Not British old boy

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Tamiya lost a law suit because Academy changed the locating pin locations. As a result they could not prove the kits were copied. I doubt they are going to be friends any time soon.

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Do you have any documentation of that? Realistic depictions of ordinary objects are always difficult to get protected. That explanation sounds like a sort-or-true-but-not-really, face-saving statement to justify losing a case that had no chance of succeeding, or to rationalize never fighting it at all.

KL

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Mr. Tamiya told his life long friend Yasuo Ohtsuka about it. Mr. Ohtsuka told us the story while visiting back in the 1990's. I didn't, don't, feel like questioning Mr. Ohtsuka's integrity.

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It's not a matter of integrity, it's a matter of documentation. That's the difference between factual events and apocrypha. I don't doubt that's what the guy was told, or what he believes he was told.

It would interesting to know the details of the case.

KL

There is in international copyright practice a percentage clause. If so much is different one can say they improved an existing product rather than pirating it.

So you can get Academy, Trumpeter and others pretty much copying other companies molds and then changing just enough to skate under the wire. Everything gets further confused in how Asia has been doing tooling for Western model companies for decades.

Obvious examples are the Lee copies of Esci and Tamiya that actually have small improvements accuracy wise over the original. Academy M60 copy of Tamiya had separate handles and fender inserts so it offers small improvements.

And of course going back into the 1960s there was a game of copying, inspiration and musical boxes going on between the West and Asia. I forget how many companies slavishly copied so many American kits and modified them for motorization or changed the scale -- it's really mind blowing.

But again we all give a pass to so many offenders and hold it against Academy. Same stuff different day. Even that stupid Lee stuff. They fixed the suspension within a year or two of the original release and offered replacement. The interior is simplified but no other Lee kit has anything inside other than a company logo.

And yes I do as much wire and sprue as anybody else with grab handles so leave off with the spoon fed smart remarks. I really resent that kind of stuff and you should be ashamed of yourself and really take whatever worth your post may otherwise have and flush it down the toilet.

At least some can present facts and a gentle nudge but some just get under your skin.

Rant over and I'll do stop typing.

Yeah really bad morning. Need to clean off the workbenches and build something.

Yes indeed in the end I can sit back and realize just how great a fool I am.

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Not British old boy

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You say that, but I have evidence that the so-called 'Spitfire' they make is a direct copy of R.J.Mitchell's original design, only smaller.

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Not British old boy

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You say that, but I have evidence that the so-called 'Spitfire' they make is a direct copy of R.J.Mitchell's original design, only smaller.

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Thank heavens I put down my drink before I read this! BRAVO!

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Not British old boy

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You say that, but I have evidence that the so-called 'Spitfire' they make is a direct copy of R.J.Mitchell's original design, only smaller.

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Why is it that whenever you disagree with someone else' model-building habits, you feel the need to add your own personal twist of the knife with a put-down..?

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"Whenever" implies always, and I do not always make such comments, so again, factually incorrect.

I don't "disagree" with anyone's model-building habits because that would mean I give a [auto-censored] about them. Over the years though, I have seen people whose modeling direction can be charitably described as obsessive, and I'm sure you have as well. I reserve the right to glibly refer to them as "loony" from time to time.

KL

Academy has given us the best Panzer IV out there. The only thing close is the Dragon J kit. Their Stug IV is just as nice. How about a Mobile Wagon or a new Whirblewind?
Gary

sorry, I still haven't figured out how to make my keyboard give me "umlauts"