Masterpiece MP-05 Megatron

Japanese suppliers have started preorders for Takara's Masterpiece MP-05 Megatron in the past couple of days. Retail pricing is set at JPY10,000 or US$105 from NCS. A couple of Japanese toy distributors added the following stipulation to their preorder solicitation:

As you know, there is a Law for the toy gun in USA. Due to the Toy / Imitation Gun Laws, it is illegal for any business or individual to import the MP-05 Megatron because it does not have a blaze orange safety tip on the end of the barrel.

We will modified the Megatron. We will glued a orange tip to the exterior surface of the barrel, covering the circumference of the barrel from the muzzle end for a depth of at least 6 millimeters according to the Toy / Imitation Gun Law.

Since different suppliers sent the same exact text, we're guessing they got it from a single source. Other than the Namco Guncons we imported a few years ago, NCS hasn't dealt with toy guns in any other capacity so we looked up the "Imitation Weapon Safety Act" which states the following:

Certain Replica, Toy and Imitation Guns Restricted.
It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer to sell, possess either concealed or unconcealed, use, attempt to use or give away, any replica, toy or imitation gun which substantially duplicates or can reasonably be perceived to be an actual gun, including, but not limited to, toy guns that have been altered to look like actual guns, unless:

(a) (i) the entire exterior surface of such replica, toy or imitation gun is colored white, bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright blue, bright pink or bright purple, either singly or as the predominant color in combination with other colors in any pattern;
or
(ii) such replica, toy or imitation gun is constructed entirely of transparent or translucent materials which permits unmistakable observation of the replica, imitation or toy gun's complete contents; and

(b) the barrel of such replica, toy or imitation gun -- other than the barrel of any such replica, toy or imitation gun that is a water gun -- is closed with the same material of which the replica, toy or imitation gun is made for a distance of not less than one-half inch from the front end of said barrel;

Due to the law, NCS will only import the vendor modified version of the Masterpiece MP-05 Megatron. It's unclear if the glue they're using will create a super-strong bond with the gun but we're guessing they'll be using the Japanese equivalent of Elmer's and not Super Glue. The vendor modifications will also potentially leave unsightly fingerprints, smudges, and smears on the toy. Sadly, with the current U.S. law in place, there isn't a workaround unless Takara takes the initiative and manufactures the toy with the orange safety tip already on the production mold which is still a possibility.
Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late March 2007.