1/72ND SCALE MODEL KIT L-410 TURBOLET BY GAVIA AND KP
In March of this year, the L-410 Turbolet kit in 1/72 scale was released under the Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) brand and entered the market. Upon comparing this kit's mouldings with those of the Gavia kit of the same type and scale, we have concluded that the KP kit is a direct copy of the Gavia kit released in 1997. The KP kit was created using plastic parts of Gavia kit based on master model made by Michal Vlačilík and Petr Podvala, the owners of Gavia company. The author of the KP kit most likely utilized mouldings that were acquired several years ago by owner of KP, Mr. Petr Muzikant as part of a delivery from the toolmaking company Pavel Vandělík.
1/72ND SCALE MODEL KIT
L-410 TURBOLET
BY GAVIA AND KP
Michal Vláčilík
Petr Podvala
Pavel Vandělík
Vladimír Šulc
In March of this year, the L-410 Turbolet kit in
1/72 scale was released under the Kovozávody
Prostějov (KP) brand and entered the market.
Upon comparing this kit's mouldings with those
of the Gavia kit of the same type and scale, we
have concluded that the KP kit is a direct copy
of the Gavia kit released in 1997. The KP kit was
created using plastic parts of Gavia kit based
on master model made by Michal Vlačilík and
Petr Podvala, the owners of Gavia company.
The author of the KP kit most likely utilized
mouldings that were acquired several years
ago by owner of KP, Mr. Petr Muzikant as part of
a delivery from the toolmaking company Pavel
Vandělík.
The ownership rights to the Gavia L-410
Turbolet 1/72 scale model, moulds, and mouldings
are outlined as follows:
The master model was created by Michal
Vláčilík and Petr Podvala in 1997, and they hold
the copyright to it.
• The mould was made by Pavel Vandělík and
is owned by his toolmaking company registered
under his name.
• The authority to use the mould for moulding
production is held by EDUARD
-
MODEL
ACCESSORIES, spol. s r.o. (Eduard) under
contracts with companies Gavia and Pavel
Vandělík.
• In practice, this ownership structure works
on the principle that if a third party, such as
Mr. Muzikant a few years ago, wishes to purchase
mouldings of this or another Gavia kit, they
can acquire them directly from company Pavel
Vandělík with the consent of Eduard.
• Should someone desire to utilize the original
master or mouldings for modification and create
a new master for mould production, they may
only do so with the agreement of the copyright
owners, i.e., Michal Vláčilík and Petr Podvala.
The mere purchase of mouldings does not
grant the purchaser the right to modify them,
create their own set of moulds based on a copy of
them, or sell their own kit based on the original
mouldings. We deem such practices unethical
and deceptive, particularly misrepresenting
a kit created in this manner as the author's own
project.
Michal Vláčilík, one of the authors of the Gavia
kit, assessed the level of similarity between the
Gavia and KP kits:
“A couple of days ago, I acquired a new plastic
kit of the Let L-410 Turbolet aircraft in 1:72
scale, released under the brand Kovozávody
Prostějov, located at Nad vápenkou 364, Křenice
u Říčan, 250 84, Praha - východ, with the ID
No.: 43643060. According to the trade register,
it belongs to the self-employed person Petr
Muzikant. Even before comparing both products,
I received information indicating that these
mouldings closely resemble our kit of the same
aircraft and scale, which we introduced in 1997
under our brand GAVIA. This kit marked our
inaugural release and shortly after its launch,
it received the Model of the Year award at the
1998 MODEL HOBBY show.
The original master model for our kit was
developed in our studio specifically for the
purposes of plastic kit production, as it was
commissioned by Let Kunovice, the company
manufacturing the actual L-410 aircraft. The
creation of the master model for our kit involved
collaboration with Let Kunovice's design
department and was based on drawings provided
by the aircraft manufacturer.
I opted to compare the mouldings of both kits
with the aim of describing the differences or
similarities between the two products. Here's
what I discovered:
1. Fuselage: Besides a slight alteration in the
bow side plan and a few engraved lines, the
mouldings are virtually identical.
2. The similarity in the shape of the windows
on the fuselages of both kits provides a clue
for assessing whether the KP mouldings are
a replica of the Gavia mouldings. These windows
were individually shaped by hand on the Gavia
kit mould, each possessing a unique shape.
Replicating these shapes precisely becomes
nearly impossible, but it appears that the
positions and shapes of the windows on both kits
are identical.
3. However, the KP kit features technically
primitive holes for affixing the windows to
the fuselage, accompanied with distinctive
flashings. This aspect, on one hand, complicates
the comparison of the fuselage parts of both
kits, albeit it is not impossible. On the other hand,
it renders the task of cleanly affixing the
windows to the fuselage essentially impossible.
The presence of flashings on the parts serves as
one of the indicators of a poorly executed copy of
ARTICLES
INFO Eduard34
April 2024