Ramshackle_Curtis wrote:Yeah, Tony said he had done research on it.

When I first researched future Marines I hunted around for info on the use of the USMC name and all that goes with it. Unfortunately, I was looking at really dated info because a couple years ago the Marine Corps got TOUGH with their trademarks including "USMC", "US Marines", "United States Marine Corps", "Marines", and the globe and anchor logo! The info I DID find at the time led me to believe it would be no problem. Coupled with the fact that there were also so many other miniature companies using the terms USMC and US Marines it didn't seem like an issue, and I didn't bother pursuing it further. Bad Tony.

Luckily, the "new" (2009) trademark laws were pointed out to us RIGHT before we printed the boxes today! To make sure we don't run afoul of USMC branding, I've reintroduced an idea from the original timeline and we've removed any reference to USMC, US Marines, and the glove and anchor logo, etc. to steer clear of any issues. Thanks to some hard work by our printing company, we can move forward with redesigned boxes without missing a beat.

So what are these changes and what is the UAMC? I had always envisioned the USA in Alien War being larger than today's 50 states with the incorporation of Mexico and a few other bits...but had thought to just keep it as the United States of America. This inability to use the USMC name brings us back to the idea that the name of the country should really change when a merger of the magnitude I had in mind occurs. And this is a merger in the true sense of equal partners coming together in our future timeline. Hence - the United Americas are born.

The United Americas was formed during the late 22nd century in the aftermath of the Central American War (2168-2173). That conflict sprouted from the national governments of Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala fighting off Andean-backed Neo-Feudal insurgencies. The Andean Confederation was originally comprised of the former nations of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador but had grown in the mid-22nd century to include Panama, Costa Rica, and El Salavador. The Andean Confederation, a Neo-Feudal state, was a member of the Free People's Coalition for Mutual Benefit - supported by Imperial China as were dozens of other client states across the globe. At first the conflict was nothing more than any of the dozens of other "Small Hots" that constantly broke out across Earth and the Off Earth colonies, but that changed quickly.

As the Central American state governments faltered against the well-armed and coordinated insurgents, Mexico, assuming it was next on the list in the ever-expanding Andean Confederation, went "all in" with their own military. It was the perfect excuse for the Andean Confederation to commit their forces under the guise of "peacekeepers".

Mexico was quickly put on the defensive and ultimately pushed back across it's own southern border. Anonymous vid and "reports" of atrocities by Mexican troops against their own citizens gave the Andeans all the legitimacy they needed to move troops into the Yucatan Peninsula.

Impotent protests came from across the world and even from the mostly defunct United Nations of which neither Mexico, China, or the Confederation were a member - but the Andean advance was inexorable.

United States President Tess Nakamura, responding to urgent requests for assistance from the Mexican president, invoked the near-forgotten Monroe Doctrine and committed US forces to Mexico's defense. Faced with the potential for total war against a military peer, the Chinese-supported Andean forces backed down and "transferred" responsibility for "peacekeeping" to the United States.

By the time this played out, new Neo-Feudal regimes had been installed in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras with formal admission to the Confederation and in turn the Free People's Coalition for Mutual Benefit - i.e. client states of the Chinese Empire. The Central American nations joined dozens of others in South America, Africa, and Asia already part of the FPC. The southern Mexico border became the most militarized stretch of land on Earth with US and Mexican forces in the north and an Andean Confederation and Chinese line troops in the south.

This new Andean/Chinese threat and the American response effectively super-charged the already existing "Special Relationship" that Mexico and the US had developed throughout the 21st and 22nd centuries. Starting with NAFTA in the late 20th century, the two nations had slowly removed nearly every barrier becoming in effect a North American version of the European Union (although that entity didn't exist at this point of course). With linked cultures and parity between standards of living, Mexico and the United States were essentially operating as a single mega-country in everything but name. The new and apparently permanent Andean/Chinese threat became the catalyst to move the relationship to its logical conclusion - integration.

