TM Troopermaster has recast CFO cast from original.

[assimilate]

I'm not surprised in the comments made by my own garrison

It's disgusting

 

Essentially condoning recasting

Disgusting

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Steve, this really isn’t the venue. If you want to take this issue further please feel free to do so, just not on this thread as I would like it to remain about the recasting issue not how any particular unit is dealing with it. 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Paul will have until the end of the week, Friday my time to respond if he so wishes.

After this I will make a statement which will be carried over to Legion boards, then I will be locking this thread.

It will remain visible as part of FISD history for full transparency as per my promise to the FISD membership.

 

Thank you all

Edited May 19, 2020 by Sly11
corrected gramatical error

[walt[501st]]

I know this is a bit off topic.     But I do feel a bit hurt       I don’t consider me a “big” player in the game.  And I have always looked up to Paul.    
 

I will be following     With a heavy heart.  Both for my friend mark    And  Paul  

[sskunky]

Steve, this really isn’t the venue. If you want to take this issue further please feel free to do so, just not on this thread as I would like it to remain about the recasting issue not how any particular unit is dealing with it. 

Actually I think it is about this.

The legion and Garrisons are supposed to have a morel standing. As it stands they couldn’t care less. This speaks volumes of the integrity of its staff. And should be highlighted. They are backing a known recaster saying all TM and recasters do is exactly the same as what I do. It’s so not.

 

This was my response posted on my behalf and I think it explains the difference for anyone that doesn’t quite understand.

 

 

“Some comments in regards to the TM recast saga that have been posted on the UKG forum and it really made me quite upset with some of the opinions about recasting.

 

Let me explain the difference as its clear that some people dont understand what I do and what TM does.

 

It is NOT easy finding, procuring, moulding and casting original Star Wars props and costumes so all of you wonderful troopers can run around in accurate armour and helmets doing the world some good.

 

I spend thousands researching, finding and developing Cast from original props. My original stormtrooper helmet was valued at £120,000. It’s not something that serious collectors like to take apart and mould at a drop of a hat. It takes a long time to get to know these collectors and gain their trust that I won’t damage such an expensive piece of cinematic history.

I then have to design the moulds so that they vacuum without faults. This takes again a lot of time, skill and experience to get right. I spend hundreds of pounds on moulding materials for each mould. Just to put it into context I have made 4 sets of moulds and casts of the Set for Stun ANH helmet trying to get the whole thing to assemble and look like it should. Also the sheets of plastic I go through prototyping all the moulds. This all cost money and time.

You see none of this is done by a recaster. They wait for me to do all the hard work, spend my money and time developing products, finding props to mould for the community. Then they get a mate to purchase a kit and pour clay in the parts.

So your “All I do is cast LFL helmets, it’s no different” attitude really doesn’t represent the trouble I go to and feel an establishment like the UKG should stand up for its trusted vendors rather than ridicule.

 

You all represent the UKG costuming group. Some of your attitudes and opinions do not reflect well in this community.

I don’t expect you to suddenly change your mind. Its your choice of how you view this situation but I thought I should just try and explain the difference. Because there is a massive difference.

Just because TM “makes nice kits” really should not be a reason to condone recasting. If it wasn’t for people like me, RS and a few other quality vendors who go to these lengths TM and other recasters would not be “making nice kits” and you would all be wearing Anovos and rubies licensed armour and helmets.

 

This is my business and main income and I have a family to feed and bills to pay just like anyone else.

So yes, I do do it for the money but I also do this out of passion. I’m a fan and have been all my life.

I am humbled that I am in a position to give a little back to the hobby I so cherish.

 

All the best

 

Mark aka CFO. Cast from original.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sskunky]

I know this is a bit off topic.     But I do feel a bit hurt       I don’t consider me a “big” player in the game.  And I have always looked up to Paul.    
 
I will be following     With a heavy heart.  Both for my friend mark    And  Paul  

You’ll always be BIG in my eyes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rob .T .[TK]]

Trying to stay on topic, I admire and respect the way Daetrin has replied to this thread , and find great difficulty understanding the attitude of the U.K.G. 

SSskunky 's posting above pretty much sums up the situation . 

