Armalite Arms David

This ad by American gun company Armalite not only has seriously offended some people in Italy (in particular the director of the Accademia Gallery where the David statue is located, who says that the ad is disrespectful to Italy's dignity and culture) but also has got them lawyering up. Because in Italy the likeness of a work of art must apparently be licensed by the government for commercial use. Even if the work of art is over 500 years old. [guns.com]

     Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 12, 2014
     Category: Advertising





Comments
If they want to talk about defacing art then lets start with where those 'fig leafs' on all those old statues came from.

Anyhow, the Greeks repelled the Italians in WWII and they didn't have one of those peashooters David's holding.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/12/14 at 10:37 AM
Rather than being upset about their using an unlicensed image, I'm screaming at the blasphemy of calling the AR-50A1 a work of art. It's one of the ugliest guns ever produced.

If you want a beautiful weapon, pick an SVD or a Weatherby auto shotgun. Classic lines.
Posted by Phideaux on 03/12/14 at 11:48 AM
Maybe it falls into the realm of 'performance art', Phideausx.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/12/14 at 11:57 AM
How seriously can one take a country that changes governments once a month?

As far as art is concerned, the 50A1 may be ugly but when you really need to reach long distance, form follows function.
Posted by KDP on 03/12/14 at 03:03 PM
The 'art' is in the craftsmanship and technology that will let you "reach out and touch" something the size of a soccer ball that is 10 football fields away.
Posted by tadchem on 03/12/14 at 03:13 PM
Maybe they should have armed the Venus De Milo.
Posted by BMN on 03/12/14 at 03:18 PM
I love anything guns. My collection continues to grow. Most people would think I'm already crazy for as much as I have.

P.S. Patty: I'm still working on that M203 add-on for subby he liked of mine for him. I think he should only shoot the pink powder shells

🐛
Posted by BrokeDad in Midwest US on 03/12/14 at 04:53 PM
BMN, that is worth a boo and a hiss.
Posted by KDP on 03/12/14 at 05:46 PM
They just gave him a bigger penis with a larger load, that's all.

No pink powder!
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 03/12/14 at 07:35 PM
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. An SVD is nice, in a Kalashnikov kind of way, thought about building a PSL myself for a while, but I always thought almost every shotgun was butt-ugly. There are some truly hideous adaptations to make an AR15 street legal in fascist NY and CA. Note also, the "AR" in AR15 originated with Armalite as well, vs the misconception many hold that it means "assault rifle". That AR50 though, so hot it gets my hormones percolating. I'd almost get one just to shoot it once. Bucket list kind of stuff. Oh, and speaking of fig leaves, they've added one there as well.
Posted by Mr Evilwrench on 03/13/14 at 01:19 PM
If I look at 'art' as meaning craftsmanship and technology, ArmaLite is nowhere in my view. Their marketing/PR is astounding, however.

I've shot their AR-10 and AR-30A1. Both are heavier than I like, chunky/cumbersome in appearance and handling, and no better than a lighter 50-year-old SVD with similar range.

I got similar groupings at 300 meters with all 3. The ARs widened at 500 meters. I had trouble getting on target at 750 meters with the AR-10, had a wide grouping (at least 2 MOA) with the AR-30A1, and still held to less than 1 MOA with the SVD. (Caveat -- I'd shot the SVD twice before, about 10 rounds total, so ~maybe~ my experience with it helped.)

I'm not a fan of their overall style -- angles instead of curves, slots instead of coves. They look, to me, like they're built with Lego and spray painted.

If you want to experience .50 caliber, I suggest an M2 (Browning)! That's an experience!
Posted by Phideaux on 03/13/14 at 03:02 PM
Well I don't recall David being hung all that well, you know in the manly way. But that badass.50cal makes up for it in a big time. In particular if you prefer guns to sex.
Posted by Gator Guy on 03/13/14 at 08:19 PM
That's what I'm saying, I'm more of an angles guy rather than curves (at least with machinery, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more) but I sure don't begrudge anyone else their aesthetic. I'd like to fire a real 50s AR10 (seen one and touched it, but no joy) rather than one of the retro-engineered AR15 ones. Have to be satisfied with my G3s and the Ishi Enfield. Isn't the AR30 a .338? Sounds like it's not living up to the round's potential. Shame for such a spendy rifle.
Posted by Mr Evilwrench on 03/13/14 at 08:45 PM
Here I am coming from California and not owning a single gun, must be one of those "fascists" they talk about.
Posted by F.U.D. on 03/14/14 at 03:45 AM
Nah, you're just living under it. I have some cousins out there, one of them even owns a gun store. I don't know why they stay. Go see what you *can* buy and do, maybe you'll understand. Hey, the laws here in IN are pretty wide open but I still have all that federal crap to wade through. The states can definitely make it worse, though.
Posted by Mr Evilwrench on 03/14/14 at 05:08 AM
Just because you don't own a gun and even if you don't believe in the right to bear arms you're not a fascist until you attempt to appose your beliefs upon the rest of us.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/14/14 at 06:16 AM
Or the other way around
Posted by F.U.D. on 03/14/14 at 08:05 AM
No, gun owners don't seem to have an organized outcry and point some accusatory finger at non-gun owners claiming that they MUST own a gun.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/14/14 at 10:03 AM
Dude, seriously, where does that come from? If someone doesn't want to, no problem. If they try to tell me not to, problem. Maybe there are some pros that are as much schmucks as the antis, but our guys are pretty much live and let live.
Posted by Mr Evilwrench on 03/14/14 at 10:34 AM
I Think it comes from my upbringing. My old man was LAPD. Him and every other officer I met always said they´d rather face a bad guy with a gun instead of the guy next door who just loved his "collection" This from someone that slept with a loaded 45 under his pillow.
Posted by F.U.D. on 03/14/14 at 12:47 PM
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