KB reportedly closing

[shashachu[TK]]

(Delete if not allowed.)

 

This situation is unfolding as we speak, but based on a couple Facebook posts from the official KB Props account as well as comments from Hal, the owner of the shop KB was working out of, and Kevin himself, KB is closing and anyone with outstanding orders should reach out to PayPal.

 

 

 

 

 

[pixelArtsProps]

Feel Free to read the full breakdown here...------------

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[camprandall]

Yuck. How unfortunate. There will be a lot of troopers in a pinch over this.

[heartstopper85[TK]]

Good lord what a mess

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Tickle421]

Sad that my first post is for this. I found KB through here and placed an order, thankfully using my PP CC last week. Just filed my first ever claim to get refunded. I feel badly for the guy, but its a lot of money and one can't just "let it go". Guess I'll see how my Anovos "interest list" pans out. Good luck to everyone.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Tickle421
Poor grammar

[heartstopper85[TK]]

Yikes anovos is still taking orders? At least you get money back from them eventually but they have just as much drama behind the scenes 

[Harbinger[IPM]]

I don't think Anovos is taking orders right now, no. Even if they were they're pretty slow to deliver on them. FO optiins are slim unfortunately, but there are plenty of makers for OT kits (see here).

Edited May 7, 2018 by Harbinger

[tkrestonva[TK]]

Oh boy ...

[Tickle421]

Anovos is not taking orders, but I see more than a handful of people have cancelled after waiting so long. I figured I'd get on the interest list and perhaps when they start shipping I can get in on one. I thought they had shipped and almost lost some money on ebay, but got that back, only to try and get one from KB and now get that money back. There are worse problems to have in life, but I want to be a FO trooper. Or 25 again.....

[PunkRocketScience[501st]]

This is most unfortunate...  I've been waiting for my kit since their Black Friday sale last year...  Been told repeatedly "it is shipping this week" only to hit this newest dip on the roller coaster ride...  What really stinks is all the other bits and pieces that I have collected to go around the armor that are now useless...

[pixelArtsProps]

7 hours ago, Tickle421 said:

Sad that my first post is for this. I found KB through here and placed an order, thankfully using my PP CC last week. Just filed my first ever claim to get refunded. I feel badly for the guy, but its a lot of money and one can't just "let it go". Guess I'll see how my Anovos "interest list" pans out. Good luck to everyone.

Tony if you paid PixelArts, I have a kit for you. If you paid KB then I cant help. But I hope it was a payment to PixelArts... in which case I have a kit for you. Mostly.

Contact me at The Sandbox:A PixelArts Studio on FB or at [email protected]

 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Sad and unfortunate for all involved.

I hope some how, some way, Kevin can get everything back on track.

[starsaber25[Admin]]

Yeah this really is unfortunate.  FOTK vendors are very limited as it is.  To lose another one would be very sad. 

[shashachu[TK]]

The latest: sounds like KB will be staying open. If it were me I'd wait a bit for things to stabilize, but hopefully he can turn things around. Maybe some sort of run system will work better.

 

 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Well that is a promising turn of events, lets hope he can make it so.

Kevin does struggle with some demons as well, so support is exactly what he needs right now.

It can come in a simple post on his FB to say Hi and and glad to see you are working on a solution, we are right behind you, something positive at a minimum.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

He's been making kit for what - 10 years now (I had one of his old EPIII clones).  I hope he gets back on track.

[Anzo[TK]]

 I really don't know where the truth resides in this whole mess nor is it my responsibility to find out. I do know that you have laid out a lot of personal stuff in that post about KB that does not belong on this forum in my opinion. It is completely inappropriate to throw all this info out into the court of public opinion. Just as it was inappropriate for KB to character assassinate you on FB. I say go settle it elsewhere.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Anzo

[pixelArtsProps]

I completely agree Anzo, And as I told him when he left, if he did not attempt to libel or slander me, I would not discuss his business issues, but the minute he started lying about me, I was left with no choice but to be completely transparent about all of it. Lets be honest, I was an idiot in this too. I lent a LARGE sum of money to someone with a horrid record of business in an attempt to save someone who really had no provable way to pay me back. I never should have done it. But I also shouldn't be publicly assassinated for it. As soon as KB stops posting misinformation, Ill stop correcting it with complete transparency. 

 

[Pyrates[TK]]

7 hours ago, pixelArtsProps said:

I completely agree Anzo, And as I told him when he left, if he did not attempt to libel or slander me, I would not discuss his business issues, but the minute he started lying about me, I was left with no choice but to be completely transparent about all of it. Lets be honest, I was an idiot in this too. I lent a LARGE sum of money to someone with a horrid record of business in an attempt to save someone who really had no provable way to pay me back. I never should have done it. But I also shouldn't be publicly assassinated for it. As soon as KB stops posting misinformation, Ill stop correcting it with complete transparency. 

 

 

On that note, I’m stepping in to say that AJ is correct that this should be settled elsewhere.

 

This is an unfortunate situation for all those involved - however the FISD is not a means for your rebuttals from your former partner’s negative postings, please keep it on Facebook. 