[sskunky]

So Paul reaches out to me. If you can call it that. 
This all stems from a deep rooted manifested anger against me for something I didn’t do some 10 years ago. 
I’m  not sure if you’ll remember but there were some CDs being sold of the LFL SDS court case photos taken by TE. 
now at this time we were just starting CFO and Matt aka TE owed me money from a deal I had with him personally. So as a settlement he gave me the photos. At this time I had no idea these were being sold for lots of money and no idea who was buying them or the conditions of those sales. It was nothing to do with me. This was a private matter between myself and TE and those who purchased the photos and the agreement they had signed to. 
anyway........ we thought it would be nice to release these photos to the community so everyone had accurate reference. Unbeknown to me TM had purchased these photos himself a few weeks earlier and had to sign a NDA. I don’t know what he paid for them but he tells me it was a lot. 
I had no idea until I received a very irate message from him after that fact. I brushed it off and got on with my life. 
TM however didn’t. He was furious at me and Joe. Not sure why because it wasn’t me that actually put them online and Joe was only really a part of CFO for a year or so. His legacy lives on! 
TM says he acquired some moulds of the JoeR Helmet and out of revenge and to recoup his loss from the photos he would start selling JoeR copies.  Whilst maintaining to the community he sculpted it like he sculpts all his recasts. 

So in essence Paul believes he has the right to rip me off because he paid for something that we gave to the community and he didn’t think it was fair. So this is payback, revenge or whatever you want to call it. 
 

way to go mate. 
 

I have all this on a PM and can post if required. 

[Troopacoola[TK]]

That's a long time to hold a grudge. So he has recently been in contact and said he has recast your work as payback?

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[sskunky]

Yes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Colin1138[TK]]

The attitude from him is appalling! Wholly seperate from the recasting, his behaviour is more than enough for me to never want to deal with him. Or suggest his wares to others.

IMO the quality of the product is only part of the reason to choose a particular vendor. Their customer service, friendliness, business ethic and how they carry themselves are all just as important to me as a customer.
This guy is striking out hard.

Sent from my SM-J320FN using Tapatalk

[Locitus[Admin]]

1 hour ago, sskunky said:

So Paul reaches out to me. If you can call it that. 
This all stems from a deep rooted manifested anger against me for something I didn’t do some 10 years ago. 
I’m  not sure if you’ll remember but there were some CDs being sold of the LFL SDS court case photos taken by TE. 
now at this time we were just starting CFO and Matt aka TE owed me money from a deal I had with him personally. So as a settlement he gave me the photos. At this time I had no idea these were being sold for lots of money and no idea who was buying them or the conditions of those sales. It was nothing to do with me. This was a private matter between myself and TE and those who purchased the photos and the agreement they had signed to. 
anyway........ we thought it would be nice to release these photos to the community so everyone had accurate reference. Unbeknown to me TM had purchased these photos himself a few weeks earlier and had to sign a NDA. I don’t know what he paid for them but he tells me it was a lot. 
I had no idea until I received a very irate message from him after that fact. I brushed it off and got on with my life. 
TM however didn’t. He was furious at me and Joe. Not sure why because it wasn’t me that actually put them online and Joe was only really a part of CFO for a year or so. His legacy lives on! 
TM says he acquired some moulds of the JoeR Helmet and out of revenge and to recoup his loss from the photos he would start selling JoeR copies.  Whilst maintaining to the community he sculpted it like he sculpts all his recasts. 

So in essence Paul believes he has the right to rip me off because he paid for something that we gave to the community and he didn’t think it was fair. So this is payback, revenge or whatever you want to call it. 
 

way to go mate. 
 

I have all this on a PM and can post if required. 

I for one, and I know others will be with me, are very grateful for the publication of those images. They have been instrumental in improving everyone's suits.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

That is almost unbelievable Mark! But it is so outrageous it sounds logical. Knowing this hobby it fits in pretty well. 
 

I remember the TE cds and yes they were trading for serious amounts of money back then. Probably enough to buy a suit. 
 

this just stinks, it really does. 

[sskunky]

He’s not admitting to recasting it he is admitting he got hold of some moulds of my helmet and used them. To me it’s no different really. He still knew they were moulds of the JoeR helmet and used them.

And his justification is revenge to make me feel what he felt when joe posted the photos that he bought in a private deal that was nothing to do with me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DarthChridan[TK]]

5 hours ago, sskunky said:

So Paul reaches out to me. If you can call it that. 
This all stems from a deep rooted manifested anger against me for something I didn’t do some 10 years ago. 
I’m  not sure if you’ll remember but there were some CDs being sold of the LFL SDS court case photos taken by TE. 
now at this time we were just starting CFO and Matt aka TE owed me money from a deal I had with him personally. So as a settlement he gave me the photos. At this time I had no idea these were being sold for lots of money and no idea who was buying them or the conditions of those sales. It was nothing to do with me. This was a private matter between myself and TE and those who purchased the photos and the agreement they had signed to. 
anyway........ we thought it would be nice to release these photos to the community so everyone had accurate reference. Unbeknown to me TM had purchased these photos himself a few weeks earlier and had to sign a NDA. I don’t know what he paid for them but he tells me it was a lot. 
I had no idea until I received a very irate message from him after that fact. I brushed it off and got on with my life. 
TM however didn’t. He was furious at me and Joe. Not sure why because it wasn’t me that actually put them online and Joe was only really a part of CFO for a year or so. His legacy lives on! 
TM says he acquired some moulds of the JoeR Helmet and out of revenge and to recoup his loss from the photos he would start selling JoeR copies.  Whilst maintaining to the community he sculpted it like he sculpts all his recasts. 

