ORIGINAL: stuntflyr
There is no air to clear, Dave.
It's all public domain, it doesn't matter who makes what. Wolfgang sold the design to MK. It was all wood at first. That left it wide open to copy in fibreglass by anyone. 5 or more U. S. outfits made one through the 80's with various names, so all of them were bootlegs if one was. Anyone that says they have "permission" is pulling your leg. Don ran it by his lawyer, it's a non-issue.
I know you usually build old kits and restore old models, the Tucson guy was referring to Don's mention of his own kit of the Arrow which is a splash off of another kit from the 80's outfit long defunct. I buy from Don because he's local and a friend, but I think his stuff is tops and he is swamped with orders because he produces.
Chris...
Chris, I'm going to disagree with you and here's a couple of examples:
The company "Year One" makes copies of the 1957 Chevrolet and it's labeled 57 Chevrolet. They pay Chevrolet royalties to do so.
If you make a T-Shirt and put "Texas Rangers" on it, you must pay the Baseball Club a royalty to do so.
If you make a woman's bag that looks like a Gucci and it says Gucci, you must pay Gucci a royalty. If you don't it's called CopyRight infrigement and it's a crime.
Hobby Barn had permission (license) to product the "Magic" in the 80's as it does today. And they pay a royalty to Prettner for using his design and the name.
If it looks like a Magic and bears the name Magic, then it's a pirated copyright. Just like copying Windows 7 and putting it on your computer. It's called "pirating" or "copyright infringement". Which is a crime.
So what Don is doing is wrong. It's someone else's design and their name.
Frank