Concerning Fitz (Darkesword2020)

EVO3

Hunter
For those of you that dont have 501st access, here are pics that Fitz posted up of him destroying the ODST recast helmet mold.

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I would say that these pics are an admission of guilt.

We had been following this project from the start because of the helmets suspicious origins. We had information from the original maker that led us to believe it was a recast. Yes, it was brought up a few months before, but just because a few people cleared him, it didnt mean he was off the hook. Due to the fact that he didnt have any WIP pics beyond that lump of bondo. Not to mention that there was no way he could get the finished product he was showing from said lump of Bondo, it just didnt add up. It was the last set of helmet pics he posted that sealed this case.

Just to clear things up; this was never a witch hunt. It was a group of artists trying to protect a fellow artist and bring forth the truth. I think that for the most part, we made our case and we appreciate the support that we got from here and other forums. That being said, calling us the "self appointed recast police", is not productive, but rather, counter productive.
 
I studied the pictures extensively on this, much like most Fett fans will do. Scrutinizing scratches, angles, shapes, tells, etc and its a really sad day to see someone do this on someone elses hard work.

Incredibly disheartened. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
 
it wasnt posted on here, but over on 405 and RPF.

weeks ago when the 1st recasting allegation was called out - I withdrew from teh INT list. THis was the DS2020 and Link ODST.

most people considered that cleared. But got a pm from the other artist saying that there was no definitive proof, but he suspected that there were similiarities to his helmet and Fitz's. I pm'd Fitz again asking to be removed form the list and for more proof. With no reply until this stuff from NZ.

The NZ allegation was cos DS2020 had used a suspect recast rube helmet to prove he hadnt recast Links helmet - heh go figure !!!

in my own experience of this affiar - the allegations of recasting never went away really. I was also waiting on Fitx himself to offer an an explanation.

I am glad I found this out before parting with any money.

aside from the piccies - it would be interesting if Fitz offered any explanation as I have yet to hear from him in private or in any forums?

Nate
 
Evo3,

Clearly my post was not taken to heart by those who it was intended for as you are the second person who thought I my comments were directed at you when they were not. It is GOOD when a recaster is called out and made known to the community. It helps protect the community and ensure its longevity. However, if one goes back and reads the two 405th threads from an unbiased standpoint, while darksworde's recasting seems to have ultimately been true, the way in which it was handled and the utterly reckless accusations and unjustified "facts" that were stated is deplorable. I know that the friends you run with seem to take an "ends justify the means" attitude, but in my opinion, right up until Ruze posted his comparisons, the evidence was highly circumstantial, yet some were already pounding the nails through darksworde's hands for the second time.

You say this wasn't a witch hunt and I am sure it wasn't, but if not, it sure gave the impression of one based on a number of the posts made on the 405th. I am sorry you feel my comments were counterproductive but it annoys to no end to see how some of these issues are handled.

You have my sincere apology for making you believe it was you I was referring to specifically.

And, thanks for posting up these photos from the 501st thread.
 
aside from the piccies - it would be interesting if Fitz offered any explanation as I have yet to hear from him in private or in any forums?

Nate

We have sent darksworde an email asking him to explain himself (as he is no longer able to post or PM here). If he responds and doesn't mind it being posted, we will make it available for the membership to read.
 
He just explained himself on the 501st Legion forums and admitted to recasting the helmet:

FitzAdmits.jpg


Sometimes reviewing if something is recast is gut feeling and sometimes it gets messy. Sometimes its wrong and sometimes its right. Theres no perfect science to this matter on any forum for any costume.

Being tactful? Definitely. However, anytime the word recast is thrown up to a captive audience of readers, someone somehow is going to take exception to it, regardless if they are invested or not. Its more so ugly and messy if its something someone wants regardless of the price, means or nature of the situation.

I am happy this time the gut feeling was right and it has spread throughout the costuming community. Its seems more and more of the gut feelings are paying off when original creators look and see their work is being schilled.
 
aside from the piccies - it would be interesting if Fitz offered any explanation as I have yet to hear from him in private or in any forums?