So in essence Paul believes he has the right to rip me off because he paid for something that we gave to the community and he didn’t think it was fair. So this is payback, revenge or whatever you want to call it. 
 

way to go mate. 
 

I have all this on a PM and can post if required. 

Mmmmh, if I interpret this correctly I think there's a lot of misunderstandings...at both sides. In this case Matt has ripped off Paul (probably)....maybe even you two.

Revenge or retribution is not the best way in order to clarify such a thing....I agree with you.

All in all you and Paul were both not looking for the personal path...and this is the result.
Ok, what's done it's done...but it's never too late to sid down and talk together. Don't you agree?!?

 

Nevertheless I like you both and your work for the community and this story is really sad.I can only hope that you both find a way to talk together...I mean really together...without the community all around.
All the best...

 

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by DarthChridan

[Rob .T .[TK]]

Paul has dragged up some ancient grudge to " justify" recasting ??? 

I am totally staggered . 

This is no justification at all . 

[RS Prop Masters]

3 hours ago, sskunky said:

He’s not admitting to recasting it he is admitting he got hold of some moulds of my helmet and used them. To me it’s no different really. He still knew they were moulds of the JoeR helmet and used them.

And his justification is revenge to make me feel what he felt when joe posted the photos that he bought in a private deal that was nothing to do with me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Where did the moulds originate please? 

 

Saying moulds were obtained in a trade is not an excuse to make FROM them, it's the excuse that you CEATED them. So, he got moulds and then needed to sharpen things up, why? Unless he was trying to hide the origins of the piece.

 

I would never use a mould made by someone else without knowing the full history of it, my reputation is worth more to me. 

 

This STINKS.

[Amish Trooper]

What in the actual. he’s literally using the old recaster excuse “I got molds or helmet from a friend”

 
 He’s justifying his actions from some butthurt Burt bs. I remember when the photos was released and it was amazing. Wasn’t even you who did it and even so his excuse is BS. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by starsaber25
Edited by DCOG for language

[littledragon88[TK]]

Sorry to hear about this! I hope that newcomers spend some time reading up on this to fully understand the extent of what has happened.

[DarthChridan[TK]]

1 hour ago, littledragon88 said:

Sorry to hear about this! I hope that newcomers spend some time reading up on this to fully understand the extent of what has happened.

.....but ultimately the majority will be not interested.

[Trooperman]

Wow!! hes behaving like a child! 

I cant believe,, well i can.. that someone would hold a grudge and act like this!

Personally i think he recast your helmet and has been caught out and come up with this childish excuse!

Edited May 19, 2020 by Trooperman

[Rob .T .[TK]]

33 minutes ago, Trooperman said:

Wow!! hes behaving like a child! 

I cant believe,, well i can.. that someone would hold a grudge and act like this!

Personally i think he recast your helmet and has been caught out and come up with this childish excuse!

Yes, I think that's exactly what has happened . 

[iconoclasta_88[501st]]

WOW!

I remember those CDs and the big price tag they had, not to mention the NDA and politics you had to go through to even be cosidered by Matt as a suitable buyer.
I do remember the day those images were released. I considered it a game changer just as the discovery of RS's Armor years later.

I also remember that in the post making the images public, it was stated that they were being made public because Matt owed money  or product to the poster, and after a lot of going back and forth, the owner thought that even if he would not get what was owed, that would prevent Matt from charging hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for the CD. Also, remember how the ppl that had paid Matt for the CD were really upset. 

The one thing I don't remember (but I might be wrong) is Mark being  the poster of the images, or that it was done to harm Paul. It was always about Matt and whoever posted the images (Mark, Joe or whoever else). 

But oh well... 

This just gets sadder. 

Saludos

Edited May 19, 2020 by iconoclasta_88

[Trooperman]

i think it was Joe R who posted the pictures

[Daetrin[Admin]]

For those newer folks, Matt = Matt Gauthier = trooperexpert.  Trooperexpert engaged in many flame wars here on these boards and was banned for that as well as for selling his molds publicly to Tony Sagun (Guns) for a chunk of money, and then recasting his earlier work and selling all over again.

 

Yes, Matt did a lot to bring to light a lot of what we know about the original suits, but the way he went about his business practices was unethical, and his conduct on these and other boards (yes, he was banned from MEPD and even non-501st forums) was well deserved.