DMCL DIECAST CHARGER RELEASE DATE POSTPONED

[model maker]

Well, i was waiting for the DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY diecast car to be released in December 2012 however due to some licensing problems that is now on hold. Too bad me being the  LAST owner of the # 2 movie car back in the 1970's i could have a say so on this however, the "movie name " is what they look at & when they use the name of the movie to sell merchandise, the licensing must go through whoever they can find has the licensing rights. It may be 20th century fox OR could be American International pictures or even another 3rd party. NOW if they didn't USE the name of the movie, perhaps it could be released under the title of BERTS yellow Charger and not describe any more detail & would require that SOMETHING be visually  different on the Charger such as removing the # 440 from the stripe "MAYBE" or something that could very easily be scratch built/modified AFTER the point of sale & advertising could NOT make ANY refrences to the movie or movie name or any of the stars of the movie. Just a thought.
Bert

http://www.supercar1.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5951&zenid=dm79afna3l8s5eqjehj4bquav0

[Ghoste]

Well that is just crappy news.  Personally I am willing to wait a little bit if they can straighten it out.  No offense but a diecast that is visually slightly different in a box entitled "Bert's Yellow Charger" isn't going to appeal to me nearly as much.  I have several of the official version on pre-order but if it is going to be a diluted version then I am down to only getting one and even at that it will become a maybe.

[model maker]

I also saw a notice on the supercar collectables site that from now on, WARNER BROS. will no longer allow for the confederate flag to be on general lee diecast cars or any other merchandise that WB holds the license for. Try selling general lee cars with no flag.
bert

[hatersaurusrex]

I also saw a notice on the supercar collectables site that from now on, WARNER BROS. will no longer allow for the confederate flag to be on general lee diecast cars or any other merchandise that WB holds the license for. Try selling general lee cars with no flag.
bert

Shoot they took the flag off the model box years ago, even though the decal still came in the kit.

Guess I should by a GL before they're all gone.   The one I have now was half-assed, they took a 69 C500 model kit with chrome cragar style wheels and just painted it orange with the decals.    My bro got it for my birthday many years ago, he didn't know the difference.

[Ghoste]

The sad part is, the people they will please by removing the Confederate flag are not going to now suddenly buy a GL diecast.  Its an extremely tiny part of their business, so small as to be almost not noticeable, but all they do with stupid pc crap like that is make it smaller.

[model maker]

I agree Ghoste, it ticks me off to a point i really dislike the phrase "politically correct " what the hell does politics got to do with it  lol
they will have to sell a correct size decal that will need to be put on the car or they will not be able to sell them. the confederate flag is a state flag and just because some knuckleheads carry it, it gets targeted. I bet the GL owners here have to be very careful where they park their chargers only to come out of the store and find someone keyed it.
Bert

[Dino]

I agree Ghoste, it ticks me off to a point i really dislike the phrase "politically correct " what the hell does politics got to do with it  lol
they will have to sell a correct size decal that will need to be put on the car or they will not be able to sell them. the confederate flag is a state flag and just because some knuckleheads carry it, it gets targeted. I bet the GL owners here have to be very careful where they park their chargers only to come out of the store and find someone keyed it.
Bert

State flag?  Uhm no.  Some states fly the battle flag along with their state flag but the confederate flag is so controversial because of why it even exists, the seperation of north and south.  It's the opposite of the stars and stripes.

I think a lot of people don't know why so many can't stand the confederate flag or even why the civil war happened.  I still don't get why WB decided to use it in the first place but since they did it is utterly moronic to now remove it from the diecasts, 30+ years after airing the show.  Too little too late.   

[Brock Lee]

They sold a gazillion General Lees of all sizes up this point. There are plenty to go around used. What is more likely to happen is a bogus market will evolve due to folks hoarding them creating a vacuum. Then a aftermarket will develop where people will sell decals to convert, or convert the flagless ones to resell.

[model maker]

i heard warner bros. hasn't started doing it yet but they have discussed it and we are still waiting to hear anymore news. they have been quiet for awhile & are concentrating on other things that are really more important.

[Brock Lee]

This would not be the first time, so I am not surprised. They digitally removed the flag from the model boxes in the 90's. Then made new covers where the top of the roof is no longer visible. 

[Ghoste]

The whole thing is just moronic.

