Chris Howes' Sculptural Creations

[costumeball]

Wow, and THIS is where it's starts to get pathetic.
So now I AM Howes??
You guys are sad.

Go back and read the House thread.

How about the posts where I offer crits and adjustment ideas on how to improve the sculpt and paint job.

Does that make ANY sense to you guys?

If anyone feels the need, feel free to PM me, and I'll personally send you an e-mail from my account so you can see my "real" name if it really means that much to you.

Embarrassing, really.

 

[ProgMatinee]

I'm sure I have an answer to that question.

I've been in pretty steady contact with Howes since the House commission started, first via PMs and later via e-mail after he instructed us to do so.

So for me, there aren't the same alarm bells that I feel a lot of other people seem to just be looking for.

Maybe they had unrealistic expectations.
Maybe they unwisely spent money they couldn't afford, or would like to have now, and can't get it back, so it's frustrating and compounding the situation artificially.

I don't know, I can't speak for anyone else.
But like I say, people are attracted to scandal.
It's all very EXCITING, isn't it?

so you won't tell us your personal breaking point? Then I guess you have no point. If you aren't willing to set your boundary then all your commentary on other people's boundaries is worthless.

 

[icruise]

Wow, and THIS is where it's starts to get pathetic.
So now I AM Howes??
You guys are sad.

It was a joke dude. But seriously, I can't figure out why you're defending him so vigorously.

 

[Ironman1188]

I'm sure I have an answer to that question.

I've been in pretty steady contact with Howes since the House commission started, first via PMs and later via e-mail after he instructed us to do so.

So for me, there aren't the same alarm bells that I feel a lot of other people seem to just be looking for.

Maybe they had unrealistic expectations.
Maybe they unwisely spent money they couldn't afford, or would like to have now, and can't get it back, so it's frustrating and compounding the situation artificially.

I don't know, I can't speak for anyone else.
But like I say, people are attracted to scandal.
It's all very EXCITING, isn't it?

More mysterious than exciting. Unless you were friends with howes previously, you are a relative newcomer to these boards, but are also one of the few that was able to get your emails thru.

 

[costumeball]

No offense, but ANYONE who wants to pay $200 for something, sight unseen, wait months for it without any updates, apologies, communication from the sculptor except for stories of Russian spammers and recasters "targeting" him may very well fall into that category.

I have TWO orders from him. One is paint work on some Ada heads I bought, which since I was getting my House head painted by him anyway, I figured have him do those at the same time, since both of them are intended to be gifts.

So while the paint work on those might be "sight unseen" I already sent him the heads, and House head, we've already seen the paint sample as well as some customer products.

And as I said I've been in e-mail communication with him. I fail to see why I should be getting so worried.

And if you choose not to believe the other stuff, that's your right I guess, but there's nothing that suggests he would make those things up.

 

[mosaicsquare]

For starters that I'll probably never see the Aliens Gormans sculpt that he was supposed to be working on. I doubt the Trek heads will ever be completed. The Summer Glau sculpts are who knows where? Its as I've said before and in other threads. I was willing to wait until the sculpts were finished to decide which to buy going by the likenesses. I wasn't interested in his "advance discount" that sucked in all the money the other's are out.

So you were waiting for a final product and you were never committed to paying for anything unless it was up to your standards... well he didn't sculpt anything... therefore what the hell are you babbling about?

Therefore I am out several heads that I was hoping to add to my collection

you're not out anything unless you paid for it.

he cut himself off from who knows how much money from people that would have bought decent looking sculpts that were completed.
And, whether he's sitting on my money or just everyone elses it does not excuse his inaction, lack of communication, terrible excuses and shoddy business practices.

you're a spectator not a customer.... you didn't pay for anything. why does his business practice concern you?

 

[Ironman1188]

I have TWO orders from him. One is paint work on some Ada heads I bought, which since I was getting my House head painted by him anyway, I figured have him do those at the same time, since both of them are intended to be gifts.

So while the paint work on those might be "sight unseen" I already sent him the heads, and House head, we've already seen the paint sample as well as some customer products.

And as I said I've been in e-mail communication with him. I fail to see why I should be getting so worried.

And if you choose not to believe the other stuff, that's your right I guess, but there's nothing that suggests he would make those things up.

Have you actually read all these threads? He's already showed that he's making sstuff up and lied about pieces progress.

 

[ProgMatinee]

so in all your communication with him, what is the timeline he has given you? if he doesn't follow through, do you give him another benefit of the doubt? How many times personally, would you accept a failed promise? IMO since you choose to criticize people who are upset, I think its important to know these things, otherwise mind your own business about who gets worked up and who doesn't.

 

[Ironman1188]

So you were waiting for a final product and you were never committed to paying for anything unless it was up to your standards... well he didn't sculpt anything... therefore what the hell are you babbling about?


you're not out anything unless you paid for it.


you're a spectator not a customer.... you didn't pay for anything. why does his business practice concern you?

So, I don't miss out on something that never gets made? Or, because i didn't pay upfront I'm not entitled to one?

I'm not a spectator, I'm a 1:6 collector and a customizer. Have been for a long time. And what howes is doing is wrong and it damages all customizers throughout the forum.

 

[raider404]

Welcome, raider. Peruse thru the forum and you will find many reputable dealers and customizers. This particular "seller" is against the norm of the forum, and most other forums I've frequented.


I would hardly say that anyone need look for something to get angry about where howes lack of production, updates and/or communication are involved.

Thanks Ironman, I have been looking through some of the threads and have seen some amazing customs.

There are so many figures I would like to do, just have to figure out where to start. Seeing all of them and trying to decide which one to start with is proving to be a difficult choice.

