One:
"Even a cursory glance shows they at least used it as a reference."
No. You have no evidence they used the PL hull as a "reference". Looking at a model to understand how someone else designed the ship and using a model as a reference to copy their design for one's own ship are two *very* DIFFERENT things.
And *copying* their design is the very *explicit* meaning of your statements:
"So did they just base it off PLs 350? ... if this is just a metal version of the same kit….seems kinda shady"
In other words, the only "shady" thing here is your straw man:
"I had not meant they cast the plastic kit and reproduced molds for casting.
Since I never referenced "casting", you 'poke' me here on the basis of a falsehood. 'Casting the plastic kit and reproducing the molds for metal casting' is NOT the only way to copy a design (aka "base" a design on someone else's design; create another "version" of the same design for a different material). In other words, I did not commit the fallacy of equivocating between "this is just a metal version of the same kit" and "cast the plastic kit and reproduced molds for casting", as you just did.
Of course, since you now declare you were aware of at *least* ONE of the *major* design differences I mentioned *before* you declared TOMY "seems kinda shady" - ie since you now declare you *knew* TOMY had NOT 'shadily' copied the design of PLs 350 (aka since you KNEW they had NOT 'shadily' made "just a metal version of the same kit") - one is left to wonder *why* you spoke as if you did NOT possess that knowledge.
I leave you to explain that contradiction to anyone else here who might be interested. Myself, I am not interested in (worse than) baseless aspersions. As such, IF you have actually ordered one of TOMY's ships, I hope you enjoy it when it arrives. On the other hand, if you have NOT ordered one, I hope you are not too disappointed by that fact - now or in the future.
Either way I take my permanent leave of you with a 'Goodbye and fare thee well'.
