Govt. trying to get $$$ from our hobby...

It has gotten so bad with the car kits that this year Revell has stopped producing tires with the Goodyear name and logo. Apparently AMT is soon to follow. Goodyear licencing fees must be excessive.

What is insane about car models is that they often have to get licensing for every little decal on the car. In other words if the racing car has a Hooters decal, the kit maker has to get licensing from Hooters.
So what will that eventually mean for military models? You may see the makers of all the subassemblies like engines, ejection seats, tires etc. etc. come forward and demand a licensing fee as well.
Where does this madness end?

Dave

Like the little known-yet-very-good movie Equilibrium, have the culture police ransack and burn all artifacts deemed contrary to public welfare?

Jonathan-the copyright police will bust down your door and break your fingers! ;-)

Well, this is certainly a good argument for those people (like me) who have built up an insanely large surplus of kits. Five years from now when all the new kits are of imaginery planes, we'll have plenty of kits to keep us occupied!

-Jonathan

the copyrights for certain items vary but run up to 125 yrs and there are even some fine print that makes thing worse

It looks like a successful argument has not been made for the free advertising that models provide. If the companies get shut down, I'll just build the kits I have and do more scratchbuilding. Also, I believe some or all copyrights have a statute of limitations. This would then give rise to more historic models. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. We could do with a bit more of learning from our past.

Brian

the gov should realize the size of this hobby is not overly large and any negative interferance on their part is going to shrink the hobby more and Maybe cause job losses in the end but i forgot the gov never realizes anything till it is too late

Makes me wonder:
When would the fee be due? If the model is really precise? Or when the box states the official name (like CH-47 in case of the chinook)?
If it is the latter: this problem could easily be oumanouvered. You would just buy Tamiya kit nr. 658a02j.12 - which in the modeling underground scene sneakily is referred to as chinook.
If it is the first one: let's make inaccurate models! Yeah so it has got two rotors on top. It has two large wings (part 98 to 116) on either side of the chopper, both full with extra engines and loads of missiles.
Again: the underground modeling scene claims that without assembly of part nr. 98 to 116 and filling the tiny wing-mouting gaps, a rather accurate chopper - aka as Chinook - is the result.

If it eveer comes this far: I think I'll levy flight taxes for everyone that flies over my house/garden. For everone taking a peak at my house, a fee will be due as well. Whoever will be making a model of my house, taking a picture of my house and/or licenceplate of my car; I'll sue them to the end of the earth.
yeah, let's all join the club of making life less fun, and hobby ruining. Maby make a new hobby out of it itself...

There are already some licensed kits out there, for instance the Tamiya 1/32 F-16 and the new Italeri Chinook.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Clarnet_person sorry to burst your bubble there but only military aircraft are paid for by the taxpayers.

Yes, we pay for military aircraft directly, but a lot of civilian development and procurement is underwritten in some form by the government.

sorry to burst your bubble there but only military aircraft are paid for by the taxpayers.

this is something that has been passed around for a while here. its much more extensive than that. you should see some of the stuff race car builders are dealing with. there are several posts here about it. check around, there should also be one stickied at the top of this topic