SMT Forced to cease production of Star Wars Kits

From what I've been reading in the forums at www.starshipmodeler.com, it seems that the SMT plan of producing a Millenium Falcon kit is what made LucasFilms issue a C&D order. Supposedly they have been aware of SMT but they left it alone until know. SMT had expanded their SW line-up and I think Lucasfilms was concerned with a larger company deciding to produce their own version of the SW kits without liscensing since SMT was.

How much money does Lucas need? I have been a fan since Graffitti, but the steady decline of the Star Wars franchise (scripts through popularity vote, glaring continuity issues, etc.) has left me cold and uninterested in anything new he comes up with.

that millenium falcon that Mr. Wong was working on is awesome... too bad they didn't get to market it... i would have bought a couple!

I just read this and I'm shocked that lucas film has done this to SMT, the only company that was coming out with star wars kits worth a crap, I'm with gardentee,how much money do you really need, and Lucas should also take into consideration all the Sw fans out there who are not going to be to pleased about this slap in the face to all of us. They don't seem to care about serious modelers who like a little quality in their kits than some piece of junk produced by some 3rd rate company, As for Lucas film,I will continue to buy kits off the web from as many gargage kit houses I can find, all of us need to stand together on this and let mr.Lucas know that we will continue to support these independent companys.

The Millenium Falcon kit was high on my list as well. At least we still have the excellent FineMolds kits.

Well I don't mean to sound snooty or anything, but I wouldn't classify the SMT kits as top of the line. I had a B-wing kit for a while but the compromises made to pattern it up as fast as possible were too may for me. And some of the Falcon details are iffy. Mind you I don't care if the details are dead on, but some of the parts that are hand built on the original should be made as close as possible to the original. The kit-part detailing in the recessed areas can be what ever looks close as fir as I am concerned. And the pattern shots I saw looked like they were rushed.

There is a reason the Fine Molds kits look as well as they do. There is a lot of time and effort put into research and inspection of the final prototypes. Something that SMT can't afford to do.

It's just too bad that the Code-3 collectible looks of less quality than the garage kit.

Hey guys, say what you want about Lucas and his never-ending quest for filthy lucre, but to produce a kit without a license is a CRIME! Bootlegging! Piracy! Making money off of someone else's ideas. I hope you guys realize that you are lamenting the cessation of an illegal, unethical activity! Georgie Boy is certainly entitled to every dime his creations can pull in.

Geez, I'd love to see a new Falcon kit, too, but a LICENSED one! I respect people's intellectual property.

FineMolds is doing it right. They have the license, and the access to all the resources that goes with it, enabling them to make the most accurate Star Wars kits possible.

Sorry if this post sounds a bit harsh, but illegal business practices must be dealt with as with any crime.

Now let's just hope FineMolds gets to work on a Falcon soon...

J-Hulk, I see your point, but at the same time I can't help but see Lucas as a hypocrite with all his lawsuits and the iron grasp he holds on the SW property. Here's why.

Lucas himself has stated that Ep. 4 was "inspired" by Akira Kurosawa's movie, "The Hidden Fortress." If you watch the movie, you'll even be able to see the basis for individual characters. When planning the fighter combat sequences, he used footage from the show "12 o'Clock High" for the "inspiration" of the effects teams.

When Star Wars became a huge success, his ego seemed ( IMHO ) to grow with his bank account. The most obnoxious example was Lucas' reaction to Universal Studios attempt to cash in on the sci-fi craze started with SW. You may have heard of Battlestar Galactica? Did you ever wonder why the guns in BG never had lasers come out of the barrels? It wasn't because Universal rushed the job or left the effects out to save money. It was because Lucas, who had NEVER done anything resembling ripping off the work of others, presented Universal with a list of over 50 things that couldn't be done in BG or Universal would face lawsuits, and one of those was lasers visibly coming out of the guns. The list was pretty comprehensive. As one of the people who worked on BG joked, "[Lucasfilm] thought they owned SPACE."

There was some give and take between Lucas and Universal, but Georgie Boy lost out on one particular attempt to monopolize the SF genre. John Dykstra created his Dykstraflex system for effects filming while working for Lucas on SW. The process is what made the effects in SW so revolutionary for the time. Luckily for him, he patented the process as an investment in his future since Star Wars was expected to be a one-shot ( no sequels planned ) and Dykstra had plans for a career in effects work. Lucas tried to sue Dykstra, claiming that the Dykstraflex process was ILM's baby and he couldn't use it anywhere else. Lucas lost and Dykstra got several jobs with his process.

Back to current events. Sure, Lucas has a right to not be ripped off. The biggest problem I have with the SMT issue is the fact that, rather than try to find an agreeable solution that would benefit both Lucas and SMT ( not to mention the fans ), George & Co. just slapped down a C&D order and killed the whole thing, as well as the hopes of many fans for new kits in the near future.

Thanks a heap, George.


I couldn't even find my way back to "normal" with the Hubble!

