Read an interesting article in this months (Nov 2004) issue of Fine Scale MOdeler about licensing fees. Most of us build military so it hasn't affected us. Those that build NASCAR kits get it. The model manufacture has to pay license fees to put things like Goodyear on the tires or UPS on Darryl Jarrets car. Well here's a kick, companies that make parts for the real tanks and airplanes like Honeywell, Loocheed, Boeing, Crysler, etc are seeking to get a licensing fee from the model companies. Interesting article, seems they would get a bit from every model kit sold which meanswe the modeler can expect higher prices to cover these fees. Maybe a dollar or two more. Some are trying to retro this like Sikorsky when Revell made all those Helicopter kits back in the 50's - 60's. I'm sure Blohm ad Voss will want theirs for the Bismarrk LOL

Wouldn't surprise me in a few years they start after the little after market maker also. If I recall, they already put a decal maker out of business, with unreal royalites demands.

Gotta love Corporate greed.

with all the major manufacters in financial trouble now because of the cheaper stuff coming out of China in the way of kits and fully built scale models something like this could finish them.

Slixx decals was one of the best in aftermarket NASCAR decals. As of March of this year they ended their NASCAR line. They still do NHRA and some graphics. Lets just hope that it don't get out of hand and lose site of our hobby.

what i could'nt beleive was the part about (sikorsky?) wanting royalties for out of production kits.

Apart from the royalty issue I'm surprised we haven't been hit by the price of raw styrene. I buy tons of the stuff in large sheets for vacforming refrigerator interiors, and prices have gone up by about £50/tonne since July this year.
This is partly due to the Asian market buying everything they can lay their hands on for their ever increasing manufacturing base, and partly because the US's environmental laws are forcing petrol companies to take Benzine out of fuel, causing a market shortage; and Benzine is a constituent part of styrene plastics!

I guess I'll just have to save my money and build the 400 or so kits in the stash........ :-)

Royalties for military kits may or may not be an issue as how many of the companies in China will pay them. The concern is the rising price of styrene. I must have missed something Dave you said the US no longer wants benzine in fuel, wouldn't this increase the supply rather than reduce it?

Benzine is produced during refining and is included in various amounts in the different grades of petrol. If there is no use for the benzine then it will just be burnt off at the stacks like other waste at the refinery I guess. What we get is the excess from petrol processing. If it has to be specially produced for the plastics industry then the price will be exorbitant.
For industrial use plastics manufacturers are already looking for alternatives, but these will also be at a cost. We have trialed a couple of the alternatives and they have different properties to the polystyrene that we know, including the need for different adhesives.