First of all, thomaso, I do beg your pardon for not noticing the topic at once. As the guy who asked you about it in the first place that is pretty unforgiveable! Sorry.

After I asked you about the subject, I thought of my old Hobby's Annual 2004. Its more of a catalogue than anything else, although there are a few helpful articles. This is a UK based magazine so I don't know if its available internationally. I remembered the magazine because it has Prince August figures in it.

My first question is: the figures look fairly basic. I was going to say: crude, but that's not fair. They are designed for simple 'drop' casting (is that the right term, thomaso?) so must be such. And that's the question, really. Do figures cast by this method have to be very simple?

If you recall, I mentioned that some members of this forum might like sculpting simple characters - amorphous blob-monsters and the like. So my next question is, using the popular puttys, etc, can molds be made for this purpose and how might this be done?

And finally, for the moment, would you be able to post pictures of the Prince August and similar figures? I'm talking relative to WW structures of course, otherwise that might be considered not entirely relevant to this board.

Thanks in anticipation. And no, I won't expect (or deserve) a quick reply!

MAGSMAN

Hmmm, that I do not know. The figures that I cast from Prince August was with molds sold for that purpose.

The molds I made for myself were for figures that I sculpted myself over armatures sold by Ral Partha. I don't think that I have any left, they really weren't that good. While I still do a little sculpting I no longer make molds, since largely I am just modifying existing figures. That I can do a decent job at. (Pirate Ogres and Skeletons mostly, and one Dwarf.)

Reaper Miniatures now sells armatures in a number of types.

The Auld Grump

I highly recommend Reaper's pro-level armatures, the metal stands up to a good deal of posing without snapping, perfect for indecisive types or just getting that damn arm out of the way while trying to sculpt that back/leg/head.

Sorry to chime in on the Copyright question with a negative answer, but here's the straight truth, in the USA:

You cannot legally copy any figure, even if it is out of print, even for personal use! To do so, is a patent violation of the Copyright laws of the United States of America. Even though an item may be out of print, the copyright is still in force, and it may even have been sold to another party, who plans, at some time, to put it back into production.

To sell copies of out of print objects, is a violation -- the copyright is still in force, and it should be respected. If you violate copyright on miniatures, why would you not violate copyright on Word Works Games? The law is the same, the only difference, is the format (print versus sculpture).

Making molds is easy. Stealing another person's IP is easy, too. Please consider that every IP was lovingly produced by a person, not unlike Denny, and associates. Please don't steal their property. Stealing from an evil mega-corporation is no different than stealing from a small businessman -- it is still a crime, and it is still dishonest. Thank you. Cheers!

No problem here. Especially if it helps keep the area somewhere nearly on topic <LOL>.

I'm one of those folks who prefer to share knowedge. I worked with people in the Army who were information mongers, and dished out information in exchange for help doing their job. Guess that was what helped me to get my last position teaching military history in the Chaplain School - one of the few NCOs to teach an academic class in an officer-producing school. Loved every minute of it.

I'm sorry if I came off supporting the idea of supporting piracy in that manner. I did not state it well, and I agree that I appear badly in that respect. It was not just the idea of getting caught that kept me from making molds of the Franklin Mint figures. I have not made molds of anything else since if there was any question about it. In offering the how-to information, I ask folks to use their consience to do the right thing. My own has become much touchier in this area since coming to WWG products, seeing first hand the affect is has on the small business. I wish I could say I have always had that feeling, but it would be less than honest. Lets say that maturing has had a lot to do with it.

Again, I'm sorry that I may have left that image of myself.[/code]

Gads, I just realized I misspelled the subject title - should have been HOMCAST, not Homecase! Hope most folks understood that.

Actually copying copyrighted works for 'Fair Use' is permitted. However Fair use is deliberately vague, and subject to review on a case by case basis. The government site on .

Selling or distributing copies without permission is always illegal. (And the primary concern of most IP holders.) At one time copying for free distribution was legal, but this was challenged in the 1970s when photocopying became widely available.

