[the emperors flame]

Is it legal to make molds out of the gamesworkshop miniatures, because I'm starting a Sisters army and it would be nice to get some cheap plastics battle sisters. BTW I'm not gonna sell them cause I definitly know thats not legal

[Hadhfang]

nope, sorry.


If it is a small purity seal then the GW police force won't come knocking but I think a whole model is pushing it.

[the emperors flame]

ahh darn. Well it doesn't really matter because I referee for soccer and get 15 dollars a game >

[Fish Ead]

Ahhh a topic as old as the hills. People have argued this for a long time and we've really come up with no definitive answer, both on the legality (I've heard some actual lawyers arguing in favour of it's legaility in the past) and what the company will allow you to get away with. Most GW people I've talked to on the subject agree that casting for profit would definately be a no-no, but they vary on what exactly you may be able to get away with. Some say that the company wont mind if you cast something like a purity seal, others are more leniant and don't seem to mind the casting of entire major components (legs, heads and such. Some seem especially relaxed about hard to get parts). In short the company itself tends to give conflicting signals on the matter (they even had an article about casting purity seals in a WD). I reckon the safest bet would be not to bother, and if you decide to anyway make sure you don't do it for profit.

Also, good casting equipment is VERY expensive and usually just not worth it unless you intented to churn out an entire army of casts (which probably goes beyond the "you would probably get away with it" level). Yes it can be done on the cheap, but the results of such endeavours are usually sub-par.

[Calaban]

Ever since I saw those Stealth Suits recasted as clear plastic miniatures, to simulate the Stealth Field.. I always fell on the 'Hell with GW, if they wont make it for us, then why not make it ourself?' side of this fence... But for personal use only, never for sale.

It really is a stoopid distinction to draw.. where GW sicks the lawyer on someone for molding some models in an extreme conversion.. claiming copywrited material, YET somehow hand painting official GW logos on miniatures is somehow ok. Whats the difference?

[LordDemon]

What I would be most interested in casting would be Tau seeker missiels. They re simple design, so propably not difficult to reproduce, and if you wish to go seeker heavy you need a lot of them.

Id addition, GW doesn't sell them separately(FW does).

[Impulse]

But FW is a part of GW right? So it should be OK.

I have casted mins before. It's expensive (unless your casting an expensive model) and it doesn't always work (pieces dont come excatly right, and mistakes cost a lot in silicone rubber). So, if you're on really tight budget and not an experienced castor, it's not for you.

[kingofmonkeys]

Originally Posted by Calaban

Ever since I saw those Stealth Suits recasted as clear plastic miniatures, to simulate the Stealth Field..

Linky linky please

[Vash113]

Way too late, the pics are no longer available though they had been in here as you can see the pics are no longer hosted or what not. You would have to ask Tonka and I have not seen him around in a good while.

[Spiritbw]

Legal wise, yeah casting any GW part or model is a big no-no. GW's copyright policy is pretty inclusive of a lot of things but i notice they tend to bend the rules a bit depending on what it is. For example, they often show was of making small bitz like purity seals and in one White Dwarf even had a way to make a quick Greenstuff mold press for them. However other than say, scopes, logos etc, they really don't allow it.

Doing a whole model? Only one way I can think of to do it legally. Make a model that is 100% your own sculpt and cast duplicates of it. GW has nothing against doing your own models so long as they are 100% scratch built and not put up for sale. Anything else, even doing those clear casts and only using as many as you own of actual models, still not strictly legal. I doubt they would come breaking down your door if you used them at your own home, but that would still be morally wrong.