Credit to u/Exastiken from the r/Megami Device subreddit, who suggested we add an article on this.
The modeling hobby has always been carried by passionate hobbyists. Max Watanabe got his start from making incredible garage kits of Gundam and VOTOMS, parody projects like Lumroid and Pony Metal U-Gaim made careers and money for their creators and of course by now you’re well aware that Masaki Asai had his start making Galaxy Fraulein Yuna models in the 90s.
So it’s fitting then that Megami Device, brainchild of Asai and so many others inspired by these hobbyists, has its own special license (found here in Japanese) under which fans can make their own works. The Secondary License permits the following:
- Creation of fan works based on Megami Device
- Limited sale of Megami Device fan works
- Use of specific Megami Device components
There cannot be recasts of any plastic parts except the following:
- Hair connectors
- Core head pieces (except for ears)
- Chest connectors
- Hip connectors
- Abdomen connectors
Furthermore, the License prohibits the use of the official Megami Device logo, instead granting the use of a ‘Custom Works’ logo (shown above). There are also regulations as to how it must be displayed that roughly translate to ensuring that the “Custom Works” is not obscured or otherwise made difficult to see.
The license prohibits mass production of any of the above mentioned items, and also only covers Megami Device. Trying to sell Megami Device fan works involving IPs that are NOT Megami Device, such as Alice Gear Aegis or Busou Shinki, will require permission from the original IP holders to do so, which understandably makes it difficult, but not impossible, to develop custom works based on the Megami Device kits from these franchises.
However, this still leaves a lot of room for garage kit creators and other fans to develop parts and so there is a robust fan ecosystem containing nothing but unique model kit parts for various Megami Device kits. We mention Muscuto in the original article about Megami Device but they’re only one of very many.
Booth is one of the better sites for being able to find licensed Megami Device custom works if you aren’t based in America. For Americans, Creator Solo directly stocks parts from Muscuto and a host of other artists. In general, you can also find these parts lurking on Mercari, Rakuma, JDirect Fleamarket and Suruga-ya.
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