Many figure lines are now trademarked as well as copyrighted, the laws governing trademarks are much more stringent. Every time Games Workshop has gone after a copy cat it has been under trademark rather than copyright. And a trademark can cover a 'likeness' as well as a specific image. For this reason the Olympic Commitee served notice to the manufacturers of Legend of the Five Rings for their use of five linked rings, despite the fact that the rings in L5R form a circle rather than a chain. So if if you came out with a miniature for an Eldrath Farseer GW could and would come after you for TM violation.

And they would have no choice in the matter - Trademarks that are not enforced by the owner are lost.

The use of copyright to protect miniatures rather than the images of those miniatures is as yet untested. The copyright laws were expanded in the 1990s, quite a few of those expansions are as yet untested. The closest tested case is architecture. Up until the '90s miniatures would not have been covered by copyright at all. (One of the oddities of law - until it is tested in a court it is not yet quite official. It is necessary to create a precedent.)

Patents are yet another means to protect IP, and again there is a great deal of untested area. Once again the laws were expanded in the 1990s, so much is untested, especially in regards to genetic patents. However a specific work cannot be patented, though a process can be - you can patent a machine for making miniatures, but not the miniature itself.

The vagueness of the law in many of these matters is what spurred the use of EULAs by the software industry, even then there were some missteps, for example one company (Broderbund?) put paper agreements in the box with the notice that by opening the box you had accepted the agreement. However a license has to be read before being agreed to, so that one was thrown out. Now of course most EULAs are a part of the installation process. Though fewer than 10% bother reading the EULAs, which can lead to some... interesting situations. My favorites are those that tell the user that they will never give out the user's information without their permission, and in the EULA have a clause where the user grants that permission... Congradulations, you have just agreed to be SPAMMED!

And each lasts for a different amount of time, with copyright lasting the author's life plus 70 years. This number has been increasing since 1978, before that year copyrights were for a specific amount of time, but were renewable. And given that not all nations belong to the copyright community things can get messy - for a while Great Britain was not a member, one of the results was the Ace Books 'pirate edition' of the Lord of the Rings. (With terrible editing.) If you ever wonder why copies of LOTR from the '70s have a notice about 'Those who respect living authors' on the back this is the reason. J.R.R. Tolkien was a bit upset about the matter.

Trademarks are renewable, but have a shorter length, and Patents are no longer renewable, lasting for either 17 or 20 years.

The Auld Grump, who could go on at greater length, but won't... unless people ask.

*EDIT* Untested simply means that it has not yet been taken to court, and has no bearing on whether or not it will be upheld - odds are good that it would be upheld.

"advanced sculpting experiece"?! That's hysterical, Mags!

And no, I've yet to see any of my sculpts thus far in metal form. I believe my first works should be out this month but the guy doing them has been having some family issues and is behind.

I have tried some elementary mold making (ie gravity mold one sided) for casting in resin and had a mixed bag of results. The quality of both the mold material and the brand of resin make a huge difference. Like everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

On the subject of legality, I'm not sure where canadian law falls into it. Filesharing is permitted here but if I were to download and burn a movie on DVD and then try to sell it that would be illegal. If similar laws apply to miniatures it MIGHT be legal here to create an entire army from a single mini for personal use. But who'd want to?

The eagle-eyed may notice that like the virile Spoo I have altered my sig.

Having firmly adopted the Colonel Dan Dare personna, I decided that in recognition of my maturity ('old git!) and of my background as a Fire Brigade Officer, that I would assume the mantle of 'The Colonel'.

Feel free to spice our repartee with occasional remarks: "Colonel, - this" and "so-and-so, Colonel"

I don't wish to stand on ceremony as it were, so there is no need to rise, stand before your computer, and salute, before addressing me with my relative (to the FB) rank, but do so if it makes you fell more comfortable.

The auld Grump may be a million miles ahead of me in seniority, skills, and posting-stats (No, Johnnygs - I have not the stamina or sufficient life ahead of me to go on a mission, chasing the Grump's stats! ) but a minor genuflection from the sprogs amongst you will be appreciated. (chuckles)

PS: my new nom du guerre might also serve to remind me not behave like a spotty adolescent, not that I've anything against spotty adolescents - we've all been one. Actually, the Magsman's complexion was always fresh and clear)


MAGSMAN