What you get from Pirate Model websites and why you should stay away!

[airdave]

And why do you think digital (download) kits are lesser quality?
A digital file from a legit and reputable source can be printed to any quality you decide.
It all comes down to how good of a printer you use, as well as the quality of paper/card.

The larger publishers, like Halinski, GPM, etc outsource their print jobs to Printers that use lithographic printing.
One reason is so they can print on larger sheets.

The type of printing (ie Lithography versus Inkjet) will give different results.
Not one any better than the other, just different.
But they print from the same digital file.

Did you know the highest quality art prints are inkjet. (giclee)
If you prefer the look of lithographic (paper model) prints, thats a personal choice.
But this has nothing to do with the quality of digital download kits.

Next time you buy a digital file, buy some better quality cardstock and use a decent inkjet printer.
Make sure you turn up the quality and print settings to their best.
And seal your printed sheets with a decent sealer.
You'll find they as good, if not better.

Avoid pirated kits because the thief that is distributing them cares less about the reproduction quality, and more about their reputation for sharing files.
These types of kits will always print badly and be of lower quality.

[Tyler Durden]

Originally Posted by airdave

I have to disagree with you.
Just because a kit is "out of print" does not make it fair game for piracy.
In fact, you have no right to expect designers and/or publishers to make a kit more available...or eternally available...or available at all.

Its a privalege to get a model when it is available, and if you miss it, oh well.

If a publisher puts out a model for a limited time, or goes out of business, or just decides to not distribute a model any more, then you must accept that its gone.

You should have bought it (or downloaded it for free) when it was available.
Those who decide to pirate it after that, are just thieves.

Free models are pirated, so its not about money.
Widely distributed models are pirated, so its not about access.
The arguments that because a model is "out of print" or "no longer available" come from thieves trying to justify their piracy.

I didn't mean to imply that it's right to pirate models or justifiable because a model is out of print. Were I a designer I would also be pretty irate if a model I had published had been copied and was being resold by others.

As to it being a privilege to get a model when it was originally available and too bad if you didn't, well I don't agree with that at all. That's like saying that if one didn't get the chance to see the Beatles play because they weren't yet born then they don't have the right to buy a download on iTunes to listen to.

I first started building paper models in the late 90s when I happened to come across some simple WWII aircraft in a model shop. I didn't know such things existed, and I bought every one that was there. Shortly after building several of them I discovered Halinski models online and through PMI I bought almost every one that was released for many years until I had more than I could assemble in several lifetimes. Some of them I botched trying to assemble, and now many years later when I want to try those again with much better skills they are unavailable. I bought another Halinski SU-27 online from a foreign seller to replace the one I had built and given away years ago when I left the military but to my chagrin when it arrived it was a pirated version using the photo of the cover to fool unsuspecting fools like myself. And the difference was as night and day. I would never knowingly purchase a pirated copy since I am well aware of what the proper thing looks like and I wouldn't waste my time on a substandard pirated version.

I realize designers are under no obligation to make their products available for eternity, however I do find it more than a little insincere to be upset about one's work being pirated when one is no longer themselves making any effort to make it available. I have seen models sold on eBay for far more than originally sold for by the designer, and the designer doesn't get any share of that. Wouldn't it be better and encourage the hobby as well as discourage the sale of inferior knock-offs if once a designer had no further interest in printing high quality paper kits they would enter into licensing digital versions to be sold and continue to collect royalties in the same way musicians sell the rights to their music and collect royalties when it is played on the radio?

BTW, most of the models I currently buy and build are digital. The utility of being able to reprint a botched part more than makes up for the quality not being as good as those produced by offset lithograph printing. And I have a print shop in the UK I use to print my models so they are printed on the proper A-sized paper. The local print shop here doesn't have A-sized paper in the proper weights and surface finish and the print quality leaves much to be desired. If I have a bunch of them printed at the same time the shipping cost isn't too bad.

[airdave]

That's like saying that if one didn't get the chance to see the Beatles play because they weren't yet born then they don't have the right to buy a download on iTunes to listen to.

Its not anything like that! lol

Its like saying that if one didn't get the chance to see the Beatles play because they weren't yet born, they don't have the right to dig up their corpses, clone their DNA, grow a new copy of the Beatles and force them to perform in their basement as private entertainment.

I realize designers are under no obligation to make their products available for eternity, however I do find it more than a little insincere to be upset about one's work being pirated when one is no longer themselves making any effort to make it available

Its insincere to protect your intellectual property? Even after you're retired...or dead? What an entitled attitude!

This is exactly why Estates go on protecting intellectual properties long after the artist has passed away.
What is the difference if I am alive or dead? or not selling my work any more? I still have the same rights to control how my intellectual property is distributed.

I hope, after I pass and stop distributing my models, I can come back and haunt you when you download one of my pirated models.

[juan angel 747]

totally agree with you, the piracy are a cancer for the papercraft because In the case of paid models, these are either an economic livelihood or a 2nd source of money for designers and recolorists.
Apart from those that sell free models through Amazon or "mercado libre" they are also a problem since many people tend to fall for these scams, for example my friend TEX DIAGO or also known here as Yankeekilo suffered both cases of piracy since someone uploaded to "only paper" (I hope texman doesn't ban me for mentioning that page) a model that he sells in ecardmodels aside from some "caremonda" (Colombian word to refer to a fool or an idiot) sells free models that tex diago designed for his facebook group
I feel that selling free models through amazon or "mercado libre" is equal to or more terrible than uploading models to Russian pages since you are taking advantage of someone else's work

[juan angel 747]

I think that the only way in which piracy would be moderately tolerable would be that in the extreme case that the models become "lost media" because the author of said models has died and their models cannot be found on ecardmodels or other legal pages. since the author would not really be affected negatively, but rather would be avoiding losing those models forever and thus keeping his legacy alive

