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Originally Posted by Pisis |
(Real aircraft manufacturers demanding royalties from model companies such as Revell, Monogram, Airfix, etc. for likenesses of their products)
Not interesting - sad!
Yes, this fight has been going on for some time now. Unfortunately a sign of the times when "money is king".
I think the model companies have a good point -that they don't owe the aircraft manufacturers a penny since government contractors are paid with taxpayer money to develop their designs for the good of the country.
At this time some model kits are licensed, some are not. Same goes for decals. Finescale Modeler had a recent article about this and how much the licensing actually adds to the cost of the model. I don't recall the amount, but I'm pretty sure it was less than one US dollar.
There were problems with airliner models in the 80's as well. Boeing was demanding royalities and threatening to sue. Result: model kits on shelves with "Boeing" crossed out or missing altogether! Also airlines vs. decals (even defunct airlines). In contrast it was rumoured that Airbus actually paid Airfix to make a model of the A-300!
Still, I think it's absurd. It's a hobby. It's a MODEL of an F-15, not a real F-15.
I think most modelers are not millionaires, and most plastic model manufacturers are not Fortune 500 companies (correct me if I'm wrong). If anything, people want to build a model of something because they admire it, not because they want to make bootleg copies of it and sell it.
What's next - a license from the manufacturer of the aircraft weapons, tires, lights, paint and windows as well?
Glad I'm fairly well "stocked up" with model kits right now!
. . . just an excuse to legally extort money from people. Very, very sad.
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