Question:
I am almost finish scratch building a MSA-003 Nemo (in Z Gundam).
Just wonder if I mass produce it as a resin kit and sell it to public,
do I need to buy any copy right, pay anybody for the Nemo image.
(Actually, I modify it a bit, the shouder and the back pack looks
difference. I may call it "MSA-003-2 Nemo ?".)
Answer:
A Nemo is still a Nemo even if you modify it or whatever. Bandai could
conceivably sue you if you sell the kit. Of course, the real question is
whether they would bother. Whether you'll show up on their radar, so to
speak. That's something you'll have to consider for yourself.
I think that for some dozens of pieces you should not bother with
copyright and licensing, this kind of production would not hurt Bandai's
business.
Also, producing around one hundred pieces is what you can achieve in
your workshop or garage with hobbist tools and manufacturing process.
I suppose you will use RTV rubber molds and you will cast resin copies;
in my experience RTV molds can be used for 8-10 copies, then the mold
loses detail and become unusable.
You can see that this way you will not go too far away.
If you think your production will be larger, you will need a total
different approach to the problem: medium-high pressure injecting
machines for resin/vinil or even stirene casting, metal molds,
semi-authomatic production.
In this case you will deal with greater problems and higher expenses,
among those the need to contact Bandai (or whoever keeps the rights for
the subject) and obtain licenses for their copyrights.
