Les' backlog situation (for the uninitiated)

[ProgMatinee]

Maybe there could be a generic thread to talk about the pros and cons of dealing with customizers?

An extension of this one perhaps?https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54698

 

[KBA]

I don't give a ^^^^ right now defending or attacking, frankly I think both sides are going too far.

Good to support Les yes, but these constant feuds that go on tied to him are no good for him and defending him just invites the opposite side to speak up and ^^^^ gets out of control.

Again, a lot of views in here are valid, but can also pertain to any customizer and could easily be discussed elsewhere.

And yes, I've been in here supporting Les like the others in here are, but I've seen where this road leads, it happens to much, and I'd rather put an end to it than contribute to it. Nothing is accomplished from all this.

Maulfan is right. The man himself has spoken about this several times. It was a different story when Les had no access to his computer and no way to oust some of the more immediate fires that went on, but he's back now.

 

[DarkArtist81]

I think the discussion has merit. If anything, it helps to serve as a reference for the up and comers just starting out in the customs section of this very board. I would rather this stuff be out there, than to have it not be... only for us to have to deal with it again in a few years once THEY too become swamped and end up in our position.

Blake has a valid point. Many guys who are new to the game, don't understand the turnaround time. And that the estimation can change at the drop of a hat. I also understand fully if someone is in dire financial straits and needs the figure to sell. I have also on occasion, as well as Les I'm sure, expedited a figure or head for a customer who was in that very situation. I'm all for helping people out if they need it, all one has to do is PM or email me.

The trick about communication is that it's very hard for any of us with a large workload to keep up with the immense list of people who need an update. If I updated every single person I have work for, weekly or bi weekly... I would waste anywhere up to 2 days out of the week just going through the stack. So I just tell my customers to watch my thread here or PM me with questions. It's a crap ass system, but that is because I have no staff.

People DO stand up for Les, sometimes without thinking about it. I think it's because he is so nice and forthcoming about his situation... which in turn makes people feel protective of him for it. I don't think that should discourage anyone from making a positive statement about late work or trying to figure something out. The problems come from people who are entirely unreasonable about the work or the time table involved. There are some who even upon being repaid and the work DONE, they still foster this animosity and cause even worse situations to crop up. It's all in how you say something, if someone wants to discuss an issue about Les or anyone else... it should be handled very carefully and humanely.

 

[Blake]

I don't give a ^^^^ right now defending or attacking, frankly I think both sides are going too far.

Good to support Les yes, but these constant feuds that go on tied to him are no good for him and defending him just invites the opposite side to speak up and ^^^^ gets out of control.

Again, a lot of views in here are valid, but can also pertain to any customizer and could easily be discussed elsewhere.

And yes, I've been in here supporting Les like the others in here are, but I've seen where this road leads, it happens to much, and I'd rather put an end to it than contribute to it. Nothing is accomplished from all this.

It's a shame that we (the collective) can not have a civil conversation about this matter without it getting nasty and going down that road that you foresee. I agree that it is good to support Les, but at the same time I think another view should be respected as well.

Also, nothing is accomplished from 98% of the posts in this thread. You say that both sides are going too far, but if someone speaks up in response to all of the defenders, only then is when people call for it to stop. The very first post I responded to was calling out for the "naggers" to show their faces and spill as to why they were nagging. I don't recall anyone stepping up at that point and calling for a silence.

By the way, your sig rocks the Casbah.

 

[Blake]

I think the discussion has merit. If anything, it helps to serve as a reference for the up and comers just starting out in the customs section of this very board. I would rather this stuff be out there, than to have it not be... only for us to have to deal with it again in a few years once THEY too become swamped and end up in our position.

Blake has a valid point. Many guys who are new to the game, don't understand the turnaround time. And that the estimation can change at the drop of a hat. I also understand fully if someone is in dire financial straits and needs the figure to sell. I have also on occasion, as well as Les I'm sure, expedited a figure or head for a customer who was in that very situation. I'm all for helping people out if they need it, all one has to do is PM or email me.

The trick about communication is that it's very hard for any of us with a large workload to keep up with the immense list of people who need an update. If I updated every single person I have work for, weekly or bi weekly... I would waste anywhere up to 2 days out of the week just going through the stack. So I just tell my customers to watch my thread here or PM me with questions. It's a crap ass system, but that is because I have no staff.

People DO stand up for Les, sometimes without thinking about it. I think it's because he is so nice and forthcoming about his situation... which in turn makes people feel protective of him for it. I don't think that should discourage anyone from making a positive statement about late work or trying to figure something out. The problems come from people who are entirely unreasonable about the work or the time table involved. There are some who even upon being repaid and the work DONE, they still foster this animosity and cause even worse situations to crop up. It's all in how you say something, if someone wants to discuss an issue about Les or anyone else... it should be handled very carefully and humanely.

I stand and applaud you sir...as do my DA Roy, Joker and Myers, all of whom are on my desk right here at work staring me down.

