Censorship gone mad? Hobbyboss wildcat

[gunpowder17]

I have just received a hobbyboss 1/48 hellcat and the pictures on the box have had the rising sun kill marks scribbled out. The same goes for the decals which is really annoying. Now I can understand the swastica , but now the rising sun??

[Graham Boak]

By whom and from where?  The behaviour of the Japanese in some parts of Asia was no better than that of the Nazis in Eastern Europe.

[Richard E]

Without turning this into a political. cultural or historical debate some nations have started to actively view Japan's rising sun emblem in that same way that the swastika has been treated for many years.

 

In Japan however, the device is still used as a symbol of tradition and good fortune and and variations of the ensign are used by Japan's Self-defence Forces.

[ckw]

We're starting to see this sort of thing everywhere - for example in the USA over a 100 statues commemorating Confederate figures have been removed due to slavery associations.

 

Obviously there are arguments for and against, but I do worry that sweeping currently unpleasant aspects of our past under the carpet seems very close to re-writing history.

 

I can perhaps accept that public displays (e.g. box art) that may cause offence should be handled with some sensitivity, but I see no need to extend this to the decals, where the decision to use them or not is up to the modeller. Terrible things were done by the Japanese and Germans during the war - but also the allies. It happened and surely its better to learn from it than try and erase all traces.

 

As the philosopher George Santayana said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." which is a pretty good  argument for accurate historical modelling

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

 

[smoffo]

I had the same done to my Wildcat. Really annoyed, fortunately I had decided to go with the other option on the decal sheet.

 

Michael

[noelh]

Remember Hobbyboss is a Chinese manufacturer. So this is a Chinese sensitivity not a general thing. They doubtlessly don't want any criticism from their domestic market. The long years of occupation are well remembered. 

 

It is a wonder though that they produce Japanese WW2 kits? 

 

It's unlikely other manufacturers will follow suit. 

Edited May 1, 2020 by noelh

[Werdna]

There is quite a movement (has been for a while) right across SE Asia to get the 'rising sun' emblem banned.  So noelh's observation is likely to be correct.  See this BBC story from earlier this year:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-50285383

[gunpowder17]

Ok thanks. It must have been done at the factory as the decals were in a sealed bag. 

[stringbag]

Japan's airlines still carry the emblem on the wings of their civil airliner fleets as well.

 

Chris.

[Adam Poultney]

It's annoying when things are omitted, but as long as there is aftermarket we'll survive

[gingerbob]

I remember this being a topic several years ago (though perhaps stemming from one or two occurrences), so it isn't a brand-new phenomenon.  I can't say that this particular act of protest would cause me any trouble, but I certainly understand the annoyance of having the product you have purchased "defaced".  Now, if it were a particularly choice bit of box art, perhaps one of Hasegawa's, I might be pretty upset!  I never "count on" using kit decals, though I'll certainly use them if they suit.

[JackG]

The national flag of Japan still uses the red disc, or Hinomaru, so wonder how that works in those countries where they have their embassy located - no flying of their flag?

 

regards,

Jack

[elger]

4 hours ago, gunpowder17 said:

I have just received a hobbyboss 1/48 hellcat and the pictures on the box have had the rising sun kill marks scribbled out. The same goes for the decals which is really annoying. Now I can understand the swastica , but now the rising sun??

If someone damaged the box and its contents could you perhaps try to get a refund from where you bought it? I don't think there's a political correctness conspiracy about to endanger the scale modeling industry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alt-92]

Most of the objections (focused on the IJA flag) seem to be from South Korea.

Depends where HB gets most of their sales. And as usual, any context gets lost in the hubbub (they're 'kill' markings, and as such you'd say that those would not be a problem).
 

Edited May 1, 2020 by alt-92

[Mattlow]

I have no idea, but did you purchase your kit from a far eastern outlet?

