In terms of miniatures basically all I play are age of sail, so I don't think I have much to worry about. Boeing didn't build Ships of the Line.
I'm heavily into Victorian Science Fiction gaming myself. Fortunately, I can scratch-build just about anything I need. It's unlikely I'll get sued by the contractors who built the Martian combat tripods or Her Majesty's steam juggernauts. However, a lot of the folks I know are into historical or pseudo-historical (NATO vs. Warsaw Pact) tabletop gaming, and I can see this coming home to roost for them.