Maker of things.... And what to do

[Drftfan[501st]]

When Is it acceptable to recast something? We all know who maker of things is on eBay. Well I received a set of his armor before I knew better. He won't allow returns and been struggling to even make this a display able suit. It is so thin and flimsy I have had cracks from on the face plate and the ab plate.

I just am really irritated at this guy. He is just flat out ripping off people. But I am pretty sure his armor is recasted from what I have read. So if you had the capability of making yourself castings from it would you do it? If you weren't selling it....

I just want to make something decent from it before I end up just throwing this pile of plastic away.

[Locitus[Admin]]

You'll be spending more money recasting makerofthings than you would buying a new kit from a reputable seller.

[gazmosis[501st]]

I have been in your shoes!! I own a set of that armor. It IS recasted from TE2 armor. Although the molds are accurate the materials and the way they are prepared is another thing. His styrene is WAY TOO THIN to be used for anything but a display piece. His claims that of total accuracy down to the thickness of the materails are great....for display pieces. Although it looked great when it was done, I needed 7 repairs to my armor after my first troop. If you take your time with the plastic...handling it like glass, your new display can turn out nice. Just be thankful you didn't spend $700 or $800.

[TK_LEPER]

Buy a new suit ... casting and mold material are very expensive. Plus you would need a large vacuum forming box. Be cheaper just to get a new suit. Sorry bud. Don't be afraid to ask us what you should get before you buy. Good luck!

 

J

[RogueTrooper[TK]]

You'll be spending more money recasting makerofthings than you would buying a new kit from a reputable seller.

 

+1

 

You will easily spend over a 1000 bucks in materials to make molds and plastic, plus rigging up a home made vac table etc....

 

The only thing I know to do for reinforcing the styrene TK parts, use Loctile plastic epoxy with layers canvas or Duck cloth. You can get the both the Loctile epoxy and the canvas/duck cloth. Lot of work.

[Drftfan[501st]]

I already have a new set of armor on order. Getting it from tray. I think I may just put this back up on eBay and resell it for whatever I can get out of it.

[Griffin-X[TK]]

I already have a new set of armor on order. Getting it from tray. I think I may just put this back up on eBay and resell it for whatever I can get out of it.

 

Bummer...sorry you had to go through this ordeal.

[bobojuice]

If you really want to use the armor you have now, you can always reinforce it with fiberglass. This would be a lot of work to do every piece but would be easier than recasting it. Not to mention cheaper.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

We should put MOT on the same known recaster/avoid list as PT and the rest of that ilk. We have a Where to Buy, we should have a Where to Avoid as well. Even TE could be on there too for taking money w/o delivering.

[RogueTrooper[TK]]

We should put MOT on the same known recaster/avoid list as PT and the rest of that ilk. We have a Where to Buy, we should have a Where to Avoid as well. Even TE could be on there too for taking money w/o delivering.

 

I was working on that this yesterday when I had to stop because my Norton fraked up and shut down.....

 

I will post the list Where to Avoid the next day or two.

[gazmosis[501st]]

_{I am currently using my MOT armor for a display on my mannie. I bring it to cons to go with the 501st booth. All it's good for really}

 

[QuickQuests[TK]]

i purchased this armor.. yeah it's really thin. I fixed the problem by spraying truck bedliner on the inside. it thickens up real nice. DO NOT USE FIBERGLASS. The heat from a hot glue gun is enough to make this stuff warp. Imagine what fiberglass would do.

 

it's wearable... but is now pretty beat up ( 3 years later ) i'm currently turning it into a Sandy. I bought a new armor set that is actually made from ABS

Edited November 2, 2012 by QuickQuests

[TKheehaw[501st]]

Purchaed the same suit also... Its good practice for later builds, but it is pretty thin and crack if you sneeze on it.

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

a little update, i dont think he sells armor anymore cuz of us lol. either he made a new ebay account or just stopped selling armor..