[juan angel 747]

Another case that I think is more debatable would be with the models that can only be obtained physically on the other side of the world and that do not have a shipping service to your country, that or that these models are discontinued.
If you can legally buy templates of a paper model in your city or country, it is better to buy it since you have more availability to do so and possibly that store can send you that model by a courier company (such as DHL or Federal express) and that you would be supporting that store to sell said product and you would increase the demand for paper models for that store, which would start to bring or design more and better models

But in the event that the model is from a publisher that is located in another country that is on another continent, such as Russia or China, and that it only sells physical templates and cannot be sent to your country, then your hands are tied. to people who are interested in these models and have to download them digitally not because they cannot or do not want to pay for the model but because it is impossible for them to get it physically

Apart from that there are models of that style that date from the Soviet era which are discontinued so they could also enter the "lost media" part and their recovery would be acceptable since technically it does not affect the publisher that designed them since or said publisher went bankrupt or is not interested in relaunching that model for sale

[juan angel 747]

As for russian pirate sites I don't know others russians sites apart of "only paper" and only this time I be "the devil's lawyer" for say this
Really, if we remove the piracy and the XXX ads, it really is a good forum for the Russian and/or Slavic papercraft community since many people buy photos of how they build their models and teach techniques to assemble or improve the models apart from the fact that there are not only models pirated but there are people who design their planes and post them on that page for example there is a designer who made an incredibly accurate model of the MC-21 and post it there

For obvious reasons I am not going to promote that page because although it has good things, it also has many bad things, such as:
- force people to upload files to dubious databases instead of uploading them directly to the page (like papermodelers does)
- Not having moderators that filter which files are uploaded on the page and which are not (not like papermodelers that have a good administration which does an excellent job of moderating)
- Allow invasive advertising on the page, I understand that economic resources are needed to keep a website afloat, but I think that if they moderate what type of advertising is seen on the page and that it is not invasive but passive, it would be a better experience

if those problems are solved it would really be a great website for papercraft

The best thing we can do in these situations is to encourage people to know the legal forms of papercraft, such as encourage people to migrate to papermodelers from simple builders to experienced designers to publish here and not on pirate sites, also show them other pages or legal groups like this people know this hobby better

In this way, we could win this battle, since we can not only win by denouncing piracy, but also provide legal knowledge to people so that they can develop better in this hobby.

For that reason I only upload my recolors and modifications of my models to papermodelers and to the facebook group "World aviation papercraft" since I want to make this page and other better places for papercraft known

I hope you understand my point

no to piracy and yes to the legal

[FRD]

All useful information, maybe I need to do a search and see if any of mine are "out there" since I got hacked back in 2019..

[Petestein]

Unfortunately Mr. Juan Angel, piracy is inevitable. This is because technology, internet, free software and any other issues allow it. And card models are a real a minimum share of this problem. In other words, this industry has the size of a virus as compared to other piracy issues such as films, software, music, books, etc. etc. We just have to live with it and the only thing we can do is just ignore it and not promote it. It is a case of "If you can't beat them join them". Case in point, torrents for downloading films. A few years ago the whole world tried to eliminate torrent servers like Piratebay with no success. The owner went to jail and they had to release him a few months later. Another fully legal and very popular page is YouTube. You can download very easily thousands and thousands of films and music. And YouTube is legal. And to download videos there are several software, some paid, some free BUT ALL LEGAL that allows to download any video from YouTube including music anf films. And these are real big industries, not tiny ones like card models with only a handful of customers. I've mentioned all this to demonstrate that piracy is something we have to live with and as stated above, the best way of reducing it is not to promote it in any way.

[airdave]

Originally Posted by Petestein

I've mentioned all this to demonstrate that piracy is something we have to live with and as stated above, the best way of reducing it is not to promote it in any way.

yes you've mentioned this many times.
And once again, you are COMPLETELY WRONG.

So many wrong statements in your post.

Piracy of paper models is inevitable ONLY if you allow it. Why don't you do something to help stop it?

We don't all have to live with it. You just choose to do so because it benefits you somehow.

Agreed, promotion can be detrimental. Thats why we shouldn't broadcast the location of pirated material.
But discussing it, making people aware, helping people understand the value of buying/downloading the real thing...is what we must continue to do.

You (and others) keep suggesting that others do the work to reduce the need for piracy.
Like, make their work more accessible, cheaper, free, more widely distributed, etc
Why should they?
You already know what is pirated and what isn't...so why don't you stop downloading it?!
You are the problem, not them.

This is because technology, internet, free software and any other issues allow it.

Thats like saying 'GUNS ALLOW YOU TO SHOOT PEOPLE". Ridiculous statement.

We just have to live with it and the only thing we can do is just ignore it

Ignorant statement. Literally.

A few years ago the whole world tried to eliminate torrent servers like Piratebay with no success. The owner went to jail and they had to release him a few months later.

Torrents still exist to this day and are commonly used. Most browsers now have integrated torrent handling.
Piratebay got in trouble for allowing the P2P sharing of Music Movies and Child Porn because going after the actual file sharers proved too difficult.
It wasn't because they were a torrent server.
And you can't blame PirateBay for not being able to control what YOU share.

You can download very easily thousands and thousands of films and music. And YouTube is legal.

You can only download videos with a Premium YouTube paid account. And even then, you are limited to videos that have been made available for download.
Videos are submitted to youtube by the artist directly, so they agree to youtube's terms.
The artist is in control of whether their video is available on youtube, not some Russian or Chinese pirate.
There are many aftermarket youtube downloaders that are full of malware and tracking software....they aren't put out by or approved by youtube.

So, you are wrong again!