Nate

Not to be disrespectful here gents (and ladies) but he did it to sell copies and make money. Its an old story and does not need repeating. I agree with Art Andrews here, it is all about the way you handle it. We are not animals we live in a civilized area of the world. In the end the facts will determine ones outcome.

The part that gets me is that he went thru all that trouble to pretend he was sculpting something. Then he tried to sell it to the people that would recognize it the quickest. You all say he is a kid so I assume that is where the stupidity lies. I say thank goodness that it is all behind us. :cheers

Now, lets party!



-G
 
Aww man. I hope Fitz can rectify this and make good. This a powerful lesson that I hope he learns from, and hopefully he will become a strong advocate for the protection of artists original works from recasters. I'm appalled and I am with EVO 110%. Fitz is young, and I had the pleasure of meeting his mother and brother at CIV and I was impressed with his enthusiasm for the hobby. I am not condoning his alleged actions, and he is going to have to redeem himself in a huge way. The destruction of the molds is a step in the right direction. Wow, this a toughy
 
I'd just like to add, about the whole "recasting police" thing. None of us ( and by us, I mean a small group of friends who share information, none of consider ourselves police of anything) were involved in the first accusation, that was solely done by another odst helmet sculptor, and with just cause. The original image shown looked exactly like one of his helmets, it was later discovered that the visor used belonged to this artist (Link). The "recasting police" never got involved until the artist that was recast (Rube) made a thread saying "take a look at this" Anyone who knows anything about sculpture could instantly see what was going on. This is a win for the good guys. No witch hunts, no speculation, just pure and simple photographic evidence and threads all over the internet showing the same deception on the part of the recaster. Seriously, who posts a WIP thread in for sale sections across multiple sites with nothing to back up what they've made? It was obvious from the outset this project was just about someone trying to make a bit of cash.

The way I see it is, if you're smart enough to try to hide a recast helmet by changing its details, you're probably smart enough to sculpt the thing yourself. You cant hide a sculpture from its original maker. When you sculpt something like a helmet, it burns itself into your memory. You recognise all the little things you wished you'd changed or parts you weren't quite happy with. You can take a blowtorch to it, make an awful mould and pour up terrible collapsed casts but, you'll never hide its origins from its maker. You could put a Clonesix an EFX a Java and my Ep2 helmet along side each other, and you could cover them in mud and we'd ALL be able to spot our sculpts straight away. This goes for any sculpt.

As for the 405th, a portion of membership there is probably a bit younger than a lot of other forums due to its subject matter, some of the posts are probably fuelled a bit more by the impetuousness of youth to put it politely. The threads on 405th have been edited to contain only facts now. The evidence in this was not circumstantial. It was like a photo of a person robbing a bank. the person in the photo could claim its not them but what would a jury think? I think this was handled well. When I brought this up here, I did it knowing full well what was going on, I gave people links to the information they needed to form an educated opinion on the matter. I didn't do it to destroy the recaster, I did it to destroy his sales.
 
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Sometimes reviewing if something is recast is gut feeling and sometimes it gets messy. Sometimes its wrong and sometimes its right. Theres no perfect science to this matter on any forum for any costume.

...

I am happy this time the gut feeling was right and it has spread throughout the costuming community. Its seems more and more of the gut feelings are paying off when original creators look and see their work is being schilled.

CGClone,

Gut feelings are an incredibly important aspect of our hobby. Without it, we wouldn't have a lot of information we have. However, one of my personal pet peeves is people who pass off "gut feelings" as if they are undeniable fact and that is some of what I saw in this situation... gut feelings being passed off as truth... and it isn't the first time we have seen this kind of thing. That is reckless and dangerous.
 
Gut feelings without real facts typically develops into slander which converts into litigation. Proper risk management is key to resolving any issue. Fortunately in this case, there is enough evidence to call foul on the situation.
 
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