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A model kit, censored.


Sairou

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Very common to see this sort of thing in Germany where certain symbols are banned.

I have a few Tamiya German tank crew sets I bought in Germany back in the 90's are they have done

the same to the SS Badges on the box art, permy marker used again. 

Some decal sheets had been trimmed with some of the kits I bought to again remove the offending badges and symbols.

SS units are likely candidates to be censored, so It's possible your kit travelled through Germany before you got hold of it ?

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Agree with the previous poster.... almost certainly to do with Swastikas and the fact that any printed representation of such is illegal in Germany. Otherwise, a previous owner censoring his own kit, perhaps?

 

A weird one, though.

 

Chris. 

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1 hour ago, Dads203 said:

Very common to see this sort of thing in Germany where certain symbols are banned.

I have a few Tamiya German tank crew sets I bought in Germany back in the 90's are they have done

the same to the SS Badges on the box art, permy marker used again. 

Some decal sheets had been trimmed with some of the kits I bought to again remove the offending badges and symbols.

SS units are likely candidates to be censored, so It's possible your kit travelled through Germany before you got hold of it ?

 

6 minutes ago, spruecutter96 said:

Agree with the previous poster.... almost certainly to do with Swastikas and the fact that any printed representation of such is illegal in Germany. Otherwise, a previous owner censoring his own kit, perhaps?

 

A weird one, though.

 

Chris. 

I believe that it is a case of this, although I'm unsure of the exact reason. This kit was brought online from a UK model shop, and it would seem the seller (Whose physical shop I have visited many times) was not aware of this issue. Perhaps it was done by the suppliers so they could sell it in Germany?

4 minutes ago, Ade H said:

If it was purchased from a retailer or trader, at least you have your rights.

Yes, I do. The course of action I have taken so far has been to contact the seller, who said I should contact Hobbyboss- I have contacted CreativeModels Limited, Hobbyboss's supplier in the UK, and hope they will send me a clean decal sheet.

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Creative are excellent, and will help you if they can, I'm sure.  If they can't however, you could try a little IPA on a cotton bud (no, not booze, isopropyl alcohol) and lightly rub the decals to see if the layer of ink can be removed.  You've got nowt to lose anyway, as long as you don't ruin the whole sheet in the process :owww:

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Just now, Mike said:

Creative are excellent, and will help you if they can, I'm sure.  If they can't however, you could try a little IPA on a cotton bud (no, not booze, isopropyl alcohol) and lightly rub the decals to see if the layer of ink can be removed.  You've got nowt to lose anyway, as long as you don't ruin the whole sheet in the process :owww:

That is the path I will take if I cannot get a new sheet! However, here's hoping that Creative deliver.

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A common problem with model kits produced or distributed in Germany.

Once I had bought an aftermarket decal sheet for P-51s with kill markings in form of tiny swastikas.

These were censored on the sheet with ink pen, but the censor seemed to have shaky hands, as he  accidentially also covered some of the radio codes...

Strange laws, there ...

 

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28 minutes ago, Sairou said:

The course of action I have taken so far has been to contact the seller, who said I should contact Hobbyboss

I hate it when traders try that line, putting their responsibility onto manufacturers or distributors (which are not compelled to help, so you're reliant on their goodwill) and asking the customer to do their work for them.

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7 minutes ago, Roman Schilhart said:

A common problem with model kits produced or distributed in Germany.

Once I had bought an aftermarket decal sheet for P-51s with kill markings in form of tiny swastikas.

These were censored on the sheet with ink pen, but the censor seemed to have shaky hands, as he  accidentially also covered some of the radio codes...

Strange laws, there ...

 

I was under the impression that these laws existed in Austria too, but perhaps I'm wrong. Although I see the reason for such censorship, I do believe it to be patronising, especially towards modellers.

Just now, Ade H said:

I hate it when traders try that line, putting their responsibility onto manufacturers or distributors (which are not compelled to help, so you're reliant on their goodwill) and asking the customer to do their work for them.

Yes, it is a little like that- however, I am sure they would have offered a full refund, had I not specified that I did not want one.

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This is an over reaction by some sellers.

Last year I built a limited edition of Revell's 1/72 Fokker DVII. Issued by Revell of Germany it was only readily available for sale in Germany and Finland. The markings for the DVII, the only option, was for the Finnish blue swastika on white circles. They were not censored.

