casting-, modeling- Materials?

First off. Don't get your panties in a wad just because someone has a more lenient view on a topic than you. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And there's no reason to go making threats about my status as a buyer on this board. This is the kind of attitude that spawns abortion clinic bombers. It's childish and stupid. If you want to argue a point you don't do it by throwing a tantrum. I'd love to hear the other side of the argument, but so far none of you have attempted to type a civil paragraph on the matter. Let's be civil. I love the TDH and I'm sorry if I offended anyone. But I'm open to listen to your views as well. Hell, you might have a compelling argument that could change my mind on the subject.
 
Darth Mule said:
First off. Don't get your panties in a wad just because someone has a more lenient view on a topic than you. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And there's no reason to go making threats about my status as a buyer on this board. This is the kind of attitude that spawns abortion clinic bombers. It's childish and stupid. If you want to argue a point you don't do it by throwing a tantrum. I'd love to hear the other side of the argument, but so far none of you have attempted to type a civil paragraph on the matter. Let's be civil. I love the TDH and I'm sorry if I offended anyone. But I'm open to listen to your views as well. Hell, you might have a compelling argument that could change my mind on the subject.

I think my comment was cival.
I used the Napster example which can sum it up perfectly.
Napsters excuse for being able to transfer and download songs and media VIA a free shareware service was determined to be stealing. Their argument was that they were "Sharing" the media with others so it wasn't technically stealing because there was no profit involved. The lawmakers determined that even though they weren't making a profit, they were damaging the original artists by taking the profit of their labor away.
The issue of recasting is clear that if you spend the time to sculpt, research and produce a final product, you are hopeful that someone will buy it from you because that is the way you intend to share it with others. Nothing hurts more then when you produce a superior quality and accurate product to show up at a convention and find a bunch of people walking around in poorly recasted versions of your helmet you never authorized the production of. That happened to CloneSix. Now, the prop community has lost one of the best helmet and armor producers due to the fact that he refuses to make them anymore because it will just end up in the wrong hands to be recasted again.
If you can't afford a superior quality helmet, attempt to make one yourself or save your money until you can afford that one you originally wanted. Otherwise, your only selling yourself short.
 
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Thanks E2K13. I understand completely. I don't mean to come off as defending recasters. I definitely find it more than a little unscrupulous to profit off of someone elses work. As far as the sharing bit goes, I can see your POV, but I also see why people would do it. So, I guess if anything that brings me more to an ambivelant standpoint on the issue. So, when in doubt I'll have to side with the artist. My personal area of expertise is more with the soft parts of a costume. I'm an experienced cutter/draper and stitcher working in a theatrical costume shop, and things are a little different with clothing. You just need some good pictures to reproduce someone's backbreaking effort on a garment. Which is what we here on TDH have done with our favorite bounty hunters. So, you could say my world is a little more loosely governed.

And just in case anyone is wondering why I'm so familiar with recasting methods. It's because we do it all the time at work. You have fifteen characters wearing the same medallions, jewelry, or whatever. You learn to recast your pieces to stay under budget. I've recast my teeth twice for two different severed heads. Not really all that interesting I guess, but I have a great recipe if anyone ever wants to carry their dismembered head around for halloween.

Again, I apologize if I offended anyone. I'm not here to make enemies. Quite the opposite actually. And we have so hijacked this thread. Bad us.. Oh well. ROTS tonite baby!!!
 
speaking of the starter kit from that website, does anyone know how much resin, etc comes in it? i checked the website but it just says whats in it, does anyone know how much exactly of each thing? thanks.
 
hello there, I am completely new to this site and this is my first post. i found this thread irresistable to reply to. I find it ironic to argue about someone copying someone else's cast which is actually a copy of an original design created by lfl or an artist who worked for lfl. It's just bizarre. In that sense all the casts/ sculpts that we are producing are still copies of someone else's orignal design, are they not? i think that logic dicatates that these are all copies regardless if you used your skills to create it from scratch or not. You are still trying to create a 'likeness' or 'facsimile' if you will, of something that has already been born out of the mind of another artist. Therefore we are all casters and recasters. Just my opinion and no offense to anyone intended.
 
Recasting hurts the hobby, plain & simple. Why is it the most accurate stuff is the hardest to acquire? It is because certain artisans are reluctant to sell to unknown members for fear of their work being ripped off. I understand the argument that everything we are replicating is the intellectual property of LFL, but if someone has spent 100hrs researching, sculpting & prototyping a prop, they should not have the fear that someone is just going to pour silicone over it & offer copies. And might I also add that every additional generational copy decreases detail & introduces subtle variances in size & quality. Just look at the Mystery Helmet. There are some very nice ones out there but some of them are just plain crap. That is my 2 cents, for what it is worth.
 
