Concerning Recasts

What are recasts?

...And why doesn't WonderFest approve of them?

The technology of molding and casting has made it relatively easy and inexpensive to produce your own model. Garage Kits are usually sculpted by an individual and then molded and cast at home, often in the garage.   Molding and casting can also be used to copy parts of a model to use in a diorama, or to modify it in some way.

But a few modelers have been taking kits they've purchased or borrowed and are remolding and recasting them (thus the term "recast) –then selling them at shows and through the mail–often while the original kit is still being produced and sold!

WonderFest's stance on recasting is not based on the legal and moral copying issues. We simply believe that recasting discourages new work from being produced and is not in the long-term best interest of the hobby.

That said, we cannot, however, be recast police for the hobby at large.  Our domain is the WonderFest show premises ... specifically, our Dealer's Room.

Our recast policy is one of helping our legitimate dealers to protect themselves.  With the huge number and variation of kits in the market, we could never keep track of what is authentic and what is not.  It's not our job anyway; we put on a convention.

What we can do, however, is ensure that a dealer of original merchandise who rents space at our show will not be competing with a recast being sold in the same room.  If a dealer is selling an unauthorized copy of an item--and the authorized manufacturer or dealer brings the complaint to Dealer Coordinator Dave Hodge and verifies that the item is a copy--then Dave will request the unauthorized dealer to immediately cease selling the item at the show.  If that dealer does not comply, he/she will forfeit their table without refund.

All of our dealers sign a contract agreeing to abide by this policy, and we rarely have a problem.

We want sculpting and Garage Kit production to have a great future for the enjoyment of hobbyists around the world.