 

btw, is styrene that thin stuff they make those extremely cheap 70's style masks for kids from?

[Momma Bear Trooper]

Have you thought of turning it into a Death Trooper. That way the more beat up it gets the better.

 

If you are still interested in selling it I might like it for a Death Trooper.

[Drftfan[501st]]

This armor is long gone. I emded up throwing it out. Yep really

[gazmosis[501st]]

He was still selling as of 4 months ago. He bought and recasted and RS Props suit.  He hasn't been seen on ebay in a few months, though.

[Matt Cutshall]

He’s on ETSY now. I unfortunately just bought my first armor set from him before I did my research. This sucks . Not really sure what to do now as I’ve spent over a month getting it ready for 501st approval 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 minutes ago, Matt Cutshall said:

He’s on ETSY now. I unfortunately just bought my first armor set from him before I did my research. This sucks . Not really sure what to do now as I’ve spent over a month getting it ready for 501st approval 

Do you have a build thread, have you followed the Stormtrooper CRL.

 

Although we frown on recasters some of those makers armor could/may be able to achieve basic approval, having a build thread is a great way to receive feedback and comments on what you may need to change/update 

[Matt Cutshall]

Just now, gmrhodes13 said:

Do you have a build thread, have you followed the Stormtrooper CRL.

 

Although we frown on recasters some of those makers armor could/may be able to achieve basic approval, having a build thread is a great way to receive feedback and comments on what you may need to change/update 

I think I’m just gonna buy another set from a good seller. I know what to avoid now. Guess I’ll just sell this set or use it as a display 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

7 hours ago, Matt Cutshall said:

I think I’m just gonna buy another set from a good seller. I know what to avoid now. Guess I’ll just sell this set or use it as a display 

 

My first set of armor (before I knew better) was MOT.  While waiting for my AM kit to arrive I built it anyway for the experience.  Ended up listing it on ebay as a "Halloween costume" and it sold in 3 days for exactly what I paid for it.

I would suggest sticking with one of the makers on our Vetted seller list.  Quality products/quality service.

[Matt Cutshall]

4 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

 

My first set of armor (before I knew better) was MOT.  While waiting for my AM kit to arrive I built it anyway for the experience.  Ended up listing it on ebay as a "Halloween costume" and it sold in 3 days for exactly what I paid for it.

I would suggest sticking with one of the makers on our Vetted seller list.  Quality products/quality service.

That’s what I plan on doing as well

[BigJasoni[TK]]

So I had an interesting conversation over the weekend about this. Someone reached out to me asking about an ROTK accessory. I asked them who the maker of their armor was because the sizes they were providing seemed very odd, and they replied that it's a "scaled 3D print kit from Makerofthings." I haven't found the STL files yet, but if what this person told me is correct, Makerofthings has taken their recast of @jimmiroquai's work and scanned it into 3d files. I'll keep looking, but it's just another thing to be aware of, especially since 3D printing is becoming a popular option.

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

It's sad to see what lengths some unscrupulous re-casters will go to to take advantage of someone else's hard work.  He even states this in his ebay listing:

"This suit of armor was cast from a set of armor I own".  Yeah, one you bought and copied, but at least he's honest.

 

His pulls are terrible (I can say this because I bought one years ago).  Soft lines, oversized bucket, well... the list goes on.

 

In his defense (if built correctly) it does make a somewhat fairly good Halloween costume.. that is is you don't mind the "bobble-head" look.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Here's his Etsy page

https://www.etsy.com/in-en/shop/makerofthingsStudio

 

R1 TK here 

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/829688401/star-wars-rogue-one-minban-stormtrooper?click_key=461aa9bde02bb5884e1232ab36b049a7da58b75e%3A829688401&click_sum=2ea27017&ref=shop_home_active_7&sca=1

 

I do recall a conversation in regards to recasting Jim's kit, a while ago.

 

And here it is from Jim himself