 

It could well be that product heading to countries where this sensitivity is more heightened will get the adjusted box art/decals, while that heading for western distributors will remain as manufactured. Similar to the swastika often being placed on a corner to be cut off for countries where the symbol is banned.

 

Matt

[gunpowder17]

Nope creative models in cambs.

[ejboyd5]

Censorship seems to be a big thing in China at present, think Covid-19.

[alt-92]

I fail to see the link between Covid-19 and IJA ensigns.

Edited May 1, 2020 by alt-92

[dalea]

I'm also beginning to see a confusion between the current Japanese flag (red disc on white rectangle) with the WWII Japanese naval ensign (aka rising sun)

[Icedtea]

16 hours ago, noelh said:

Remember Hobbyboss is a Chinese manufacturer. So this is a Chinese sensitivity not a general thing. They doubtlessly don't want any criticism from their domestic market. The long years of occupation are well remembered. 

 

It is a wonder though that they produce Japanese WW2 kits? 

 

It's unlikely other manufacturers will follow suit. 

if it was "censored" at the factory it rather begs the question why print the offending symbols in the first place?   In certain countries the swastika is banned so kits destined for those places have the symbols deleted or excised from the sheet. Then they came up with that awful jigsaw style arrangement to get round the law of the land. AFAIK the Hinomaru is not banned anywhere so I'm not sure this is a legitimate censorship or a perhaps a disgruntled employee or similar?

[alt-92]

When was this kit released with this particular boxing?

There was a bit of a hubbub in 2018 around a naval exercise with Japanese participation where a group of South Koreans raised a stink (there was a minor diplomatic kerfuffle about it).
Maybe someone decided to jump the bandwagon.

6 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

 I've been wondering for some time when they will decide to "Have A Conversation" about the shameful under-representation of lesbian left-handed Eskimo midget albinos in the scale modelling community.

Simples: plastic becomes more brittle in colder climates.

So with that global warming thingy, that problem is on it's way to solve itself.

(also means we get more warped kits in our parts of the world but at least the aforementioned group gets to build kits).

Edited May 2, 2020 by alt-92

[Dave Batt]

6 hours ago, dalea said:

I'm also beginning to see a confusion between the current Japanese flag (red disc on white rectangle) with the WWII Japanese naval ensign (aka rising sun)

You beat me to it.  I understood the former represented the Chrysanthemum Throne while the naval ensign was more associated with Imperial ambitions?

[noelh]

11 hours ago, dalea said:

I'm also beginning to see a confusion between the current Japanese flag (red disc on white rectangle) with the WWII Japanese naval ensign (aka rising sun)

There's no objection to the current Japanese flag. It's specific to the 'Rising Sun' flag the one with the rays. In point of fact the rising sun flag is still the current Japanese Naval ensign. 

 

One of the problems is that there are people who wave the rising sun flag for specific reasons. A bit like the confederate flag and indeed any national flag. You know the people I'm talking about. The type who tend to turn out wrapped in their flag as a statement. 

[Des]

14 hours ago, alt-92 said:

I fail to see the link between Covid-19 and IJA ensigns.

Quite simply all down to politics.

 

A very long history of aggression and distrust that far pre-dates the post-war period , more recent contentions over territorial boundaries and the resources contained therein , dissatisfaction over Japan's attitude to its conduct leading up to and throughout the Second World War which outdid that of Nazi outrages in Russia and Eastern Europe in terms of barbarity , the current blame game over Covid from some governments and what might be considered as their client states as seen by the Chinese , the innate symbolism at the heart of  regional inter-state dealings and so  even items as small as a model decal sheet can suddenly matter.

[alt-92]

Bit late to start now, innit?

 

[edit] 

Aren't we reading more into this than necessary? 

I mean: yes, it's a subjective matter depending on where you are.

Attitudes amongst SEA nations are rife territory for all sorts of issues - I don't think the Vietnamese are great fans of China either and that's been going on for literally centuries, and Koreans were subjected to Japanese direct influence (and later direct rule) since the 19th century.
 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by alt-92