This is true, in general, but then we have a situation from Mcfarlane Toys who tried to make the DSC phaser and wound up
getting scrapped because of the idiotic "red muzzle" state & federal laws. This is odd to me. There are many collectibles that were made without the red muzzle since the time such laws were passed. The Diamond Select phasers are a perfect example (although the ENT hand phaser did have the red muzzle for some odd reason). Shit, Master Replicas did the ST V/VI Assault Phaser without the red muzzle and it has Baretta M92S parts on it!!
To shift franchises for a minute, literally
all the original (non-lightsaber) Star Wars weapons were modified WWII Brit and German weapons that were adapted to fire blanks! Han Solo had a Mauser Broom-handle; the Stormtroopers used MG-34's and Sterlings and the Rebels used STG-44's Sturmgewehrs. Even a part of Obi-wan's lightsaber used a de-milled WWI Brit rifle grenade!
So, long story short, if things that look like real-world weapons be replicated for "collectible" purposes without "compromising the integrity of the item", why couldn't Mcfarlane? Their stuff looked collectible-quality and could have easily been sold as such.