 

[DarkArtist81]

I just started a thread and made it a sticky, this thread will be the place for any such discussion. It will be monitored heavily so nobody gets dogpiled. But I think that this is a sore spot for both artists and customers, and needs to be discussed. If anything, for the future survival of this section of the board and for the future artists to learn by.

I wish someone would have done something similar before I started, I could have avoided many different bad situations and not gotten myself into this bind I find myself in now.

 

[MaulFan]

I think the discussion has merit. If anything, it helps to serve as a reference for the up and comers just starting out in the customs section of this very board. I would rather this stuff be out there, than to have it not be... only for us to have to deal with it again in a few years once THEY too become swamped and end up in our position.

Blake has a valid point. Many guys who are new to the game, don't understand the turnaround time. And that the estimation can change at the drop of a hat. I also understand fully if someone is in dire financial straits and needs the figure to sell. I have also on occasion, as well as Les I'm sure, expedited a figure or head for a customer who was in that very situation. I'm all for helping people out if they need it, all one has to do is PM or email me.

The trick about communication is that it's very hard for any of us with a large workload to keep up with the immense list of people who need an update. If I updated every single person I have work for, weekly or bi weekly... I would waste anywhere up to 2 days out of the week just going through the stack. So I just tell my customers to watch my thread here or PM me with questions. It's a crap ass system, but that is because I have no staff.

Which is all the more reason for this discussion to exist outsid of this thread. The only ones looking in here really are ones with personal or business interest with Les, this information would benefit all customers and sellers to be out there and discussed but it's lost in here and doesn't gain much for Les.

 

[DarkArtist81]

I stand and applaud you sir...as do my DA Roy, Joker and Myers, all of whom are on my desk right here at work staring me down.

Thank you good sir! I'm proud to have my stuff there with all of your other badass swag!

 

[Shai]

This thread was derailed a while ago, but nobody would ever post something like this in response to King Darkness calling people ^^^^ing ^^^^^^^s.

King Darkness is royalty here, As is Les Walker (the legend).They are both brothers of the Great Worm.Together with other Krusaders we may be more silent than we use to, but we still pull the strings on this board behind the scene.

So yeah, KD can pretty much say what he wants...

 

[DarkArtist81]

Which is all the more reason for this discussion to exist outsid of this thread. The only ones looking in here really are ones with personal or business interest with Les, this information would benefit all customers and sellers to be out there and discussed but it's lost in here and doesn't gain much for Les.

Right you are, Sean... Any further discussion will be located here:

https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55875

From now on it will NOT be discussed here at all, this thread will only exist as a place for people to learn about what happened with Les if they are so inclined.

 

[MaulFan]

It's a shame that we (the collective) can not have a civil conversation about this matter without it getting nasty and going down that road that you foresee. I agree that it is good to support Les, but at the same time I think another view should be respected as well.

Also, nothing is accomplished from 98% of the posts in this thread. You say that both sides are going too far, but if someone speaks up in response to all of the defenders, only then is when people call for it to stop. The very first post I responded to was calling out for the "naggers" to show their faces and spill as to why they were nagging. I don't recall anyone stepping up at that point and calling for a silence.

By the way, your sig rocks the Casbah.

Well, I understand that point, my thought was that if I chimed in even then, it would stir something so I chose to be passive and hoped it would just die naturally, but now that it's escalating I just wanted to run a little damage control.

I'm not trying to silence anyone's opinions though, just saying all the stuff about what's important in life and the stuff about wait periods and business practices, it's not directly Les relevant, connected, but not directly related, and therefore could be discussed elsewhere and serve the same purpose while stepping away from Les and giving him the breathing room to get the work done because that's all he wants, he feels terrible about being behind and doesn't like upsetting his customers, all he wants now is to finish the work for everyone and get it to him and a little breathing room will allow that. Nothing said now is going to change the pace at which he can work or make him any more aware of what's going on, he's working his fastest to finish it up for everyone and carrying on in the future however works best for him from the lessons he's learned from this.

 

[pixletwin]

King Darkness is royalty here, As is Les Walker (the legend).They are both brothers of the Great Worm.Together with other Krusaders we may be more silent than we use to, but we still pull the strings on this board behind the scene.

So yeah, KD can pretty much say what he wants...

KD can't help it if his opinion is respected more than others.

 

[MaulFan]

KD can't help it if his opinion is respected more than others.

I thought it was that most people had learned to ignore him

 

[pixletwin]

I thought it was that most people had learned to ignore him

Thats not nice. Lets see how many people would read your posts if you, like Chase, lost your special typing monkey.

 

[MaulFan]

Special typing monkey?

 

[Blake]

King Darkness is royalty here, As is Les Walker (the legend).They are both brothers of the Great Worm.Together with other Krusaders we may be more silent than we use to, but we still pull the strings on this board behind the scene.

So yeah, KD can pretty much say what he wants...

Classic stuff. I would hope though that I get some sort of honorary step-brother title though, if nothing else than for that Richard Brooker signed picture.