I can't stand the idea of someone making a profit from something that I had put a lot of work into. But at the same time if I sold someone a helmet I had made from scratch and they copied it solely so they could have another one to try another paint scheme then I do not see the problem there. As DM said what is done in the privacy of the home and for that one individuals personal use is one thing, but if they then offered them up for sale on a regular basis then I would have a problem. I think if you are considering recasting anothers work for your own purposes you need to consider the artist and show them some respect.

I'm sure I heard of one of our members here agreeing to having their work copied for someones personal uses.

Thats just my opinion, please feel free to discuss this.

Dan
 
I've said it before, & I'll say it again.

People get all up in arms about "recasters" because the "artisans" who "create" these products for sale (without any licensing rights from the actual owners, i.e. LFL) are losing money.
They are not making a profit off of their "hard work" & feel they should be getting some kind of remuneration for it.
However, they seem to have no problem gaining income off of someone else's creativity & hard work (LFL or it's employees), who actually OWN the legal right to sell that work in the first place.
Apparently, it's ok to rip someone else off, as long as someone else doesn't rip-off what you've already ripped-off.
If you want to make something and don't want it to be recast, keep it in your own possession. Don't let it get out into the public.
If you've "created" it , then sold it, then you are being just as "unscrupulous" as the person who recasts it and sells it without your "authorization" (which is something you never got from the Legal owner to begin with).
So quit pointing fingers and crying about how wrong & unfair it is.


To summarize, let me give you a quote from the ol' King James
Matthew 7: 1-5
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Mk. 4.24
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
 
slave1pilot said:
If you want to make something and don't want it to be recast, keep it in your own possession. Don't let it get out into the public.

This is a very valid point.

If you do take the chance to make money out of an idea thats not your own original concept, then its highly likely that someone else will try to do the same as you and even cheat the system by shortcuting the process...

Its wrong!.... but its also inevitable...:angry

The only safe way to be untouched by this inevitability is to keep it purely for yourself and not to give people the opportunity.

Or ...

see it like Andrew Ainsworth does, who states on SDS's website...

"It is a shame that so many of the supposed question marks raised over my current production have come from the very people who have had the benefit from capitalising on my original work over the past years. This I find quite complimentary and wish them the best of luck with their endeavours."


Basically, if your product is the best available then you shouldn't feel threatened by the wannabe's and just keep on trucking...;)

Mason.8)
 
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Hmmm...I definantly think is wrong for people to recast and sell for a profit. I need gauntlets real bad right now, and had opportunities to buy Ruffkin recasts for a lot cheaper. Now, they were probably not the same quality, but were probably good enough for me. I decided that I respected a builder too much, to give my money to a recaster. Now the other side of the coin-should someone who buys a helmet, be able to recast a copy, just for there own personal use? Hmm...not sure where I stand on that, I can see both sides. Should someone who buys a CD, be able to create a copy to keep in their car? Or make mp3's of that CD to have on their computer?
 
I originally had this big huge post to give you all on my feelings on recasting... but I have deleted it and posted this instead.

Dont do it to make profit, dont scam, and dont piss off the original makers.. and your fine in my book.
 
Casting a single copy for your own personal use doesn't really hold water in my book. By the time you buy the materials, silicone, resin, etc., you could have probably purchased the original item. Then there is a learning curve to go through where you may or may not have crappy copies & waste. Going through all of the trouble & expense of moldmaking is only worth it if you are making multiple copies.
 
i think if i had sat down with a pile of materials for 100 hours plus to make an original interpretation of a prop, i would be gutted to know some one had just copied it and passed it off as their own...its a moral issue for the recaster i suppose, all your doing is ripping off the original artist...
 
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bigkidbiggertoys said:
Casting a single copy for your own personal use doesn't really hold water in my book. By the time you buy the materials, silicone, resin, etc., you could have probably purchased the original item. Then there is a learning curve to go through where you may or may not have crappy copies & waste. Going through all of the trouble & expense of moldmaking is only worth it if you are making multiple copies.

Kind of hard to argue with this logic. The cost in making a one-off would seem to be counterproductive. Buy an original instead. No fumes, no mess, just the exact prop you wanted. (y)
 
Hey just wondering since this has pretty much gone to recasting, is the FX stormtrooper armor in the same boat as the mystery helmet or is there a definitive person who sculpted it. just wondering because i've seen multiple people/places selling them
 
Okay, back on topic.

Anyone know where I can get one of those starter kits. That site does not ship to Alaska (jerks, no more oil for them)
 
If I want to make something from scratch and have nothing but pictures to go by I will obviously need to make a prototype out of something. What material would you recommend if I'm making a prop from scratch? After that, I know people mentioning casting, molding, etc... but I haven't a real clue where to start any ideas? Thanks!:cheers
 
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