Rivets / ..... is the sincerest form of flattery .

[up1950s]

http://p.p0.com/YesConnect/HtmlMessagePreview?a=3Cl9iesCZVsaBYGmwhkkBg

[sirenwerks]

No N scale.

[wcfn100]

When this gets to the point where you can upload a custom file, that's a real game changer for sure.

I've been meaning to contact Archer to see what can be done as far as custom files.  Anyone gone down this road yet?

Jason

[Chris333]

I wonder if I can order Micro Mark brand air to run though my air brush?

[reinhardtjh]

It's interesting that the catalog page says it's a "Micro Mark exclusive".  Have they not heard of the Archer rivets?  Are these somehow different enough to be called exclusive?

This announcement also triggered a lively and inflammatory thread in the Yahoo TrainTools group last week.

 John H. Reinhardt

[Hyperion]

It's interesting that the catalog page says it's a "Micro Mark exclusive".  Have they not heard of the Archer rivets?  Are these somehow different enough to be called exclusive?

This announcement also triggered a lively and inflammatory thread in the Yahoo TrainTools group last week.

 John H. Reinhardt

Micro-Mark says that every time they come out with anything that bears their name, regardless if it's actually new or not.  Because, the Micro-Mark branded decal rivets are "exclusive" to them.

One thing's for sure, these are one heck of a lot cheaper than the Archer stuff.  They're cheaper per sheet and come with many, many more rivets.  The Archer sheets are $15-20/per and are a mere 10 sq-in.  These are $10 and come with 118 sq-in and seem to fill up the sheet as well as Archer does, so you're getting 10 times the rivets for 2/3rds the cost.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

It's the same thing they did to NWSL and their tools.

Yes, it makes things cheaper, but at the same time it really hurts the incentive for new companies in our hobby to innovate.

Would you want to start making something new an innovative, just to have these guys come along a year or so later with the exact same thing, at half the price?

[up1950s]

Doesn't a patent protect an invention for 20 years , or does it have to have many moving parts ?

[mcjaco]

Would you want to start making something new an innovative, just to have these guys come along a year or so later with the exact same thing, at half the price?

That's capitalism.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That's capitalism.

And that's not an excuse.

Yes, a patent would've protected it, but at the same time, a patent would've also added to the costs, and possibly would've made it prohibitive for someone doing the thing as a semi-hobby to do so.

What it is is predation, and bad for our hobby, even if it is capitalism.

[Dave Schneider]

And that's not an excuse.

Yes, a patent would've protected it, but at the same time, a patent would've also added to the costs, and possibly would've made it prohibitive for someone doing the thing as a semi-hobby to do so.

What it is is predation, and bad for our hobby, even if it is capitalism.

While I think that Micro-Mark is full of it when it comes to their branding something as an exclusive product, I don't agree with your reasoning here. The Archer surface decals have a copyright on them, which means that you can't just scan their products and reproduce it. They certainly don't hold exclusive rights to the process and there is nothing for them to have patented. Using the logic you apply here only Microscale would make decals, only X-Acto would make hobby knife blades, etc.... I don't agree that this is predation, just competition.

Best wishes, Dave