 

[pixletwin]

Special typing monkey?

Nevermind.

 

[MaulFan]

Nevermind.

Alright, hopefulyl Chase knows I'm just breaking balls anyway, I always enjoy his post, though I rarely see much from him lately, it's a shame.

 

[Blake]

Well, I understand that point, my thought was that if I chimed in even then, it would stir something so I chose to be passive and hoped it would just die naturally, but now that it's escalating I just wanted to run a little damage control.

I'm not trying to silence anyone's opinions though, just saying all the stuff about what's important in life and the stuff about wait periods and business practices, it's not directly Les relevant, connected, but not directly related, and therefore could be discussed elsewhere and serve the same purpose while stepping away from Les and giving him the breathing room to get the work done because that's all he wants, he feels terrible about being behind and doesn't like upsetting his customers, all he wants now is to finish the work for everyone and get it to him and a little breathing room will allow that. Nothing said now is going to change the pace at which he can work or make him any more aware of what's going on, he's working his fastest to finish it up for everyone and carrying on in the future however works best for him from the lessons he's learned from this.

I'm with ya bro. Well said.

 

[Les Walker]

Guys. This is all cool. I am not against anyone having their say. My only fear was that many wouldn't understand why I got so damned behind. I didn't foresee, as it was happening, just how piled up it would get. Again, I was, at one time, a LONG time ago it seems, keeping up rather well with my turnarounds. Before this time last year.
That is why I have to take the brunt of the responsibility regardless. I made bad decisions during a period, however extended and painful, that only made my problems worse.

The line, "try walking in my shoes" applies here. But that goes both ways.
I have come to realize that even my most ardent "enemies" were once folks that simply wanted my work. They were not bad, not ill-intended. I made them seem that way. Some may be true jerks, I don't know. But that is not mine to decide.

In my fear that no one would understand why I had gotten so late, I told more personal stuff than maybe I could have, but it was all directly involved in why I was behind, so I did. I think that pissed some folks off even more. I get that now.
It is all still there though.

Just night before last, when all this last wave started, I had spent five hours with my Mom, who is going downhill fast, and was pretty down about it. In I come to check emails and PMs and lo and behold, negative feedbacks and angry Pms. Again. It just was like the last straw. I had to make a choice, and I did. I simply can't keep continuing in this work as I am, or I will be so messed up I can't fix it.
And regardless of how angry those are with me now, I have to listen to them too. They have points that were missed. And many of them were pretty harshly criticised it seems, and I missed all that. Whole episodes of this are still a total mystery to me because they were deleted and I am still not fully informed as to what occured.
Can you imagine that, on top of all the rest of this???

I just want to finish now. I mean FINISH. All of it. And stop, and rest, and find my own reasons for being into all this again.

I so appreciate the fervent support. I would be a total fool not to. But I am also aware this has all caused, or maybe at least, brought to light, some of the really WRONG things to do with customs. I am truly the poster boy for what not to do now. ME. And let me tell ya, that sucks! A year ago, I was on cloud nine. Loving what I was doing, enjoying the work, taking on more and more, and seeing my sense of self worth climb.
That was at a time I needed it inside more than ever.
And now, look at me.

This has damn near ruined me. I have no hatred or fear of my "enemies" as I can't but try to imagine why they hate me so much. I have to learn from all this, and NOT make this mistake with my life again.

Anyway, so much of this. Makes me sick too. My whole life is WAY off base now, so the only thing I can do, is work, deliver the goods, (Have a sale and make more money to ship all this out...as all my money is gone to CC bills I can never catch up on anyway...don't worry...the B-word is coming in my life to deal with all that...) and just try to make amends through the only means at my disposal, my work.

If I died tomorrow, what would I be remembered for? I am not sure. I am afraid I would not be the ivory prince so many have painted me as. I might be that guy remembered for how he screwed up what he did for a living. Maybe in a hundred years, it all won't matter, but now, I have to do all I can to fix it. And hating or silencing those that are angry, and rightfully so, is not the answer.
I don't want to suffer pain at being beaten down, but damn, I did this. I made this so. I therefore cannot hate them for their anger.

I will say this and shut up. One of you, sold your custom work from me, and that paid for the birth of their child. That is the single best thing to come from my work ever. And it was a sale of it that did it. So, it sure ain't all about the work. I try to make it be, but it isn't. It's about you guys, and why you ask me or someone else here to upgrade your TOY, and that is where the truth lies.
Our practices therefore, must come under scrutiny, lest this become chaos. For me it almost has. It isn't yet...I CAN finish it all. But man, this is no way to work. Not for anyone. DO NOT DO AS I HAVE DONE! Period!

And to you other repainters and sculptors and customizers out there, keep the flame going! YOU are the future of this hobby. I will continue to try to contribute, and I have not done my best work yet...but for now, this dialogue must continue, and be open to all.

Thanks again guys. You all, are ok in my book. I have learned so much from each of you. Even those that resent me.

Now, back to it. I have a LOT of catchup to finish.