I wonder if Lucas has any idea about the existence of SMT. When Episode II came out he was shocked to hear questions that addressed the gener displeasure in Episode I. So if he is too busy to dear the deafening roar of discontent of his audience, how could he himself know of this situation.

It is his licensing corporation and it's lawers that are aware of and dealing with this situation.

Kugai, as I mentioned in my post, I wasn't addressing anyone's personal opinions about George and the way he handles his empire. I know all about the Battlestar Galactica controversy and John Dykstra's victory, and I agree Georgie Boy can be overly protective of his toys.

I was simply stating the fact that creating and marketing a product based DIRECTLY on another's copyrighted ideas or creations is illegal. It's stealing, simply as that

Now, here's my opinion: there's a BIG difference between "inspiration" and directly using a particular item or character for financial gain.
Sure, George was inspired by all those sources you mentioned, and in some cases (like Threepio and Artoo) the parallels are quite obvious, but they are not absolute carbon-copy exact replicas of the "inspirations." However, if the Kurosawa estate feels it's creations have been infringed upon, then it's their right to take George to court.

George was influenced by all those sources you mentioned, and more, and readily admits it, as do a great many directors, musicians, and artists.
Being influenced by something, and having it be your "inspiration," is not illegal. But, then again, there are plenty of lawsuits in all areas of business and entertainment where just such claims are made. It is up to the courts to decide when one party is infringing upon another's rights. I t may be the debatable opinion of a great many people that George "ripped off" Kurosawa or "12 OClock High," but it is an absolute fact that the creation and sale of an unlicensed model of the Millennium Falcon (a fully copyrighted item) is unquestionably illegal.

You think it's just George who tenaciously protects his empire? I wonder how far a company of any size would get creating and selling Mickey Mouse figures. Or Buggs Bunny figures. Or Batman figures. These are tremendously lucrative franchises we're talking about here, and the owners of these copyrights have every legal, and in my opinion, ethical right to protect them to the fullest extent of the law.

It's not about someone having "enough money." It's about law and ethics.

Anyway, sorry for another long and exhaustive post. I truly respect everyone's opinions here, and I pretty much agree with everyone's assessment of Georgie Boy's antics, but come on guys, blatantly illegal is blatantly illegal. I had been watching this post for a while and was quite surprised nobody mentioned that fact!

Are we so blinded in our quest for great models that we are willing to accept blatantly illegal acts to satisfy our desires?

I say thee, nay!

J-Hulk, a lot of excellent observations, and none that I can disagree with. However, at the end of the day, it is the fans that get screwed in the end. Again.

Gardentree, I agree with you 100%!
Ain't it always that way?

So for us, the fans who want accurate, affordable Star Wars kits, what is there to do?

You guys probably know a lot more about this than I do, but does George demand outrageous royalties for licensing, or just deny licensing altogether? If either of these situations is the case, then I certainly join in with the cries of "George Lucas: Unfair and Uncaring". A guy who is proud of his work (and who would like to see even more cash flowing in) should be happy to have it propogated to the loving fans in the form of kits, toys, or other medium. This means fair licensing schemes to all companies that meet the criteria. You certainly wouldn't want your properties represented by crappy replicas, which would bring down the image of your product, which I suspect is something George worries about (maybe...but I've seem some pretty marginal Star Wars merchandise out there!).

It is sad that the companies that get (or can afford) the licensing are the big companies that have to think about massive sales, and therefore seem to offer the simplest, least-common-denominator models and replicas.
Perhaps the smaller garage kit manufacturers, who generally put out the most accurate replicas (but, gosh knows, not always!) just can't afford the licensing fees, and therefore sell unlicensed, bootleg kits. Which is, as I've written too much about already, illegal.

Perhaps, instead of supporting non-licensed bootleg manufacturers of Star Wars kits, it may be wiser in the long run to focus our energies on Georgie Boy himself to lighten up and let a decent company have a reasonably priced license to make a kit or two.

FineMolds is by no means a large company, but they are a class act, putting out amazing products, and have found a way to acquire the Star Wars license. I'm sure other companies could do the same if they showed Georgie the same dedication to excellence that FineMolds has.

Like him or not, I find it hard to believe George cares only about the money his universe has made for him. I'd like to think that the idea of his most loyal fans enjoying quality products from his films holds some value for him.

But I reckon that debate is for another forum!

Apologies, J-Hulk.

I had a bit of a bad day and forgot to decompress before logging on. A chance for some Lucas-bashing was NOT what I needed to keep showing my good side.

That said, I'm curious. I'm calmly asking for opinions, not trying to be rude or argumentative with the following ( feeling MUCH BETTER NOW!! ) A while ago there was a thread regarding the future of SF model kits. One option that was mentioned repeatedly was garage kits. To my knowledge, many such kits are not licensed. Some are able to get away with it due to technicalities, but others just haven't been noticed or targeted by the holders of the copyright. How many of you check to see if the garage kit you want is licensed? If it were not, but was the only kit available for a particular subject, would you consider getting it anyway?