[model maker]

I agree Ghoste, now for the DMCL charger waiting for licensing to be straightend out is going to be too long of a task as there was more than one studio involved. On my charger, the registration was NOT 20th century fox as they did not own the car, it was a secondary film company whose name escapes me now. As the car being released without the DMCL name that could be a real posibility as it is NOT what the thing looks like but rather the NAME that is put on the box and in advertisements that counts & needs licensing. over at one of my hobby forums, there are aftermarket products for tv show models that IF the name of the show is used it must be licensed however, to get around the license issue, the aftermarket parts maker uses a generic name such as saucer lighting without naming the tv name of that saucer then is able to sell the same parts without  permission or license issues, does this make sense ? I owned that car, it was mine bought & paid for and it was parted out after i let it go and the people who had it last had no idea what it was or where it came from. hopefully that charger can be released one way or another. As for the general lee, i don't know how the makers of the cars will do this, perhaps let the buyer put on the decals and offer the flags as seperate items to be purchased after. the studio could do nothing about it then.
Bert

[Dino]

I vaguely recall that John Schneider had to name his GL Bo's General Lee to not get in trouble with WB.  What's up with that?  There's so many of them, does that mean you can't call it a GL even if it has the name on the roof?

[Brock Lee]

He did that to make the ones he "built" stand out.

It has been said that WB lets a lot slide. But what it really boils down to is there isn't enough money being generated to warrant any legal action. It has been said, and could be valid that there is nothing there for them to secure (common military rank and name, standard number, cannot secure a flag or coat of arms in a design, Chrysler owns the Charger design, etc), but they could outspend most anyone in appeals and other legal actions to make the arguing parties life miserable. That is what they used to do in the 80's when someone would sell "lookalike" products. But the Dukes made them a lot of money then. Now it simply is not worth the time or effort. Today the worst they do is send a cease and desist letter if they think you are profiting off Dukes, but rarely goes beyond that.

[Dino]

He did that to make the ones he "built" stand out.

It has been said that WB lets a lot slide. But what it really boils down to is there isn't enough money being generated to warrant any legal action. It has been said, and could be valid that there is nothing there for them to secure (common military rank and name, standard number, cannot secure a flag or coat of arms in a design, Chrysler owns the Charger design, etc), but they could outspend most anyone in appeals and other legal actions to make the arguing parties life miserable. That is what they used to do in the 80's when someone would sell "lookalike" products. But the Dukes made them a lot of money then. Now it simply is not worth the time or effort. Today the worst they do is send a cease and desist letter if they think you are profiting off Dukes, but rarely goes beyond that.

I totally forgot he used to build cars and sell parts, does he still do that?

Good info, thanks!   

[Brock Lee]

Not lately. The one he sold at Barrett Jackson a few years back was going to be his last, but a couple years ago he said he may have the Collier and Company jump Charger repaired and built up. Not sure if he ever went ahead with that. 

[Dino]

Not lately. The one he sold at Barrett Jackson a few years back was going to be his last, but a couple years ago he said he may have the Collier and Company jump Charger repaired and built up. Not sure if he ever went ahead with that. 

Is that when he crawled up on the roof and started singing?  I hope they deducted the cost to fix the roof!

[Ghoste]

That would be the one.
As for the DMCL diecast, or any movie diecast for that matter, it's a movie car and for me personally, if the diecast maker is unable to package and promote it as a replica of the movie cat then I am just plain not interested.  It would be nice to hear the thoughts from our friends in the diecast business on this because if its true that they may not be able to release it with corresponding packaging or a slightly "altered" look to the model itself then I need to cancel my pre-orders.

[hatersaurusrex]

I agree Ghoste, it ticks me off to a point i really dislike the phrase "politically correct " what the hell does politics got to do with it  lol
they will have to sell a correct size decal that will need to be put on the car or they will not be able to sell them. the confederate flag is a state flag and just because some knuckleheads carry it, it gets targeted. I bet the GL owners here have to be very careful where they park their chargers only to come out of the store and find someone keyed it.
Bert

Bert, it doesn't even take a giant flag on your roof for that.   I bought an 04 F150 several years back nearly new, beautiful black and chrome XLT truck with the 5.4.   Drove it for a few months, then parked it one day at my brother's house in Antioch, TN.  I had a Lynyrd Skynyrd air freshener (kickass!!!) which had the band's name embossed over a 4"x3" rebel flag hanging from the rearview.  Big deal, right? Came out to find the truck keyed from the taillight up to the driver's door.   I couldn't believe it, and it took me a minute to figure out why anyone would do that, but then it dawned on me, he lived in an 'ethnic' neighborhood.   To many of us in the south, the Confederate Flag is just a symbol of the south, but apparently others don't take it that way.

[model maker]

Talk about hatred, the people that keyed it seem to have more hatered in them  than they blame on the rebel flag, i am sorry tht happened to you.
Bert