing - and it crossed his mind that the imitation guns could be illegal.
"My way of rationalising it was my intent was never to fabricate or manufacture a real firearm in the sense it was able to project a projectile," he said.
He claimed he never intended to sell the gun he advertised for $1 million and instead - like any craftsman - wanted his work to be acknowledged.
"It looked as realistic as I could make it," he said.
However, crown prosecutor Stephen Makin put it to him that he wasn't just doing it "for love".
Sun agreed that he'd previously offered other items for sale in the same Facebook group and it was "perhaps" unrealistic to assume potential buyers he spoke with had good intentions.
He said he didn't keep the replica firearms in a safe but lived in a security building and didn't consider that they could be stolen.
Sun, who is the first person in NSW charged with possessing blueprints to manufacture firearms, said he has created a pamphlet and other material to educate others of the legalities of 3D printing props.
"If someone had done it for me, if someone had told me just the full extent of the offending behaviour that I was committing by printing these things, I wouldn't have done it," he said.
Judge Penelope Wass on Monday reserved her sentencing decision so she could further consider the objective seriousness of Sun's offences.
The case is next due in court on August 21.
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