 

If you wish to disclose those personal details to those who inquire through PM then by all means, but not publicly - as this is simply “heresay”.

 

 

[mikidymac[TK]]

I think without getting personal this is good information for people to know here especially if they already sent money or were going to send money since it sounds like he might still be selling. If a vendor is taking money and not fulfilling orders for any reason I think it should be said here to protect us from making a mistake.

[Pyrates[TK]]

I think without getting personal this is good information for people to know here especially if they already sent money or were going to send money since it sounds like he might still be selling. If a vendor is taking money and not fulfilling orders for any reason I think it should be said here to protect us from making a mistake.

That is why this thread has been revised so that members can still be aware of the current situation, without the public disclosure of personal information here on the FISD.

[Pretzel]

Very unfortunate to hear. I will be hoping for the best for troopers waiting to become a FOTK. 

[tk9948]

As you have all had a chance to read the misinformation, let me set everyone straight. 

I made some sales that were not deliverable due to bad plastic, this situation repeated itself 3 times. I was forced to buy small amounts of plastic (per Sheet), the supplier I use is the only one that sells per sheet. As a result they sent me old stock that was contaminated with moisture, since the 4x8 sheets needed to be cut down to 2x2 , I was unable to return them, hence so many B-grade sales. I handled this poorly and I am to blame for the way it was handled , I take full responsibility.   I was approched by Hal and his GF for a phasma kit, I was paid a deposit the day it was picked up, the balance was never paid. Hal invited me to join his shop, making promises of supplying aluminum holsters for my kits as I supplied him with the file to cut them out. This never happened. During the course of stay at the shop, many promises were made by Hal. At the time of the TLJ premiere we met Shaun , he came into the shop with 40+ tie & At-At kits some built ,most in kit form. He stated he made  the molds for Anovos for the fotks and that he finished the job and took the molds with him, he also stated he had 60+ FOTK sets he was willing to give to the shop as long as he got a cut of the sales. After borrowing money from Hal and wasted fett, suspicions began to surface regarding his legitimacy. As it turned out he stole all the armor kits he had from Anovos/Skin Shop. Hal made contact with Dana  head of Anovos and confirmed what we thought, all kits were returned to Anovos, In Hal's convo with Dana, he informed him that we had seen the new armor and that my molds were being updated as a result, which I posted on my FB page the updates I made. Shortly after this Hal took a Discovery channel job, using my fotk molds to make 5 sets of armor for them. He never asked my permission, I walked in on him pulling parts and the electrician doing the leds there.  Only after I asked Jsin what was happening, as my kits were not being pulled, I found out about the discovery job.  Jsin stated that Hal was going to pay him  for pulling the armor, but he never got paid.  Hal also decided to use my flame trooper molds to make his friend a power ranger or something like that costume, he pulled 5 pieces and heat gunned them to reform them and cut them to fit his frame, but you can clearly see it is a flame trooper chest plate.  Again not asking my permission or offer to reimburse me for using my property. In my opinion he felt that if it was in his shop he had the right to do what ever he wanted......WRONG.  I posted a revenge of the 5th sale on my page with 5 slots on the post, I had 1 interest that I added to the post, Hal answered all the PMs and made 7 sales all with the money going to him as friends and family. This is what caused the end of me being in the shop. He claims he put out all this money, when in fact he asked for a Cardinal set of armor to troop with phasma, he got his kit,  never did he try or offer to repay me. He was wanting to use that balance as my shop rent. I paid 2 months rent and Jsin paid 2 months rent, since Jsin was working under me, a total of 4 months were paid in rent. Hal claiming he put out money for the ABS is a complete lie as it was wasted fett, Geeky Pink and Tristan a good friend  that put the money forward, Hal did not contribute anything to the ABS, he did purchase styrene and petg. Tristan put it all on his credit card, and Hal forwarded the money from WF and GP to Tristan. When Hal was confronted on how the money from sales was to be distributed he got upset because I did not agree with the way he was deciding the split. I told him that he needed to discuss all decisions with me before implementation, he then told me to come get my stuff as he was kicking me out of the shop. As a result he is holding one of my 3d printers hostage saying I own him for the electrical hook up.....there was never any verbal or written contract stating I was responsible for the electricity hook up , Hal said he did not mind spending the money as I was joining him.  I made many mistakes, I own them and am making it right for my customers and myself.  I have nothing to hide, to be completely honest, when all is said and done I will be handling this in a professional manner outside of the forums.

[pixelArtsProps]

Well, Since I don’t watch these boards I had no IDEA we were back to this, but lets cover Kevin’s post one point at a time... 

