Fighting the Pirates

I am still plugging on with the Napoleonic infantry.

I have finished the base colours - well I say finished because when you are painting 35 men, you keep finding details and colours that you have missed.

The issue of piracy has hit the wargaming headlines lately.

Bols has been running various pieces on the subject, highlighting the activities of various Chinese websites. And today Tabletop Gaming News has a story about GW getting into a spat with Pirate Bay, regarding the latter offering 3D print files.

No doubt this will be good news for the modern day Robin Hoods who have no scruples with regard to their plastic crack. And quite possibly feeds their wet dreams about GW going bust. But I find myself how much of this is reality, and how much of this is simply that 3D printing is the 'new thing' - like 3D films.

I realise that I am a grognard about many things but I really don't buy the idea that 3D printers will be widespread. And I certainly don't believe that they will be used in the way suggested by futurists for printing trainers or car parts or whatever in people's homes. After all, according to the futurists home printers would be used for printing the family photo album, but the various printing shops and terminals in chemists testify that claim to be false.

And continuing in grognard mode, when I started out in wargaming there was a wide selection of games available, but there were huge chunks of history and various genres that were not covered at all. I have watched the hobby grow to the situation we have today in which you can fight virtually any conflict that you want. Profit certainly played a part in the development, but the main driver for the growth was the passion of the people designing and producing the fiigures.

But then the numpties that buy this knock off gear are not bothered about that.

Anywho...

I have wondering how people that care about the hobby can fight back.

I suppose you could grass them up to the customs/police, or even perhaps send their personal details to the company they are stealing from - so that should a napster style trial occur thhey will find themselves up before the beak.

A simpler way to express your distaste is not to play them. That will give them plenty of time to have fun counting the few bob that they have saved destroying the hobby.

peace:)