... But fuckin' miniatures have always been easy to bootleg! You buy the miniature, you buy some investment casting, you buy some white metal and you fucking cast your own. The technology to do this dates to the fucking Etruscan Empire. The reason people don't bother for the most part is the shit is actually cheaper than 3d printing. Vice is all blustery about the fact that ZOMG those evil pricks GDW would charge $150 for a bunch of lead miniatures but fuckin' A, it's a lot of lead miniatures. At 47 miniatures and 96 bucks the math isn't too tough to run... not that Vice bothered: We'll ignore the fact that you have to buy the printer because you were going to buy one anyway so it's not like that counts. You're going to burn a roll of filament, maybe two, cranking out this set, and they're $22 a roll at the cheapest. Then, of course, you've got the fact that 3D printing lacks the resolution of white metal casting. Compare and contrast: I mean, fuck GDW. Ral Partha 4 Lyfe. Or GHQ for those of us who prefer our battles to be real. But whenever you see someone saying "3D printing will change the world!" don't count on it.You can download the schematics, take them to your 3D printer, and have a full-fledged battlefield at your fingertips—all without spending a dime.
You're right that casting your own miniatures was never very hard, they're not that overpriced, and 3d printing isn't cheap. On the other hand, 3d printing has some advantages beyond bootlegging. Tabletop gaming really is one of the places where 3d printing is actually worthwhile. But Vice can make anything sound stupid by being enthusiastic about it.