** I signed and agreement with KB stating I would not speak of his business or his business practices and so did he. However his post now voids that agreement so allow me to retort** 


1. Kevin moved into the shop under the agreement that he might not be able to pay rent the first few months but would make it up. So I agreed to float him till he was a little more liquid. This never happened. Not because KB couldn’t. But because KB simply wouldn’t. He moved in the first week of December. In the time KB was in my shop he paid rent ONE time. Jsin NEVER paid me rent. In fact every time Jsin shipped something for the shop, I re-embursed him, insisting that it needed to be tracked so that costs could be kept straight. And in Mid January took out an 18K loan from Paypal... with which he bought a couple 3D printers and a VERY expensive Gibson Guitar. (We will come back to this) 

2. He is correct. I notified Dana of Anovos we had stuff that Shaun Colquhon had stolen. HOWEVER what KB is *STILL* refusing to acknowledge is that he snuck stuff out of the boxes I was taking to return to recast the parts for himself. To my knowledge the only thing he modified without recasting is the Sholder bells that he straight out traced onto his wood bucks. The knee Caps he currently ships and the Cod Piece I know for certain are recast from the kits because I confronted him about them. That brings us to his “Special new cast TD”. KB Kept one of the Anovos TD’s and their TD Plate. I found this out when he used 1/2 of one of my DragonSkin30 5 Gallon kits to make a mold of it. Many of you still have it. And in fact KB is still shipping the TD Plate because I have seen it in the posts of kits going out as recently as last week. I kept the mold of the TD he did in DragonSkin and I destroyed it. Because I do not support re-casting.  When I found this out KB was still in the shop and I made very clear I was not ok with this. KB ignored me. This is why Jsin did all the pulling of Armor, and I did Casting. And I never once rolled or pulled a recast part. I will not do it. FURTHER MORE: KB’s Patrol helmet is a re-cast Black Series helmet. He sold them for 250 each. Over and over again showing he has no problem re-casting. 

3. The Discovery job... AGAIN... I took a job from Discovery. I am a working Professional Prop and Costume maker. Discovery Approached ME. I told KB what I thought would work best and KB went so far as to pull bucks from HIS HOUSE out for me to use. HE was offered 1000.00 for the use of his bucks. He would provide no labor, materials or time to it. HE AGREED. The number of suits is immaterial. I told him I would need to use them for a week. And he was so amicable to this he offered several suggestions as to how I would mix and match parts. 

4. In the course of “Helping” KB I purchased plastic for him 3 times, I shipped kits twice and I purchased molding and casting materials twice. As he has shown over and over KB does not understand the efficient running of a business. Shipping cac cost upwards of 500.00 to send 5-8 kits depending on where they are going. And Casting materials were a 1000.00 trip every time I went to Reynolds in LA. Trips for plastic from Polymershapes were between 800 and 1000.00 a trip as well. 

5. Jsin was offered 25.00 an hour for his work. But he needed to keep track of hours and I wanted him to do 2 10 hour days. He came in for an hour and a half the first day, 2 hours the second and an hour and a half the last. HE was offered cash for it and he insisted that I keep it to help cover KB’s groaning tab. 

6. Speaking of his “Growning tab” KB offered infront of several members of the “team” to give me a 3D printer in exchange for some of his debt. I agreed I would take off 2500.00 of the cost as it was a broken and used printer he bought from the company at CES. 

7. Let’s cover the “”Flame Trooper” parts kB wants you to believe I “Stole”. KB left in such a huff he left 4 boxes of soft pulled parts in my shop. There is a wide variety of trooper parts and pieces in there. And in order to re-coup costs for my mistake of lending him a dime I will use the abandoned parts in anyway I feel like.

8. As for the split of kits at the end, it was to be 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. KB insisted that after everyone laid out thousands in money for him and were CONTINUEING To lay out money, he be the only person to *GET* money because he couldn’t manage his personal money. When I told him I would not be involved with someone who would not repay his debts, he began trying to covince everyone that this was all me. 

I grow tired of having to repeat this stuff. At this point KB still cant supply everyone their kits and we’ve sailed right past his promised deadline. And we’ve sailed past it because KB only works till noon everyday and has no money to ship anyone’s kits or buy the resin he needs to cast helmets and greebs. I don’t have to keep telling everyone what a shucks business man he is it keeps getting proven over and over. Anyone who wants to see the screenshots of the coversations I have posted before again, I will happily send them to anyone now that I am no longer held to the agreement I signed with KB (Which can be seen on the Sandbox page as a pinned post) 

And just for the record, Ive said this before but let me end with this.

When KB approached me in March to help him he was not communicating with customers at all. He assured me it was only 7-10 kits he was behind and that 3K would fix that. It wasn’t until *I* started talking to the customers that I found out it was 45+ kits and I FIRMLY believe that, had I not made that number public, KB would still be running his Ponzi Scheme now. For anyone who does not believe me.... 

45 kits at an average of 800.00 a piece is 36K 
45 kits worth of plastic is 9K (200.00 x 45) 
He could have ordered Fresh Plastic 3 Times and still have money left over... and tell me, what company do you know that makes you keep defective plastic? Ive been doing Costumes and Props for a decade and there is no company around that will not take back plastic if you can prove its their failing not your own. 

KB is lying to you. And has been, as far as I can prove, since I foolishly invited him into my shop. More than likely much longer than that.   

[starsaber25[Admin]]

Ok so at this point I'm going to lock the thread.  Everyone at this point will be able to believe what they want.  The back and forth shall not continue.