TOPIC:

When Tamiya took away "base" parts of Tamiyabase in the past (while seemingly allowing it on other sites) I'd put it down to shortsightedness and/or inteptitude on their part, or just symptomatic of their lack of respect for their fans and customers - or possibly an over zealous legal department, but the longer this goes on, the more it looks personal.

I've also got to wonder just how long it'll be before they object to the use of the word Tamiya in the domain name? I'm not scaremongering there, given their actions so far it would be the next "logical" step


Rather than have the site shut down & lose people while you sort things out when it does happen, maybe it's time to pre-emptively rebrand & reorganise the site to better reflect what actually gets posted here, and the fact that Tamiya is just one manufacturer among many (and not a particularly innovative one at that).

Jonny wrote:

When Tamiya took away "base" parts of Tamiyabase in the past (while seemingly allowing it on other sites) I'd put it down to shortsightedness and/or inteptitude on their part, or just symptomatic of their lack of respect for their fans and customers - or possibly an over zealous legal department, but the longer this goes on, the more it looks personal.

I've also got to wonder just how long it'll be before they object to the use of the word Tamiya in the domain name? I'm not scaremongering there, given their actions so far it would be the next "logical" step


Rather than have the site shut down & lose people while you sort things out when it does happen, maybe it's time to pre-emptively rebrand & reorganise the site to better reflect what actually gets posted here, and the fact that Tamiya is just one manufacturer among many (and not a particularly innovative one at that).

It's not Tamiyabase it's "tamiy abase".

BTW, the youtube "actions" were taken by TamiyaUSA

larbut wrote:

It's not Tamiyabase it's "tamiy abase".

Dammit, I always thought it was "Tami Yabase", your american/japanese girlfriend?

Things are getting clearer now. TamiyaUSA has for the last few days added vintage videos to their own youtube channel. There's only 13 though.

I hope they are aware that there are copyright issues with the music used in those videos...

Sorry for french bad words but " ils sont trop nazes". disgusted about their mentality.

I only just saw this news, and I have to say I am amazed also.

There are two issues at stake here. And I think Tamiya has failed to distinguish between the two.

Issue 1 - People trading on the "Tamiya" brand by producing products, and selling them.

Personally I have no sympathy for those who make businesses out of manufacturing and selling unauthorized reproduction items, souvenirs, or media. We have seen everything over the years - from coffee mugs to lexan bodies. I respect the fact that Tamiya will not allow these, and nor should any other brand.
There is nothing stopping you from making your own, in private. And sure there are some grey areas. But if you turn it into an assembly line business, I can understand Tamiya's objection.

Issue 2 - People sharing out-of-print, digital Tamiya materials, for no profit.

I think it is excessive for Tamiya to go on the offensive over things like:
- Websites offering out-of-print PDFs of manuals
- Uploaded promo videos of the old cars

Selling DVDs of Tamiya promos is not ok. But issuing take-downs of Youtube videos, is petty.

I can only wonder if they think some users are profiting from Youtube ads. Perhaps they should check for that, rather than just going on the offensive.

Tamiya are falling more and more out-of-touch with the collectors and nostalgia buffs, on whom they have been happily cashing-in, via the reissues.

Their mostly uninspiring modern R/C kits (with a few exceptions) have long told me how they operate today - a sausage machine of recycled, lifeless ideas. And they are fast running out of past glories to exploit.
Which car will be the first to be re-re-released?

Tamiya must wish, so dearly, that they could charge us all a little tax on the sale of vintage Tamiya collectibles. Wouldn't that be great, hey Tamiya? Maybe have a chat to the UN, and set up a global task force.

H.

PS. Did you know that you can still download all the vintage Tamiya manual PDFs on the internet?
Yes, it's easy. Nothing to do with me whatsoever, it's some old site someone else set up years ago.
Tamiya are just too stupid to have worked it out.

You can download vintage manuals on compétition x. For tamiya ones the n'est is here.

My apologies. The last time I checked, I am sure that all manual downloads were disabled here. I can see that they are back up, so that's great. I may have ranted a bit late on that score.

Nevertheless, the Youtube removals are dumb.
As you were.

H.

Hibernaculum wrote:

My apologies. The last time I checked, I am sure that all manual downloads were disabled here. I can see that they are back up, so that's great. I may have ranted a bit late on that score.

Nevertheless, the Youtube removals are dumb.
As you were.

H.

Nope, the manuals are still down. I've just made the manual archive visible, but the manuals still can't be downloaded. I have tried reasoning/negotiate with Tamiya, but they don't reply to my emails.

Other parts of the downloads are still available.

-Lars

Hibernaculum wrote:

I only just saw this news, and I have to say I am amazed also.

There are two issues at stake here. And I think Tamiya has failed to distinguish between the two.

Issue 1 - People trading on the "Tamiya" brand by producing products, and selling them.

Personally I have no sympathy for those who make businesses out of manufacturing and selling unauthorized reproduction items, souvenirs, or media. We have seen everything over the years - from coffee mugs to lexan bodies. I respect the fact that Tamiya will not allow these, and nor should any other brand.
There is nothing stopping you from making your own, in private. And sure there are some grey areas. But if you turn it into an assembly line business, I can understand Tamiya's objection.

Issue 2 - People sharing out-of-print, digital Tamiya materials, for no profit.

I think it is excessive for Tamiya to go on the offensive over things like:
- Websites offering out-of-print PDFs of manuals
- Uploaded promo videos of the old cars

Selling DVDs of Tamiya promos is not ok. But issuing take-downs of Youtube videos, is petty.

I can only wonder if they think some users are profiting from Youtube ads. Perhaps they should check for that, rather than just going on the offensive.

Tamiya are falling more and more out-of-touch with the collectors and nostalgia buffs, on whom they have been happily cashing-in, via the reissues.

Their mostly uninspiring modern R/C kits (with a few exceptions) have long told me how they operate today - a sausage machine of recycled, lifeless ideas. And they are fast running out of past glories to exploit.
Which car will be the first to be re-re-released?

Tamiya must wish, so dearly, that they could charge us all a little tax on the sale of vintage Tamiya collectibles. Wouldn't that be great, hey Tamiya? Maybe have a chat to the UN, and set up a global task force.

H.

PS. Did you know that you can still download all the vintage Tamiya manual PDFs on the internet?
Yes, it's easy. Nothing to do with me whatsoever, it's some old site someone else set up years ago.
Tamiya are just too stupid to have worked it out.

Hi H. good to see you around, you always bring quality to wherever you participate

Regarding your points above, I totally agree.
Still, I might have upset Tamiya at one point where I had the idea to cover running cost by introducing the Subscriber fee. But, that is now gone and has been for a year-and-a-half.
On the other side, I do think TamiyaBase and other Tamiya fansites bring some value to the Tamiya brand (although minor). Anyway, Tamiya has the legal right to what they do so there's not much we can do.

Finally, regarding manuals available online elsewhere. You are right. You can find nearly every Tamiya manual online, simply googling, also from bigger players than TamiyaBase. I find it frustrating trying to promote vintage Tamiya, and still being whipped as seemingly a random victim.

-Lars