Still, over 20 years passed from the time Representative Jacob O'Brien of the US and Senator Ruben Javier Macias of Mexico presented their joint Articles of Union until the treaty was finally ratified by both nations. While many in both nations worked hard to come together, there were also many incidents of unrest, outright revolution, and massive exoduses of groups Off Earth who wanted no part of the conjoined nation.

The Articles of Union were signed on September 16, 2197 which also marked the 387th year since Mexican independence from Spain. A new nation comprising 85 states and 2 federal districts with a population of over 1 billion was born - the United Americas.

One of the most difficult challenges for the process of union was the integration of the various branches of the military. One branch that had very little difficulty was the United States Marine Corps as the Mexican equivalent was wrapped directly into the merged Coast Guards of the two nations. The official name change took place on November 10, 2197 to ensure that the "Marine Corps Birthday" remained unchanged. Although there were protests internally and from former Marines at the changed name, the reborn United Americas Marine Corps is truly a direct descendant of the USMC retaining all its traditions, organization, and function as America's first responder on Earth and Off. Today, over 62 years later, UA Marines still man the no-man's land that is the southern UA border with the Andean Confederation - affectionately referred to them as "The Rot" and "El Sudor".

****

There you have it - a further peek inside the history of the Alien War universe leading up to our present year 2260.

I am sad we can't have just good ol' fashioned Jarheads running around Bug Hives - but the UAMC is the direct inheritor of their traditions, espirit de corps, and "attitude" - so I don't think I'll miss them THAT much. A big thank you to the fans who caught this and let us know - I've passed the info on to a couple other wargame manufacturers who also seem to be in violation. If you know of any other armed forces - especially German, UK, or French that have similar restrictions on name use - please let us know. We'll make sure to have a lawyer look into this in the future as well as much as that pains me! ;-)

CptJake wrote:.Copy right laws haven't changed that much and the USMC has always been particular about how their symbols and name are used.

Here is a policy letter from 1997. http://www.marines.mil/news/publications/Documents/MCO%205030.3B.pdf You want to us to believe that Tony complied with that even if he didn't comply with current procedure? If he did, he would have had approval, even if it was done a long time ago.

Sikil wrote:Doesn't look too bad, but females are easily done with headswaps and maybe some adjustments in arms and legs lenght and mass...

Gear tend to be uniform regardless of sex. Thou the ones with larger chest-departments might have special issue torso-armour... (read larger size or maybe a different cut to accomodate for the non-standard body siluette. )

AlexHolker wrote:

Sikil wrote:Doesn't look too bad, but females are easily done with headswaps and maybe some adjustments in arms and legs lenght and mass...

Gear tend to be uniform regardless of sex. Thou the ones with larger chest-departments might have special issue torso-armour... (read larger size or maybe a different cut to accomodate for the non-standard body siluette. )

Not this garbage again. Please, educate yourself.

lord_blackfang wrote:That's supposed to be a concept sketch? Looks like the doodles I did in high school, not something I'd want to show potential customers.

Brother SRM wrote:

lord_blackfang wrote:That's supposed to be a concept sketch? Looks like the doodles I did in high school, not something I'd want to show potential customers.

It's a concept sketch, not a finished drawing. It's just blocking out the general shapes/silhouette of the model.

Blackhoof wrote:at least she does not have ridiculously huge breasts.

AlexHolker wrote:

Sikil wrote:Doesn't look too bad, but females are easily done with headswaps and maybe some adjustments in arms and legs lenght and mass...

Gear tend to be uniform regardless of sex. Thou the ones with larger chest-departments might have special issue torso-armour... (read larger size or maybe a different cut to accomodate for the non-standard body siluette. )

Not this garbage again. Please, educate yourself.

Brother SRM wrote:Here is said model for the work blocked and/or lazy:

Ramshackle_Curtis wrote:

MrMoustaffa wrote:
OT: The boxes are being printed as we speak! And there's also a bit of a sneak peek at the bugs' boxes as well.

Yeah, except they used the Marines logo and name, which is a bit illegal, so now have to reprint the boxes. More delays, no product, no painted examples. The guy who runs this company seems to me to be taking money and not shipping a product.