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Vector engines,From what it looks like, the engines are beautiful.What I dont like is that i wanted to buy a Late P&W 2800 (Late) for my P-47 and can't because of these ^%^*&%* Lawyers who were Hired by the Big Companies are trying to Licence there Production's here in the states.Which inturn forced Vector to stop prduction of them. they were amazing in detail!

If any one here in the U.S.A. could please call, or better yet E-mail your local Senater and request them to vote yes for House Bill 4806,Military Toy Replica Act. would greatly benifit all of us in the hobby.

Failure to pass H.B. 4806 will have a negative effect like:
1.) Increase production costs at all levels of distrobution.

2.) Reduce access to a wide variety of available products as low-volume subjects will be deleted or eliminated as they will no longer be finacially viabl.

3.) Significantly increase new product development cycles and cost due to the unwarranted burden of new licencing requirements.

Alot of these things they want to put licence restraints on have been paid for by the taxpayer many times over and now they look to our age old hobby to make more money off of us.

Its up to us to open our mouth or else we open our wallets!


Fighting madd!

Supposedly these fellows have secired the license, you may wish to check it out with them ?
http://www.buffiesbest.com/products.php?catid=1003

I read a post on another site a week of so ago stating that Buffies had secured the license from the agency representing P&W, or at least the agency holding the "rights". Hope it is true.

OH Man! I mean thank you colonel Thank you for the heads UP! I was starting to freak out!

I STILL URGE ALL AMERICANS TO PLEASE CALL THERE SENATERS
AND ASK THEM TO VOTE YES ON HOUSE BILL 4806,AS THIS IS GOING TO EFFECT EVERYBODY IN THE MODELING COMMUNITY NOT JUST HERE IN THE U.S.

IT IS ALLREADY BECOMING AS NEOMEGA HAD TO STOP SELLING THE P&W ENGINES DUE TO THIS LICENCING BULL $#!+.

For those modelers here in NewYork Here is our Senater's web Address.
from there you could e-mail them!

Clinton,Hilary Rodham-(D - NY) clinton.senate.gov/contact

Schumer,Charles E. -(D - NY) schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/contact/webform.cfm

There is one minor problem here. You can't just tell us to email anyone in Congress to vote for a bill supposedly on models and big companies...?

I would like to know what this House Bill 4806 consists of, plus where its status is[/b]. If it is not even out of its committee, then telling a Representative who doesn't even belong in the appropriate committee is also pointless. When is it set for its next vote?

Second, based alone on what you said, what is the problem. A company is allowed to buy someone else's product license. Similarly, a company has every right to say, "No, I won't sell." This is a fact of life. The strongest survive. Ask yourself, "What is the ultimate goal of a business?" (Your answer should be to make money). Also, just because a company doesn't/won't/can't produce a product doesn't mean you won't ever see it again. It just means it will be a little harder to find.

http://www.minicraftmodels.com/MTRA.htm
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-4806
http://www.revell.com/News_Viewer.news1+M52af45614a7.0.html
Please go to the web adress above and read for your self. all of the major model companies are urging modelers to help support the House bill.

Okay, so my first point still stands, but the argument is different and was not entirely clear here. In short, and taken directly from the bill itself, what the bill states is the "PROHIBITION ON DEFENSE CONTRACTORS REQUIRING LICENSES OR FEES FOR USE OF MILITARY LIKENESSES AND DESIGNATIONS"

From your original statement this appeared to be an attempt that large manufacturers are obtaining the licenses from smaller companies. What this bill is stating that, if passed, military contractors (Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, United Defense, for example) could not require royalties to be paid for their product to be replicated. This was rumored to have been the cause as to why no model company has been able to produce a Strkyer combat vehicle, but alas, Trumpeter is making one. By the way, and I AM NOT TAKING A POSITION ON THIS, anyone who has been to a play knows that a local theatre cannot do a major play without paying royalties to the producer, writer, company whathaveyou. What is so different about a contractor?

HB 4806

Furthermore, bills like this are passed all the time. I would like to know how the bill passed (yeas vs, neas, not why it did ) If it is unanamous or close to it, then there is no worry. And I could go on about Political Science 101 here, but I don't think that this is such a huge problem one way or another in terms of passing.

Jeff

You could take it lying down or you could do somthing about it . As an American you have that choice! i choose to do what little i can to help support it ,and thats my choice!


And to point out about the difference is these contracters were paid many times over by us the taxper for these military items.Why should the hobbist have to pay and pay and pay in the form of higher prices at the hobby shop. Kit prices are high enough with the price of Oil, plastics,import taxes,and so on.

Legislative Alert!!

House Bill 4806, the Toy and Model Replica Act, will come before the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate in weeks to come. This Bill will prevent U.S. Defense Contractors such as Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, Lockheed-Martin, and others from demanding licensing agreements and licensing royalty fees from U.S. manufacturers of scale models and model kits of military vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, and ships. Failure to pass this legislation will increase the cost of model kits that you purchase and reduce funds that are currently directed toward development of new kit subjects, paying salaries, and creating new products. Defense contractors claim that common aircraft, vehicle, and vessel designations and designs are "intellectual property" that entitles them to exact licensing fees. Those of you who are older modelers know from historic fact that the designations were issued by the U.S. Government and that designs like the P-51, B-17, CH-53, P-38, SR-71A, and others would not have been developed without the design, development, and production paid for with taxpayer funds. These subjects that serve as the basis for the development of model kits that serve as historic, educational, and motivational replicas should be exempt from licensing provisions.

Contact your local Congressman or Senator and urge them to support House

******This is coming straight off of Accurate Miniature's Web sight!*******

They were paid many times for a product. Just like you pay the grocery store multiple times for milk, so to does the government for a product, be it an aircraft, a rifle, a plate of body armor, or food and logistical services, and few people look at what it costs to conceive, develop, produce a factory line, produce the product, pay the workers, pay overhead, pay taxes (most people forget about that), plus still turn a profit.

Like I said I am not taking an opinion, though I really, really want to. I am taking a stance on the principle of this whole argument. The problem with bills like this is the special interest groups, be it modelling companies (where do you think this bill came from?) or from military contractors force down your throat to write a Senator on a bill that they (both the Senator or the person writing it) really don't care about while providing you with only one side. I'm just playing devil's advocate here, since the "devil" in this case, won't ever come to this forum and explain themselves. (so if you can't tell that I agree with you than you aren't reading into this enough but like I said, I have no opinion )

Jeff

Edit: this is a nice little argument we got going here, kinda fun! (and thats not me being a smart a$$

LMAO


Sounds like you're a great debater , maybe politics is in your future!

Military actually. I'd piss too many people off in politics. But since war is an extension of politics, and I'm a military history major, having a working knowledge of it comes in handy. Thanks.

Jeff

Thats what politics is all about Pissing people off, then talking it over.
thats what North Korea,and Iran is doing ,Pissing people off! ==

Bump!

ever wondered if Americans have pissed others off?

This is beginning to have nothing to do with Modelling. THIS TOPIC IS LOCKED.

Hi there

I'll leave this thread because it contains important information for anyone concerned about the whole copyright issue. That said, this isn't the forum for discussing politics and particularly foreign policies, so I think it's time to lock it before things boil over.

Cheers

Rowan