I have not had any dealing with Howes and it has taken me a few days to go through all the postings about him. Judging from what I have read and seeing his replies he is just not someone I want to do business with.

 

[costumeball]

More mysterious than exciting. Unless you were friends with howes previously, you are a relative newcomer to these boards, but are also one of the few that was able to get your emails thru.

If it's all that important, I'm not really a huge 1/6 collector, but have been a lurker on these boards for a while.

I have been an admirer of Bergholtz's work for years for example, and was kind of bummed I missed out on his custom Bale/Wayne head sculpt.

When I saw the idea for the House head, and realized how easy it would be to bash the costume I thought it would be great to put one together as a present for my dad. So that's when and why I signed up.

And no, I wasn't friends with Howes previously, and to be honest I'd never even heard of him before I saw some of the commission threads. No offense to Howes, of course.

 

[ProgMatinee]

I'm not a spectator, I'm a 1:6 collector and a customizer. Have been for a long time. And what howes is doing is wrong and it damages all customizers throughout the forum.

That is the angle you should attach to if you aren't 1st party involved.

otherwise I have to agree the "he promised heads, I might have bought one" is pretty weak to get upset over.

 

[mosaicsquare]

So, I don't miss out on something that never gets made? Or, because i didn't pay upfront I'm not entitled to one?

I'm not a spectator, I'm a 1:6 collector and a customizer. Have been for a long time. And what howes is doing is wrong and it damages all customizers throughout the forum.

You didn't miss out on anything... Like I said once and many times before you didn't pay for squat. I would take your place over mine right now if that is possible. Who would want to come to this thread day in and day out ^^^^^ing about product they didn't receive if they didn't buy anything to begin with?.... Is the entertainment value that high?... If you really want to ^^^^^ forward me about 50 bucks to my paypal and therefore you would've informally bought the House Head and Cane from me that Chris Howes still haven't sent and you can ^^^^^ and whine all you want.

Be it Howes Les or Sorevereign Studios... there actions only damages themselves. I haven't stopped buying and dealing with customizers on this board. ... in fact I bought over $200 worth of stuff just this month.

 

[costumeball]

Have you actually read all these threads? He's already showed that he's making sstuff up and lied about pieces progress.

I haven't read every post, but I'd to see where the guy is irrefutably LYING about something, instead of "Hey guys I *HOPE* to have _______ ready by _______."

It's not the same thing.
As for Russians and the degree of the captdan thing, he may be exaggerating or even lying, but there's no evidence to suggest as much.

so in all your communication with him, what is the timeline he has given you? if he doesn't follow through, do you give him another benefit of the doubt? How many times personally, would you accept a failed promise? IMO since you choose to criticize people who are upset, I think its important to know these things, otherwise mind your own business about who gets worked up and who doesn't.

I guess one man's patient person is another's pushover.

Problem is NO ONE was promised a specific timeline, so if you choose to get upset over some construct that YOU had for what constitutes a "reasonable timeframe", that's your own deal.

 

[ProgMatinee]

i know my approach to customizers is changing. i will be very unlikely to pay for something upfront again. probably will cost me a lot of opportunities, but i'm not comfortable doing it anymore. especially since I've got another one from a totally seperate customizer that has been very slow with updates lately.

 

[The Drizzle]

It was a joke dude. But seriously, I can't figure out why you're defending him so vigorously.

He's apparently one of those few that Chris has chosen to answer, so his outlook is better than average. He'll probably get his head too, while the rest of us that he ignored and lied to will not. Just from looking at the big picture over all of these threads, It looks to me like Chris is the one with an ego, and people who feed it have a better chance of getting something.

 

[mosaicsquare]

Problem is NO ONE was promised a specific timeline, so if you choose to get upset over some construct that YOU had for what constitutes a "reasonable timeframe", that's your own deal.

I don't know about his other projects but the house head was getting ready to ship. and these were words passed down from the Great himself..... and then about 2 months went by and noone got anything. Collector49 finally made a thread about the heads along with all the other stuff he owes and he promised to ship out the 1st batch of heads.... in the end it turned out to be one head.

 

[ProgMatinee]

I guess one man's patient person is another's pushover.

Problem is NO ONE was promised a specific timeline, so if you choose to get upset over some construct that YOU had for what constitutes a "reasonable timeframe", that's your own deal.

since you refuse to set a timeline even one as far out as "10 years", I think your word in this thread is useless. i even have doubts you're a customer now because a real customer wouldn't act as flippant as you are about it.

 

[costumeball]

Also Prog, just so I'm not totally dodging the question , I'd have to say I'll be disappointed if I don't get my order within a month, since he did say the stuff is pretty much done.

But I also understand what it's like to have a busy schedule, and at the end of the day these are doll heads for which I'm not out a TON of money on.

Never having taken part in a commission like this, I knew it was something of a gamble to begin with (didn't know if I'd like the sculpt, etc) but apparently unlike some people, I didn't "invest" an amount I couldn't live without.

That is NOT to say I don't care about the money, just that this kind of situation is different from a normal commercial transaction, therefore I don't think the same rules apply. (Indignant, customer is always right stuff.)

 

[The Drizzle]

And what howes is doing is wrong and it damages all customizers throughout the forum.

I have to agree here. I am currently working on a custom project (not a head sculpt, but an accessory item) and Chris' handling of this situation has made me totally change how I am going to handle it. I decided to get absolutely all of the work done so it is ready to ship. It's just going to be a limited, one time thing, and that's it. Freaks me out how many man-hours it has taken to do it, too. Weeks of using all my free time. I hope Chris' behavior won't affect the limited-time sale of my item.