RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Companies are copying designs from other companies and offer them as their own design.

There are cases of suspicious designs out there, what is your opinion....?

Hi all

Shocking news ..

.heng long have been ripping tam tanks for years !

Now the big kit company trumpeter ..who own merit hobby boss ...meng ..to mention just a few .. ....are doing the same !
An injection molded kit ...with a metal chassis ...

https://www.facebook.com/MeritIntlLtd

Hmmmm

Chinese? Copying something? Selling it cheaper? Who would ever have thought that would happen??

wibblywobbly wrote:Chinese? Copying something? Selling it cheaper? Who would ever have thought that would happen??

SAYS IT ALL ...

ALPHA

Hi all, I am old enough to remember when the Japanese gained a sordid reputation for copying anything and everything, there was a story going around at the time that a city in Japan had been renamed Sheffield so that the steel products being made there could be marked Sheffield Steel, true? I do not know but it produced bad feelings in South Yorkshire. Later Hong Kong gained the title from Japan, it appears to be the beginning in all industrial nations of learning to manufacture technical devices and is nearly always followed by unique and original design so watch out, it will get worse ( or better depending on where you are). shaun

It is a well-known problem that the Chinese copy wherever they can.

In a company where I had worked times we caught a Chinese customer who is with a hidden camera moment during the lunch break had run into production and then diligently tried to photograph the recipes of our products.
It was then clear that this company never received an order from us.

jarndice wrote:Hi all, I am old enough to remember when the Japanese gained a sordid reputation for copying anything and everything, there was a story going around at the time that a city in Japan had been renamed Sheffield so that the steel products being made there could be marked Sheffield Steel, true? I do not know but it produced bad feelings in South Yorkshire. Later Hong Kong gained the title from Japan, it appears to be the beginning in all industrial nations of learning to manufacture technical devices and is nearly always followed by unique and original design so watch out, it will get worse ( or better depending on where you are). shaun

Hello Shaun... I guess you and I are of the same generation ... as I too remember when "MADE IN JAPAN" had the same stigma as "MADE IN CHINA" to me things like copying merchandise can't be avoided....as more and more big companies find outsourcing to CHINA cheaper ...it's all politics in a way....they outsource ... then cry foul.. and not let anyone know that the company that made the copy... is a shell... just so distribution of product can be increased

It takes me back to when I used to build garage kits.... originals from JAPAN could cost up to 900.00 dollars US...sometimes more... and the copies made in JAPAN through so called parent companies ... would sell them for about half....and in many cases released in limited production to keep the price high...I can't tell you how thankful I was that CHINA entered the market with their versions of the same kits... sure you knew they were copies... but at 1/3 to 1/4 th the price of the JAPAN copies ... heck if I was going to join any boycott

Though I have to say...it is one of the reasons I don't sell my original figures...like the ERWIN... because I know the demand is there...
but so are the ones who will copy it

If companies like MERIT is crying foul... you have to know they have a hand in the till... if you ask me why I say that... It's because the cry out is like advertising a product is out there without having to pay for said advertising ... a catch 22 in some ways... because they win either instance... you boycott... thus buy the more expensive product.... or you buy the cheaper one ... to where they probably get a kickback anyway

Sounds far fetched... but I've seen enough to know it's true

Have a good one everyone

ALPHA

I cannot and will not condone piracy in any form whether it be shipping in and around the Gulf or CDs or R/C Tanks or any other form, it is another word for theft BUT in a world where money is ever hard to get hold of where would our hobby be without Heng Long and far more dubious people in the Far East. It is demand that creates a market not the other way round. we stop buying cheap imitations and a lot of the pirated goods will stop. ERR who wants to be first, no no please don't rush. A very tongue in cheek shaun.

Edwin wrote:It is a well-known problem that the Chinese copy wherever they can.

In a company where I had worked times we caught a Chinese customer who is with a hidden camera moment during the lunch break had run into production and then diligently tried to photograph the recipes of our products.
It was then clear that this company never received an order from us.

Howzit going Edwin
CHINA isn't the only country that copies stuff...they are just focused upon because they in all probability will become the next JAPAN... you cannot forget countries like INDIA PAKISTAN SOUTH KOREA AND TAIWAN... they do it too... Thing is... in those countries... they don't have the natural resource and in some cases the workforce....CHINA has it all..... they have the population to support industry... and they have the natural resource ...almost every major company based in the US has at least two installations of manufacturing

Take CALVIN KLEIN for instance .. he manufactures clothes in INDIA PAKISTAN KOREA CHINA HONG KONG and the US and guess which one is the best quality ... first would be the HONG KONG product ..then the CHINA product ...then the rest...and yes there is a noticeable difference ...the garments made in INDIA PAKISTAN and KOREA...will probably fall apart in less than a year....as the workmanship as well as fabrics are of lesser quality

CK also has a shell company STRUCTURE... a HONG KONG based manufacturer .... puts out the same quality product as CK ...with slight alterations.. just so it's not a direct copy

That's big business of the modern world...everything is up for grabs now days whether it is has a patent copywrite what ever...all they have to do is change one aspect ... and it's no longer covered legally

Even the white metal upgrades you might use on your tanks ....at one time were produced (copied)by individuals in their garages...till they outlawed the use of lead

It's a fact of life... people will try to save money as well as make money using what ever method they can

Have a good one Edwin... and you must post some pictures of your tanks ...maybe someone might want to copy it (just a little tongue and cheek )

ALPHA

jarndice wrote:I cannot and will not condone piracy in any form whether it be shipping in and around the Gulf or CDs or R/C Tanks or any other form, it is another word for theft BUT in a world where money is ever hard to get hold of where would our hobby be without Heng Long and far more dubious people in the Far East. It is demand that creates a market not the other way round. we stop buying cheap imitations and a lot of the pirated goods will stop. ERR who wants to be first, no no please don't rush. A very tongue in cheek shaun.

Hello again Shaun... thing is..HENG LONG copied TAMIYA...They just simplified the mechanisms... I remember when TAMIYA's entry into 1/16 scale .. was their TIGER... it was the only one of it's kind... back in the day marketed as a Static model...commanding a price of 400 plus US...which was a lot back then... a couple years later TAMIYA created a wired remote for the tank... a couple more years wireless... and now full function

So believe it or not... you might say you don't condone it ... but by purchasing any current RC TANK... you already did

Have a good one Shaun

ALPHA