I’d like to ask you a question, since I’ve been wondering about this for several weeks now and can’t seem to find an answer.
I recently bought a new tube of Tamiya white putty on a local marketplace (like Amazon). The seller was from China, and the price was very attractive (under $6).
After receiving the tube and starting to use it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about the packaging. When I compared the logo colors and how neatly the text was printed with other Tamiya products I have, I noticed a clear discrepancy. A little later, I ordered another tube of this putty, but this time from a more trusted supplier – though x2 the price. As you can see, the difference is clearly visible in the photos.
My question is: has anyone else come across similar case? Or is it just that different Tamiya vendors use different packaging? Until now, I had no idea that Tamiya products could be counterfeited. Unfortunately, there are no official Tamiya dealers or hobby shops where I live.
My initial thought is this: Do both tubes give you the same results?
Let’s say I have a counterfeit $50 bill and take it to the strip club. Was my enjoyment diminished any compared to what I would have received from a genuine $50 bill?
The colors are too dark, the chemical warning sign is missing the flame symbol etc.
The putty may just be the factory that makes the putty for Tamiya making a second run for themselves. Many companies in China will make your product for you, but then continue to make the product for them to sell, competing with your product. Don’t think you will win a patent or copyright case and get them to stop. It could also be made of something cheaper. You will have to test and compare to see if it works as well.
Why not send your comparison photos to Tamiya and ask them if their putty’s manufactured under license in China? The question would at least alert them to a potential pirating issue (if they don’t already know), although I agree with Top there’s little they can do about it if it’s happening. Except adding some kind of hologram security tag on authentic packaging like on printer-toner cartridges, but that may not be practicable or viable.
Reminds me of a Jurassic era joke about the girl who couldn’t tell the difference between putty & Vaseline…the windows fell out
Anyone who works in electronics such as myself is very familiar with Chinese counterfeit parts.
Buying parts on eBay or Amazon Marketplace is fraught with serious risk.
All sorts of chips, etc. are routinely counterfeited. Even electrolytic capacitors have been shown to have smaller capacitance and voltage capacitors concealed inside.
Anyone who knows anything in this business knows NOT to purchase parts from iffy sellers, but recognized electronics dealers such as Mouser or Digikey.
There are exceptions:
A Swedish singer-songwriter, Cornelis Vreeswijk, landed himself in prison on a battery charge.
He had picked up two flirty ladies at some club, took them home, when the clothes came off
he saw that they had dangling bits which no lady should have.
Threatened both with a kitchen knife, one of them got some minor cuts.
Got arrested.
Went to prison.
Half of Sweden said: Yo! You da man!
Before emigrating to Sweden mr Vreeswijk was Dutch, and he is famous here for a song about the love affaire between “the nozem” and the nun…
( Nozem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnoːzəm]ⓘ) was a term during the 1950s and 1960s to describe self-conscient, rebellious youth, often aggressive and considered problematic by authorities in the Netherlands. It was the earliest modern Dutch subculture, related to the Teddy Boy movement in the UK and the greasers in the United States. It was followed by the Provos.)
The Dutch song is a translation of the song he originally wrote in Swedish.
He planned on making a European career starting from his Swedish career.
His parents moved the whole family to Sweden when Cornelis was 12 …