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7 minutes ago, Sairou said:

I am sure they would have offered a full refund, had I not specified that I did not want one

It would, but it doesn't need to initially. It has a chance to sort the problem first. If had been that retailer, I would have offered to send either a replacement decal sheet or replacement kit, whichever is most expedient or practicable. That's the kind of thing which, if well handled, can make a loyal repeat customer of me.

Edited by Ade H
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11 minutes ago, Sairou said:

I was under the impression that these laws existed in Austria too, but perhaps I'm wrong. Although I see the reason for such censorship, I do believe it to be patronising, especially towards modellers.

It's different here.

We are allowed to display swastikas on historic scale models - in Germany you're not.

If you buy a kit with Luftwaffe markings in the hobby shop, you will find swastikas in the box - except it has gone through German territory, then they will be missing.

And even more weird: a Polish company presenting a kit of a Finish aircraft (in WW2 markings) at Nurenberg model show got fined for displaying "forbidden signs"!

 

Edited by Roman Schilhart
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I don't buy that. Why would HB print the markings unadulterated and then effectively vandalise them itself before distribution? It could print them in sections. And not distinguish between countries with and without laws about swastikas? And you're still left with a product which is not what you expected it to be, so Creative cannot just shrug and say "meh, how it is".

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45 minutes ago, Ade H said:

I don't buy that. Why would HB print the markings unadulterated and then effectively vandalise them itself before distribution? It could print them in sections. And not distinguish between countries with and without laws about swastikas? And you're still left with a product which is not what you expected it to be, so Creative cannot just shrug and say "meh, how it is".

It's sketchy, isn't it? I think I'll have to contact Hobbyboss directly, but I bet they'd just direct me back to CreativeModels.

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In my own humble opinion it looks as if Hobby Boss has made a bit of a horlicks of the kit decal design. If they can provide split swastikas in their 1/48 German aircraft kits, why can't they in this case?

 

Mind you, there's an old saying - never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by simple incompetence. I would not be surprised that when it was discovered that whoever designed the decal sheet had neglected to split the offending markings it was too late to delay shipping and distribution so a new sheet could be designed and produced. Hence some poor sod (or sods) at the factory had to get a marker pen out and deface the sheets on the kits heading to Europe!:doh:

 

Mike.

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1 minute ago, MikeR said:

In my own humble opinion it looks as if Hobby Boss has made a bit of a horlicks of the kit decal design. If they can provide split swastikas in their 1/48 German aircraft kits, why can't they in this case?

 

Mind you, there's an old saying - never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by simple incompetence. I would not be surprised that when it was discovered that whoever designed the decal sheet had neglected to split the offending markings it was too late to delay shipping and distribution so a new sheet could be designed and produced. Hence some poor sod (or sods) at the factory had to get a marker pen out and deface the sheets on the kits heading to Europe!:doh:

 

Mike.

One of my main points of confusion is that these markings aren't even swastikas, just SS markings, which might be treated the same way in Germany I suppose.

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If that's the case it looks like HB decided to cover their posteriors and deface the sheets, thus avoiding a potential fine/legal action from a German court.

 

Why they didn't restrict it to those shipments going to Germany I don't know, I guess it depends on where exactly HB's European imports first hit European soil.

 

Mike.

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24 minutes ago, MikeR said:

If that's the case it looks like HB decided to cover their posteriors and deface the sheets, thus avoiding a potential fine/legal action from a German court.

 

Why they didn't restrict it to those shipments going to Germany I don't know, I guess it depends on where exactly HB's European imports first hit European soil.

 

Mike.

Honestly, as a business decision, it's poor. I will be very sceptical of hobbyboss kits in the future.

 

then again, maybe they'll deliver on the decal sheet, if I go through their customer service. If not, can anyone recommend a good decal set?

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I can't give you a recommendation on replacement markings but I will write that from what I've seen so far, Hobby Boss, Trumpeter and a number of the other Chinese companies routinely make mistakes or errors when it comes to the markings provided in their kits. Even Dragon makes mistakes, Takom too - the serials on their new M3 Lee kit are the wrong colour. Proper research seems to be a weak point.

 

I have a similar problem with a Bronco 1/35 A13 Cruiser Mk IVA. The decal sheet is a duffer for a North African theatre vehicle and there isn't any aftermarket decal set for that particular vehicle type.

 

Mike.

Edited by MikeR
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