[José Fiúza]

Hello all. I was planning on getting this one, as I collect mostly Le Mans-only cars. Can anyone confirm that this Spark model 18LM86 is sold without almost none of its "Rothmans" logo?

http://www.sparkmodel.com/Main/pics/2080/index.html

 

[tonyg54]

Correct, no cigarette advertising on models anymore.

 

[VeeDub Matt]

Correct, no cigarette advertising on models anymore.

Are you serious, Tony? I suppose I can understand this, but it frustrates me that the manufacturer would knowingly tamper with the accuracy of the model!

 

[tonyg54]

It's been that way for years. It started that way with models under $100 (they thought kids were more likely to own them) but then it slowly crept its way up to higher end models. I haven't seen tobacco livery in a very long time on any model.

 

[VeeDub Matt]

I haven't seen tobacco livery in a very long time on any model.

Interesting. I've never paid that much attention to it, I suppose.

 

[tonyg54]

I agree that it does stink that they did away with them but yet allow Red Bull high energy drinks and other things that are bad for you but yet remove a defunct cigarette label on a 30 year old racer.

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[VeeDub Matt]

...yet allow Red Bull high energy drinks and other things that are bad for you but yet remove a defunct cigarette label on a 30 year old racer.

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Good points, Tony. But kids can buy a racer with Jagermeister livery?
Makes no real sense at all.

 

[Craig]

I believe that it comes with the decals on a separate sheet for the buyer to add them. It annoys me too that they aren't already on it!

 

[José Fiúza]

Thanks all for your replies. Part of the reason why I started collecting 1:18s was the "accuracy" factor. All of the above have said everything I could've possibly add. All this reminds me of the German swastika ban on WWII models.

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indeed. I, for one, would never consider buying a high-end model (plane, race car, etc.) for a kid, so I cannot subscribe to the ban on historically accurate models for collectors. I'm sure these (us!) know full well what they're buying and won't feel offended by either a swastika on an Me-109 or a tobacco logo on a famous race car...

EDIT: spelling

 

[ws6_22]

you buy the car and comes with the rothmans decals,are under the car, then you just have to put in to the car

so with the Matra 670B, the gitanes decals are also under the car

comes factory standard,with the decals but without putting

 

[José Fiúza]

Does the same happen with Exoto's Le Mans winning Jaguars?

 

[tonyg54]

Thanks all for your replies. Part of the reason why I started collecting 1:18s was the "accuracy" factor. All of the above have said everything I could've possibly add. All this reminds me of the German swastika ban on WWII models.

Image uploading. Refresh page to view

indeed. I, for one, would never consider buying a high-end model (plane, race car, etc.) for a kid, so I cannot subscribe to the ban on historically accurate models for collectors. I'm sure these (us!) know full well what they're buying and won't feel offended by either a swastika on an Me-109 or a tobacco logo on a famous race car...

EDIT: spelling

To be honest, I bet a good portion of race fans from different countries have no idea who the sponsors really are, Silk Cut isn't a cigarette brand in the U.S. so 99.98% of our population probably wouldn't know that Silk Cut is a cigarette. Same may be said for our brands of tobacco in foreign countries. So the ban on collectibles makes even less sense. That said, I would still happily buy a race car missing its tobacco livery because I love race cars and if I really want to I could buy aftermarket decals.

 

[Sanchez]

What amazes me is that Sun Star applies tampos with tobacco brands on it's models without any censorship

 

[José Fiúza]

Thanks guys. Anyway, as far as I know I don't believe Sun Star's models to be on the same price range as those from Spark, which adds another dimension of "weirdness" to that 'ban-based-on-price'...

 

[tonyg54]

I am sure you will see inconsistencies across manufacturers and that could be due to a number of reasons
1) Reach of manufacturer, I am sure Hot Wheels would be in more trouble if they "ignored" the ban on tobacco advertising than a smaller manufacturer would
2) Licensing, I am sure if a manufacturer could save a few bucks per model by not paying for the Marlboro or West logo under the guise of government bans then they'd probably do it and have you think the government is the bad guy
3) Open defiance, I am sure some manufacturers don't agree with the ban and therefore produce what they want to produce
4) Maybe some markets allow tobacco advertising so they ship the models to one region and then distribute tobacco liveried models from there

These are all just guess though.

All I know is that technically, they shouldn't be on models since they could be within reach of children.

 

[José Fiúza]

Thanks tonyg54. They all seem reasonably to me.

 

[VeeDub Matt]

Definitely some great insight, Tony!

 

[Autobahn]

Tony's thorough explanation makes a lot of sense in my opinion...

Unfortunately, nanny state people can be found in every corner of the world, and I'm sure that's why any display of tobacco advertising (even on collectible diecast cars) is frowned upon.

 

[baonguyen77]

Interesting, Tony! You know too much about model....hehe..

 

[ws6_22]

the car with decals