Note: I'm NOT talking about recasts. FSM covered that issue a long time ago and we don't need to re-hash it.

Your only other option would be to scratch build it. And I know of very few "garage" kit makers that have licenses. Most companies that do have a license don't thier work in a garage.

Holy heated debate Batman!!!
I don't know if you guys remember or not, but there were some GREAT resin Star Trek kits/modification-to-existing-kits out there and they fell under the same scrutiny.
On one hand, I agree with the whole "How much money do they really need?", but on the other I also agree with the whole "intellectual property" theory.
What it comes down to is business.
If you don't get the proper permissions(and your the little guy), your gonna get stepped on.
Very unfortunate this is...hmm?(voice like the little green 900 year old guy with pointy ears--don't want to mention his name, might get sued!)
LOL!
There will be more kits out there eventually. Just wait and see!

Carlos

Kugai,
No need for apologies! I know a lot of folks feel strongly about this topic, and I respect (and want to hear) everybody's opinion.
Looking back at my own original post, it does seem a bit hostile and a little accusatory, and I apologize if anyone interpreted it that way.

You bring up a very good point about diligently checking whether a kit we've bought is licensed or not. I don't think I ever actively checked (J-Hulk, you big hypocrite, you!), but looking back, I believe all (or most) where licensed. The the kits I mostly built were from fairly big "garages," like Kaiyodo, Billiken, Wave, Volks, etc...and I was primarily building Toho, Daiei, and Toei characters, and I know they were all fully licensed (big stickers on the box). I'm not so sure about Billiken's original Predator, though...or more along the lines of this thread, Kaiyodo's Star Wars series of figures.

But would I buy something I've been DYING to have? There it is, taunting me, on a shelf, right in front of me, the last of it's kind, reasonably priced...and unlicensed... Would I succumb to the temptation?

Probably. (At least I'm an honest hypocrite!)

This doesn't compromise my position on a creator's rights to protect his or her property, though.

This is all very thought-provoking, don't you think?

Well, my opinion is if anyone of us had a film or business that started to bring in millions and millions of dollars, I would have to say we all probably would give anyone a C&D oder if it meant taking money away. I can understand why Lucas did it and from a business stand point it is nothing different than have a patent on something. The good thing is is that after twenty years a patent no longer has any hold legally. Lucas may hold a copyright but usually a copyright is either a percentage or flat fee. I would not be surprised that SMT or someone else might start making the models again but naming them something different to get around the technicalities.

You see that a lot in the figures biz, I think. An Indy Jones figure titled "The Archeologist" or a Conan figure titled "Barbarian." That kind of thing.
Is that kind of simple evasive naming enough to avoid having the hammer dropped?

If SMT had called it's planned Millennium Falcon "The Fast Spaceship" or something equally goofy and ambiguous, do you think they could have avoided the C&D order?

They could if they have if they have enough lawyers

And yes
We're crazed for quality kits !

Amen to that, brother!

QUOTE: Originally posted by J-Hulk Hey guys, say what you want about Lucas and his never-ending quest for filthy lucre, but to produce a kit without a license is a CRIME! Bootlegging! Piracy! Making money off of someone else's ideas. I hope you guys realize that you are lamenting the cessation of an illegal, unethical activity! Georgie Boy is certainly entitled to every dime his creations can pull in. Geez, I'd love to see a new Falcon kit, too, but a LICENSED one! I respect people's intellectual property. FineMolds is doing it right. They have the license, and the access to all the resources that goes with it, enabling them to make the most accurate Star Wars kits possible. Sorry if this post sounds a bit harsh, but illegal business practices must be dealt with as with any crime. Now let's just hope FineMolds gets to work on a Falcon soon...

As someone who makes his living in a creative (and easily bootlegged) field, I have to agree. They had a good run while it lasted, and at least they got off with a C&D "warning" and not a full-blown lawsuit.

Matthew Usher
Senior Editor, FSM

Wow. I had no idea it went that deep. Thanks for the "True E Hollywood story" (no offense meant) I gotta admit that it is TECHNICHALLY stealin, and that is bad. But man a big scale falcon, would've been sooo cool. T.L.


"THIS IS MY GRACELAND!"

The Falcon will probably appear in the turd - sorry, third film so he would be sensitive about anyone getting the jump on his merchandising machine and after all
when I saw Star Wars in 77 I thought that was the best part of the flick.
Hopefully the next film will be less whiney and have a plot worth following........
BTW does anyone else rate Jay and Cock Knocker's Lightsabre battle (Jay and Silent Bob strike back) better than the Yoda joke at the end of number two?

QUOTE: Originally posted by gardentee How much money does Lucas need? I have been a fan since Graffitti, but the steady decline of the Star Wars franchise (scripts through popularity vote, glaring continuity issues, etc.) has left me cold and uninterested in anything new he comes up with.

How is this relevant to the issue of his ownership of his intellectual property? This is America, comrade! We can get to be as stinking rich as we want!