I wasn't going to chime in on this thread but, I've been watching it and have had my opinion on it as well.
In my opinion anyway, it seems as though everything's gotten quite heated and perhaps blown a little bit out of proportion.
Patience . . . I think we all have patience, and we can wait. That's not necessarily the point though.
Whether it was intentional or not, and I'll choose to believe that it wasn't intentional, Lee's first posts came off to a lot of people with a holier than thou attitude. Some may not have read it that way, but there were a lot of people that did read it that way. Like I say, with a week's distance away from it all, I'll choose to believe that it wasn't intentional, but, that's how it came off. Then to top it all off, it seemed as though the people "defending" his posts were the ones getting their bucket's painted him. Whether the case or not, it gives off the impression of an elitist air. Which is something I don't think anyone wants.
But now, everyone's backs are up and it's going nowhere. Lee feels like he's being attacked, and a lot of the board is feeling like the spirit of the board isn't being followed.
I agree with Soju . . . this board is a great place to hang out with like minded people. We share our ideas, and everybody chimes in to try to make everybody's costume better. And, I think that TDH has done a fabulous job with that. That's why I think a lot of people here got really frustrated when someone seemed to be saying "I found the perfect paint, anyone can buy it in a store, and I'm not telling you what it is". It just seemed to go against everything TDH was here for. If we wanted to look at people's helmet's without sharing ideas, we can just go look through the member database at 501st.com.
And, I agree with Natty, TDH has almost always come through on being a helpful place to come. I specificially avoid RPF for the same reasons that Natty said.
My own opinions . . . well, I, like Soju, know myself that I've answered any question when asked, and almost everyone else I've ever asked for help, they've helped as well. I even put blueprints of my work up before I even had the first one off the line!
I think that a lot of people have had that great experience here. And that's another reason that people's noses might have got a bit out of joint. It's not something we're used to here. Someone saying they have the answer, yet seemingly (at the time, that's how it seemed), unwilling to share. So, patience, that's fine, we can exercise patience. If for no other reason than we have no choice.
Myself, I'm still going the custom mixed route so . . . take your time!
hehehe
And the argument about paint being the same as the calc pad . . . I don't buy that for a second. You're talking about an object that's 25 years old and not readily available compared to a paint that's been said can be bought right off the shelf. But, that's my take on it, take it for what you will.
I guess all I'm trying to say is, is that it some really bad and cryptic wording has led to this, and both "sides" (for lack of a better word), have had their feelings hurt by this.
Lee, your paintjob is fantastic . . I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Simply stunning.
Let's leave the arguing to RPF!
Jer