The Rothmans Taboo.... [PIC]

30 years ago, I knew nothing about the Rothmans sponsored Porsche factory race team. I was buying Bburago 1/24 kits the build because the kits all have these amazing Cartograf decal sets. This Porsche 959 Paris to Dakar racer is one of 7 built and only one was auctioned for $5.9 million. FYI: The body comes in Porsche dark blue so you can imagine what fun it was applying all these decals was with all the compound curves.

 It wasn't until years later when I bought this beautiful Minichamps Porsche 956L 1983 Le Mans winner that I found out that this beautiful livery was a victim of the FIA ban on tobacco and alcohol sponsorship. This goes back to a recent discussion on the historical accuracy in military models that sport the swastika. The livery on this model strove for as much accuracy possible and replacing "Rothmans" with "Racing" even using identical fonts within the Rothmans logo and crest. I guess in reaction to feedback released the same model in the proper colors without any logos as shown on the revised box art. Now I watched a review video for the same model with a livery-less box art and when the guy opened the sealed box, lo and behold, the model was adorned with all the Rothmans livery. I wonder if this is like WWll German aircraft model where if the model was made primarily for European distribution, Swastikas (Hakenkreuz) are not provided on the decal sheet and sometimes replaced with an angled square. Whereas if its primarily for North American distribution, the decal sheet will have the proper swastikas. Anyway, I love this model but the lack of proper livery just drives me nuts.