Post by Darth Escargot on Dec 21, 2021 14:26:45 GMT -5
As for the ethics of buying ZA models, I'm a bit torn. The Zoids franchise isn't in the best place right now, so I'm really not sure we should be throwing money at companies that make what is essentially unlicensed knockoffs of Kotobukiya products. The one of these that really rubbed me the wrong way was the large-scale Death Stinger, especially because it came out at the exact same time as the reissued Koto kit, and so it was in direct competition with it. This BF is, well, I personally happen to think it's kind of weird looking and I much prefer the more angular look of the original design, but at least it's different enough to where it's not just a complete knockoff.
I'm not going to fault anyone personally for buying this if they like it, and I think it's a bit silly to stand up for the IP rights of corporations that don't care about you on the internet. Plus I remember when hunting down weird bootlegs on eBay was as much part of the collecting game as anything else. But it is IP theft, and it does compete with a franchise that appears to be struggling at the moment as it is.
+1 on the Koto BF being superb! And I agree on almost everything else. But I'd say that while the corporations certainly don't care about you, the actual creative teams behind the products we love are not faceless, probably quite small, and possibly do care about Zoids personally. I work as a professional sculptor for Hasbro and others, and there's maybe a couple dozen of us freelancers behind all the modeling for the collector-oriented action figure lines. It's already a field where creator-acknowledgment is rarely the norm (i.e. I have no idea who designed the original Tomy Saber Tiger, or who 3D modeled the Koto BF, etc) and where most likely all the contracts are work for hire (i.e. I doubt anyone gets royalties on individual sales or even reissues, except maybe Mercy Usagi). So for me personally, I wouldn't be thrilled to see my work get bootlegged, though obviously I can't speak for Kotobukiya or anyone else.
All that said, I also won't judge anyone for buying this if they like it! I think it looks stunning and Maethius I'd love to see you just build a kit and enjoy it, without the weeks/months of planning ahead for a custom marathon.
