Steve who runs Outerzone has put a note on RCGroups warning that his site has been cloned - see the full post here https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4863085-Outerzone-and-the-fake-Outerzone-send-in-the-Clowns (https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4863085-Outerzone-and-the-fake-Outerzone-send-in-the-Clowns)
The original site Outerzone.co.uk is still functioning normally Outerzone.com is the one to avoid
Thanks Chris, is it some sort of scam.
I think the issue is someone taking 20 years of hard work uploading the plans and using this as their own site with kit sales tied into it . We don't know their ultimate intentions but it was clearly done without contacting the original Outerzone
The world is full of ratbags. A shame, but t'was ever thus.
I know the feeling well.
It still bothers me when I see a plan from the plan page for sale. They don't even change the "scanned by" note at the end of the article.
Something has also happened to AeroFred - I think some people are looking for better designs for drones.
Seems to be gone by now. I was redirected somewhere.
AeroFred seems to be back online.
Maybe it fought off a threat
Good to see that outerzone (dot) com has gone and all now seems well with outerzone.co.uk (https://outerzone.co.uk)
Thought it of value to provide an update on this issue and explain that this has been a tad more extensive than just a clone of OuterZone...
(Note that the main clone site is www.outerzoneplans.com, not www.outerzone.com)
The protagonist, known to OuterZone as Bozo, has additionally :
- Created five additional domains which forwarded to OuterzonePlans.com
- Cloned VintagePlaneKits.com as VintagePlaneKit.com and created another domain, VPKits.com which forwarded to that.
- Has six eBay accounts, (US based but available in several European countries/languages), five of which sell OZ sourced plans, and one of which (https://www.ebay.com/usr/vintageplanekits) contains material sourced from the VintagePlaneKits Ebay shop.
- Has registered various trademarks including Outerzone Plans and RC Groups...
- Has spoofed his way onto a number of forums to try to defend himself & add confusion to the issue.
- And, to top it all, served a Cease and Desist order on Outerzone;
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=54642861&postcount=67
and harassed Vintage Plane Kits to the same effect;
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=54631281&postcount=27
...in effect claiming they were in breach of copyright etc. for using material which belonged to him !
A summary of the domains & eBay shops referred to above can be found here;
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=54671679&postcount=139
If you do nothing else, I suggest you take a look at the negative feedback on one of his eBay shops;
https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/precisionrckits
...you'll soon get the tone of the protagonist, who remains active on eBay.
The owners of Outerzone & VintagePlaneKits, and some of those who have had their work pilfered from OuterZone, have taken direct action, which has resulted in all eight of ClownBozo's websites/domains being taken down, for the moment at least.
For the rest of us, if we can spread the word and tread carefully on eBay, we can help ensure the resources at Outerzone, and honest sellers like VPK, remain available to the Aeromodelling Community around the globe...
In case you wondered, yes, I have just subscribed to the new HPA Forums - it's unfortunate that my first post is on such a negative subject. I've been an aeromodeller since the '70s, but have been shocked to see such threatening behaviour towards what is typically a most welcoming and supportive community, so felt the need to do my bit.
Impala 52
Thanks for the in depth update impala. Outerzone is a beacon in this era of self serving individuals operating without any sense of concern for others.
John
Thank you to everyone that tries to help us all enjoy Aeromodelling.
Ron
Thanks for the update Impala52 I had not realised the extent of Bozo's activities