Where do I stand on this? If someone wants to clone a Sub Viper head and A vapor torso, go to it. Seriously, cast it, it's how they were made in the first place.
But it won't be Black Ice. It won't be the same painting, it won't be the same artwork, and it won't be the same filecard. Black Ice isn't the figure, it's the concept and the intelectual creation attached to the figure. It's the press and the hype, and the limitedness.
If you want to make one for yourself, do it. If you try to sell it as an unnamed figure, I guess that's your right. But if you try to make money off the Black Ice name, you'd better have Mike's permission and be sending him a cheque.
I'm a little conflicted on this. Buying casted parts is in the same legal grey area as downloading music. If you're downloading it for personal enjoyment, and not massive quantities of it, that's a moral leap that most people are willing to make. But if you are downloading it to burn copies to sell to other people, you've crossed a line. That may not be other people's etical standard, but it one that I'm generally ok with when it comes to toys.
I've done several customs of foreign figures. Am I screwing hasbro or Joe Fans by making a knock off Marujo? I honestly don't know. But in this case, I'm ok with the casting so long as people don't try to financially benefit from Mike's intelectual property.
Mind you if they were selling the parts in a complete state, dyed to match and painted, I'd have a bigger problem with it. And if they ever copied Joe Canuck's head I'd be livid.
Also, I hate to say it but I have to agree with Jin. We shouldn't bash G2G for this. They didn't actually *do* anything, and I sincerely doubt that they would. I have every confidence that Bekker would *not* let anything like this happen.
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