Don,
You are remembering the good old days. Now, GM demands a licensing fee, so there are fewer GM kits on the market. Ford has also started charging, but I think Daimler-Crysler still feels the free advertising is worth more than the piddling fees they would receive.
What's worse, back when GM didn't license products, they didn't worry about liability from those products. Now, since they are licensing them, they have acquired some liability. GM has just announced that they will no longer license model cars under 1:60 scale, because of the Federal choking standard for 3 year olds! There will be no more HO and N scale GM cars produced, until the world regains some sanity. God knows how many three year olds will be saved!
Causing me to completely blow my stack, Boeing and Lockheed are trying to charge royalties for models of military aircraft that we taxpayers have commissioned and paid for. This level of gall has reached the point where even Congress is looking into it, but expect that in the Senate, Boeing will get it killed.
Finally, the real axis of evil in all this is a company called IMC marketing. They get a 15% cut of whatever licensing scheme they cook up. They are the force behind Boeing and Lockheed and guess what, they have just been hired by UP to "develop a portfolio of new brand-building products."
Read this excerpt from their UP press release and weep!
According to Cara Bernosky, IMC President and Co-Founder, “We are delighted to represent such an American icon so steeped in heritage and intricately tied to American history. For over 140 years, this company and brand have significantly contributed to the actual building of America, connecting the east and west and spurring economic development along the railroad’s path. We see a tremendous opportunity in linking this hard-working brand to a variety of product categories, and look forward to developing a host of new products which leverage its position as America’s preeminent railroad.”
From the ex CIA, now UP lawyer: “We are pleased to partner with IMC to extend Union Pacific’s historic brand into new markets. America’s railroading roots run deep and we’re excited about the opportunity to reconnect consumers with Union Pacific” said Brenda Mainwaring, Director, Corporate Relations for Union Pacific.
Any UP stockholders out there who can raise the issue of how much shareholder money is being wasted trying to make this sows ear into a silk purse?
Gahhh, Dilber isn't even half this crazy!
