TOPIC:

Edou wrote:

Worst case - we can go make our own decals.
With the pdf file you can either create them yourself with decal paper and sealer or go to the local copyshop with it...

Lucky for some then , Not for me that lives in the middle of nowhere ( Australia )

Still - if you have a (good) colour printer they can also be home made.
Takes fiddling around but when push comes to shove...

matman wrote:

Not for me that lives in the middle of nowhere

At least you have the space to drive!
Not like this city dude.

I have it on good authority that Tamiya is applying quite the legal pressure on shops to stop selling repro decals.
That is the reason why since recently Screen Print Digital and RcCarstickers do not carry them anymore.

@Tamiya : please open an iDecals store. I'm sure it will turn a profit. And make a lot of fans much happier.

Edou wrote:

I have it on good authority that Tamiya is applying quite the legal pressure on shops to stop selling repro decals.
That is the reason why since recently Screen Print Digital and RcCarstickers do not carry them anymore.

@Tamiya : please open an iDecals store. I'm sure it will turn a profit. And make a lot of fans much happier.

I notice it's only the people that were selling decent reproductions that seem to have got hit ... meanwhile, the _one_ seller who seems to be able to operate on eBay with impunity by starting up with a new name every few weeks (currently trading as "bjmodels") is still selling his shite - I had a set of decals from him & they were garbage, his idea of "clear vinyl" is to print them badly on white vinyl, cut them out with a blunt pair of pinking shears (well, that's what it looked like), then badly apply some clear vinyl over the top.

Ok, I got a refund without any fuss, but I should have had to.

I can (& have) easily made better ones at home on a

I can understand Tamiya's annoyance over people asking money for something that's their their copyright...
But if you want to take control then do it the right way.
Make the stuff available - that'll be the end of repro items and an extra buck in the pocket. Maybe not a big buck but also a lot of happy and loyal buyers. Economically this kind of goodwill should even raise their normal sales.

So, at what point do we bug Tamiya for some sponsership dosh then? - to help pay for us to race cars with their advertising logos plastered all over them? I've felt it for a long time but it seems to me Tamiya are getting the old delusions of grandure. Yeah the models are nice but the price tags are getting more stupid with each new release & it seems to me that their toys are now being aimed more at the collector (Paying for the Tamiya brand) than the kids who like to build & play. Ranting aside, I think if someone was selling copies of my stuff without permission, & I had the financial backing to do something about it, I would... I wonder how many of the repro sellers have actually asked permission from Tamiya to do it? Maybe they're not just trying to scrape up the few quid being made here & there, but are actually quite upset about it all & it's a "principle fight" Alternatively, if they decide to come try stop me reproducing parts that they've made unavailable, I'll bury them in the garden (Perhaps even let the fish suck them first)

It's definitely a principle fight.
I would conclude that from that fact that Tamiyaclub has put manual views on line again.
Don't think they did this without consulting Tamiya... and that they can because it's free.
Nonetheless it doesn't make it any easier to do an uncomplicated restauration with less and less available decals.
Asymptotically going to zero...

What me cry...hahahaha
no need to complain or cry; good ole' Tamiya to the rescue!
BUT Its nice for all of the ''PIRATES'' out there again wanting $100 for some original 30yr old Tamiya decals again.

opps I think I need like $150 for my decals I have.....
I guess its time to get some done at the local screen printer shop.

It would'nt be so bad if Tamiya paid up and was'nt sooo cheap with the re-issue racing decals either.
Think about the stupid new Hornet, Frog, Scorcher, 'buggy champ', ect racing decals.
No real racing sponsor decals like wayy back when[USA aftermarket racing companies]Scorcher for example.
They dont even pay the companies to re do the decals right.
Now their all over a few guys re-screening stupid toy car decals??
OMG
Next will be Tamiya trying to clamp down on the guys doing a few re-pop bodies?!
Even though 'THEY' never made the real cars or own the rights to the real cars.
Welcome to 2012!

BTW, most copyrights or trade marks end at some period in time; at least here in the USA.
This is all too easy for Tamiya to 'police'.
They just email some MOD or ebay and say; hey these guys are not doing this or that...
WE'RE gonna file suit against you!
BAMMO no more guys selling ''copied'' goods or whatever on that website.

China follows ''zero'' copyright laws.
look at all of the stuff they copy.....$2 ROLEX watch in Mexico anyone?? lmao
We all need to find us a China-sweat-shop poping out Tamiya goodies....hahahahaahaha

This is an interesting topic, I hadn't heard about this before. But I guess I've been out of the Tamiya loop for a little while.

Personally, I should mention that I am probably biased: I have never used repro decals, ever. And would never use them. To me, if my models can't be original, using only Tamiya stuff, I'd rather wait and not complete them until I can find the original item. Sometimes I wait years. The end result is worth it to me.

That said, I've never thought there was anything wrong with people making repro copies, and there's an argument that if Tamiya aren't doing decals with proper logos anymore, then they have to expect that modelers will find those logos somehow.

On the other hand, not all the decals in question are unavailable from Tamiya. On any decal sheet, some will be logos, others will be artwork and graphics created by Tamiya - and these are the property of Tamiya.

To a certain degree, I'd applaud any effort Tamiya makes to stop others from copying their work. It has been going on for YEARS with everything from cheap toy knock-offs of Tamiya cars, to full blown chinese kit knock-offs - the most amazing I have seen being the complete counterfeit chinese Supershot kit from back in the 80s/90s, that featured crappy plastic parts and a crappy motor in place of the real thing

I have walked into stores in Australia over the years to see stupid toy "Grasshopper" RC cars and even a full blown knock-off of the Manta Ray, in red, and RTR form (but with a small motor and cheap, rubbish plastic).

If Tamiya are on the warpath against copyright infringement, then good for them.
On the other hand, if they are only chasing the repro decal sellers and not the chinese scam companies, then they should change their priorities

H.

Hi Hibernaculum, and welcome to TamiyaBase!
I am really glad to see you here, as I know you your quality posts from TC

To the topic: Yes, I can see the reasons why Tamiya are fighting off copiers of their work, as Tamiya have received their share of copying.

But, I'll admit, my collection and building joy would not have been as good if I had not used repro decals at a couple of times. I am a "box art builder", and if I can't get the original decals, I just have to use repro's.

-Lars