Exactly to the 10 fricken power! I mean, what are we talking about here? The whole issue is about them recasting, not making the same characters as other customizers. It would be a non-issue if they were making the same characters of their own design and quality level to offer at a lower price point. Well let me not say completely a “non-issue” because it’s still pretty lame that aside from all the heads they’ve STOLEN thus far (Iminime: Rick, Riggs, Harry, Good, Bad , Ugly. Rainman: Alex. Not sure if BH Blondie is a recast of Scott’s), the only 2 other characters that they actually used their own sculptor for (Doc & Josey) are pulled from Rainman and Velvet Morning’s catalog. LAME! No claim to originality whatsoever.
You are making some wild assumptions my friend. Instead of taking embarrassingly wide swings and misses about what I live and breathe or what I’m able to afford, you should just stick to your crusade on making excuses for thieves and leveling wild accusations at the innocent originators of the works in question. You’re doing marginally better with that!
To answer your question about the Iminime casts; they are solid resin as are 99% of all custom casts. The necks were drilled to fit a neck peg. Before drilling they were solid down to the base of the neck so there’s nothing hollow about them.
And you’re obviously intelligent so don't say you just can’t grasp our angle. It's yours (or the argument you're sticking to) that we don’t grasp. Licensing infringement, intellectual properties, talks of breaking the law and whatnot… who gives a rat’s ***!!! Are you their contract attorney?? Are you making a single cent from defending them against people making unlicensed products (LIKE REDMAN DOES)? The whole law in itself is questionable. What about when they sign a bad deal and they don’t even have their own likeness rights because it belongs to the studio? The law. Illegal. Big friggin’ deal!! No one who buys recasts gives a crap about the law either, and that’s why that angle is and always will be paper thin horses__t to me. All that matters to them is they can get a knock-off of something they wanted that was out of their budget for a price that now fits their budget. ishothimsixtimes is probably the 100th member to explain the same exact thing: Talented artists who can sculpt create something, and someone else who doesn’t have the skill comes along and counterfeits it to profit from the original artists hard work, talent and skill. That’s theft! Point blank end of story! All other talk is hogwash.
The bottom line is:
That and similar mentalities will always clash with avid custom fans who respect the artists and hold them in high regard. We’ll never agree with that and the people who will support recasts will never agree with other aspects that we accept like the high price of the official work. Same ol’ circle and it shall continue…
It’s not about viewing customs as the Rolls Royces of 1/6 because they are imperfect and not like we don’t recognize their flaws. We are as nitpicky and OCD in the custom threads as all the folks in the licensed threads. It’s about appreciating the artistry, craftsmanship and hand crafted skill that goes into what are essentially art figures. It’s about being fans, supporters and collectors of these artists’ work. The custom sect is a very different animal in many ways than the licensed world (which is why guys like Clipper King shouldn’t review customs while grading them against Hot Toys, especially without having more knowledge of how custom production works. But that’s a whole ‘nother argument). Especially on a forum like this where members are closely in touch with a lot of the artists, and there are many offerings that fellow Freaks had a lot of influence and a big hand in helping the customizers bring to life. There were 4 boardies that are responsible for pitching the GBU idea to iminime, and provided all the reference and suggestions needed. I’m sure they were just as pissed off as Denny was to see the Redman recasts.
I don't expect the people with opposite opinions to get it... and the circle spins on
He has, and exceptional is an understatement. He's one of the artists that make the custom world great. You should look him up